UCLA falters late in first half, falls behind Stanford 23-13
Redshirt senior wide receiver Darren Andrews scored the first touchdown of the game, but the Bruins couldn’t maintain their first half lead. (Amy Dixon/assistant Photo editor)
By Matt Cummings
Sept. 23, 2017 9:36 p.m.
PALO ALTO, Calif.—Perhaps it was naive to think UCLA football might get an easy win against Stanford.
The Bruins, seeking to snap a nine-game losing streak to the Cardinal, looked poised to build a two-score lead early in the second quarter of Saturday night’s matchup.
Instead,a dropped touchdown, a blocked field goal and three Stanford scoring drives late in the half left UCLA with a 23-13 deficit heading into intermission.
The teams traded field goals early on before the Bruins mounted the first touchdown drive of the game early in the second quarter, marching 71 yards on five plays. Junior quarterback Josh Rosen keyed the drive with a 48-yard pass to redshirt junior wideout Jordan Lasley, then connected with redshirt senior Darren Andrews for a 12-yard touchdown two plays later.
On its next drive, UCLA was in position to add to its advantage, but sophomore wideout Theo Howard dropped a would-be touchdown on third down and the Cardinal blocked the subsequent field goal attempt from sophomore kicker JJ Molson.
Capitalizing on the momentum from the blocked kick, Stanford would then reel off 17 unanswered points over the final six and a half minutes of the half.
The Cardinal first drove 80 yards for a game-tying touchdown, with speedy running back Bryce Love breaking off runs of 25, 27 and 32 yards to lead the way.
Then, after the Bruins went three-and-out on their next possession, the Cardinal quickly snatched the lead with a five-play, 62-yard touchdown drive that took just 55 seconds.
Howard fumbled on UCLA’s next drive, giving Stanford the ball in UCLA territory, and Cardinal kicker Jet Toner knocked in a field goal as time expired.
Rosen finished the half 16-of-28 for 176 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while junior running back Soso Jamabo received all six of the Bruins’ carries for 61 yards. Jamabo broke a 49-yard run, UCLA’s longest since 2015, late in the first quarter.
The Bruins held Love in check for most of the half, but he ran for 76 yards over the Cardinal’s final three drives and entered halftime with 14 carries for 126 yards.
For the third straight week, a UCLA player was ejected for targeting, with redshirt junior defensive back Adarius Pickett getting tossed late in the first quarter for a hit on Stanford tight end Dalton Schultz.
