UCLA football secures bowl eligibility in rush-heavy win over Colorado

This post was updated Nov. 14 at 11:31 p.m.

The Bruins have not played in a bowl game since 2017.

And down 20-10 at the halftime break coming off two consecutive losses, they were 30 minutes away from missing out on bowl eligibility for the third straight game.

However, a 34-point second half changed the narrative. 

For the first time in four years, UCLA football (6-4, 4-3 Pac-12) has secured a .500 or better regular season, hitting the six-win bowl eligibility plateau with a 44-20 victory over Colorado (3-7, 2-5) on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl. The Bruins blanked the Buffaloes in the final two frames to give the blue and gold its first second-half shutout of the season. 

“I’m just happy for our players,” said coach Chip Kelly. “They love each other and we love them – it’s a really close-knit group. We’re not done at the end of the season; we get to play one more game.” 

In the first half, the Bruins accumulated 228 yards, but more than two-thirds of those yards came through the air. With 69 rushing yards in the first 30 minutes, UCLA was on pace for its second-worst rushing game of the season.

The Buffaloes outgained the Bruins by 14 yards through the first two quarters – including an 86-yard advantage on the ground – while the visiting team held the ball seven minutes more than UCLA. The blue and gold scored on two of its six first-half possessions, with its four unsuccessful drives ending in a punt, an interception, a turnover on downs and a missed field goal.

Senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson – whose interception marked his fourth of the season – said the vibe in the halftime locker room was one of frustration.

“I was very pissed, very frustrated,” Thompson-Robinson said. “I obviously wasn’t playing the best, so just overall frustrated. But at the end of the day, you got to look at yourself in the mirror and you got to go out and play the whole second half. So we knew that.”

From that point on, Thompson-Robinson and the Bruins flipped the hypothetical rushing switch.

On its first drive of the third quarter, UCLA ran for 40 yards on a nine-play, 76-yard possession ending in a 2-yard touchdown run by junior running back Zach Charbonnet. 

After forcing a Colorado punt on fourth-and-28, UCLA took back control of the ball and picked up where it left off. The blue and gold marched 83 yards, including 70 by way of rushing attempts, down the field to again put up more points on the ground on a 23-yard touchdown scamper by Thompson-Robinson. 

Along with 257 yards on 18-of-27 passing, Thompson-Robinson finished the game with a team-high 99 yards on the ground and the one rushing touchdown.

In two second-half possessions, the Bruins already had the same number of rushing attempts as they did in six possessions in the first half, along with 41 more yards. 

Kelly said adjusting the team’s mindset helped UCLA improve in the second half.

“It was just getting on the right page, so we felt confident going into halftime,” Kelly said. “There weren’t a lot of adjustments, it was just, ‘We’ve got to play our game.’ And I think in all three phases we played our game in the second half.”

On the drive after Thompson-Robinson’s seventh running touchdown of the season, UCLA’s defense forced yet another stop, giving the ball back to the offense, who continued their rushing ways. The Bruins ran for 43 yards on their third possession of the second half, punctuating a 75-yard scoring drive with Charbonnet’s second rushing touchdown to give UCLA a 10-point lead.

Down double digits to start the fourth quarter, Colorado went for it on fourth down at UCLA’s 34-yard line, but the Bruins stopped the Buffaloes at the line of scrimmage and regained possession. 

After allowing 242 yards on the ground in the first half, the Bruin defense held the Buffaloes to 3.3 yards per play and 117 total yards in the final two frames, which included zero points from the visiting team. 

Redshirt senior defensive back Quentin Lake said UCLA’s defensive second-half performance represented a shift in culture from the last few years.

“We definitely had a momentum change (in the second half),” Lake said. “It’s interesting to see – in years past, (when) we went down a couple points, we were kind of out of it. But I think we’ve got a different morale on this team.” 

With the ball in Colorado territory, UCLA scored on Charbonnet’s third touchdown of the game to give the team its largest lead of the evening.

The lead would grow even more on an 82-yard punt return from redshirt junior wide receiver Kyle Philips – the Bruins’ first punt-return touchdown since 2019.

Neither team would add to the scoreboard in the final 10 minutes of the game, as the two teams traded possession five times while combining for four first downs.

With the win, the Bruins have clinched their best regular-season record in four years, and UCLA now has a chance to secure its first nine-win season since 2014 should it win out.

Lake said being able to hit the bowl game milestone was a particularly special moment for the seniors – most of whom have yet to appear in the postseason.

“It’s a real special moment, especially for the seniors,” Lake said. “We’ve been through trials and tribulations for the last four years, so it’s fun to kind of really relish in all the work that you put in. I’m proud of everybody – proud of the whole staff, everybody that’s a part of the Bruin nation. This one feels good – it’s a special moment.”