UCLA stuns undefeated Washington State 25-17 in riveting 4th quarter comeback

UCLA Bruins #3 Dante Moore (QB) attempting a pass to an open receiver downfield. Photo by Rashad Griffin/TGSportstv1.

 PASADENA, CA – In nearly 100-degree heat, the UCLA Bruins (4-1) cooled off the previously unbeaten Washington State Cougars (4-1) in a come-from-behind victory 25-17 on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

The Bruins relied on a heavy dosage of running back Carson Steele, who rushed for 140 yards on 30 carries in the blistering heat. Freshman quarterback Dante Moore had 290 yards passing, one touchdown, and two interceptions for UCLA.

Heisman hopeful Cameron Ward was suffocated all day by the Bruin defense, finishing with a meager 197 yards, two interceptions, and one touchdown. The Cougar quarterback missed on more than half of his pass attempts, completing only 48 percent of his passes.

"I think Cam Ward is one of the really special quarterbacks, and he was 19 of 39, and he hadn't thrown a pick on the season," said Bruin head coach Chip Kelly. "To pick him twice, we knew that was going to be a challenge."

Washington State struck first, capitalizing off of an early Moore interception on his second pass of the game. The Cougars parlayed that turnover into a 32-yard field goal courtesy of kicker Dean Janikowski for the early 3-0 lead.

Bruin kicker R.J. Lopez had an opportunity to tie the game minutes later but missed a 47-yard field goal. Fortunately, the defense stepped up, with Keanu Williams recovering a fumble by Washington State's Cameron Johnson on the next Cougar drive.

Kyle Williams was nearly unguardable for Washington State in the opening quarter, finishing with six receptions for 68 yards. The Cougar defense shut out the Bruins in the opening frame.

Turnovers continued to plague both teams, as the Cougar wide receiver Carlos Hernandez fumbled on the second play in the second quarter, which was recovered by defensive lineman Choe Bryant-Strother.

UCLA Bruins #33 Carson Steele (RB) breaking free downfield for big yardage after against the Washington State Cougars defense. Photo by Rashad Griffin/TGSportstv1.

The fumble recovery sparked UCLA's offense with some highlight-reel plays on their next drive. Carsen Ryan hauled in a remarkable 27-yard juggling catch after bouncing it off his helmet. A few plays later Carson Steele hurdled a Cougar defender, getting upended into a full-frontal flip for an eight-yard gain that electrified the Bruin crowd.

The momentum propelled the Bruins as part of a nine-play, 63-yard drive over three minutes, culminating with Moore hitting a wide-open Logan Loya in the back of the endzone with an 11-yard touchdown pass. Lopez would miss the extra point attempt, leaving the Bruins with a 6-3 lead with 11:31 remaining in the first half. Both tight ends combined for six catches and 160 yards.

"We have too many Carson's," joked Kelly. "Carson Steele was really big for us today. I thought our tight ends really contributed on the offensive side of the ball."

Washington State Cougars #1 Cameron Ward throwing a pass to an open receiver. Photo by Rashad Griffin/TGSportstv1.

After four consecutive punts between both teams, Ward floated a dangerous pass and was picked off at the 47-yard line by the Bruin defensive back Alex Johnson with 4:55 remaining in the first half. That led to Lopez's second field goal, a 37-yard, giving the Bruins a 9-3 lead with 90 seconds remaining in the first half.

Following a quick 21-second three-and-out by the Cougar offense, UCLA drove the ball 66 yards in under a minute, looking to score and take a double-digit lead into the half. Kapena Gushiken had other plans in mind, as the Cougar nickelback leaped mid-air into the passing lane, snatching the ball at the Bruin 10-yard line and returned it 90 yards for the pick-six touchdown with seven seconds remaining in the first half.

"I was supposed to be blitzing off the edge and came in untouched and all I see is the quarterback, eyeing the flat," said Gushiken. "So I jumped, and he threw it straight to me, and I just took off."

When asked about his point-of-view on the play, Moore responded: "On that play, Number 4, who caught the pick, he was like a flying squirrel. He jumped in the air, wings out. I threw the ball, and he picked it."

It was a demoralizing turn of events for the Bruins, who were looking to enter the halftime up double-digits but instead found themselves trailing 10-9.

"If you're a competitor, you respond to it, and if you're a non-competitor, you react to it," said Kelly. "We got a bunch of competitors and they responded."

Despite the miscues on offense, UCLA prevented Washington State, one of the best offenses in the nation, from scoring any offensive touchdowns in the first half. UCLA also dominated the time of possession, controlling the ball for over 20 minutes, versus nine minutes for Washington State in the opening half.

Washington State Cougars #25 Nakia Watson (RB) nine yard catch for a touchdown. Photo by Rashad Griffin/TGSportstv1.

The second half began with a pair of punts from both teams before Lopez nailed a 32-yard field goal as UCLA regained the lead 12-10. The Cougars responded four plays later, with Nakia Watson snagging a 9-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead.

UCLA then drove down the field 60 yards, but Lopez had his field goal attempt blocked. The Bruins ended the third quarter trailing 17-12.

The Bruin offense began to show life in the fourth quarter as they continued to hammer away with the run. Keegan Jones ran in a 13-yard touchdown, wrapping up a 75-yard, 10-play drive. With the Bruins up by a point, they elected to go for the two-point conversion, but Moore was drilled at the one-yard-line. The failed conversion left UCLA with an 18-17 lead two minutes into the fourth quarter.

On the very next Washington State play, Ward threw another interception. The Bruins capitalized on the turnover, with Jones running in a 22-yard touchdown a minute later.

"The second interception was all on me and my decision," said Ward. "So I take that on the chest."

In the final two minutes, Washington State drove into Bruin territory, and the UCLA defense stopped Ward on a fourth-and-one, resulting in a turnover on downs. Steele then bulldozed his way 13 yards for the game-clinching first down on the next play as the Bruins held on to win 25-17.

The Bruin defense was huge in annihilating the Cougar's run, limiting them to a season-low 12 rushing yards for the entire game. Washington State came into today's game averaging over 100 rushing yards per game.

The Bruins are trending in the right direction under Kelly, having won 15 of its last 21 games.

UCLA heads to Corvallis next week, where they will face Oregon State (4-1) at Reser Stadium next Saturday.