For the first time since 2014, the Bruins reached nine victories after coming from behind to take the victory.In each of their past two games, the Bruins had a chance to win, but they missed in the last seconds.
Friday, they prevented that pattern from continuing.
The No. 18 UCLA football team (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12) trailed Cal (3-9, 2-7 Pac-12) in the fourth quarter before making up ground and winning 35-28. Linebacker Kain Medrano's punching out of the ball was the decisive defensive play that kept the Golden Bears at bay.
With 119 of the Bruins' 352 rushing yards and the game-winning score halfway through the fourth quarter, running back Zach Charbonnet led the way. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the quarterback, ran for 88 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, while rookie TJ Harden added a career-high 89 yards on 12 carries.
Thompson-Robinson also performed his job in the air, completing 21 of his 30 attempts for 189 yards and a score. Along with all the other records he amassed during his super senior season, the fifth-year starter now holds the school record for career completions.
With the victory, UCLA has now defeated Cal eight times in a row. For the first time since 2014, the Bruins have also achieved nine victories.
However, the outcome wasn't without controversy.
https://twitter.com/UCLAFootball/status/1596308743569801216
After the teams exchanged punts to start the game, UCLA eventually scored with a calculated eight-play scoring drive that culminated in a 5-yard touchdown throw from quarterback Thompson-Robinson to receiver Jake Bobo. On the next drive, the Bruins' defense forced a second consecutive three-and-out, and when they got the ball back, they marched their own team into the end zone.However, Nicholas Barr-Mira missed the 33-yard field goal, and the Golden Bears took advantage by scoring on the subsequent drive from 46 yards out. The Bruins' subsequent drive wasn't entirely fruitless, as a false start derailed their effort on 4th-and-goal from the half-yard line, forcing them to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Barr-Mira.
Following a 38-yard touchdown throw to receiver Jeremiah Hunter, Cal responded by grabbing its first lead of the game. They then forced a 3-and-out on the opposite side of the ball. With 58 seconds remaining in the half, Jack Plummer, the quarterback, connected with Hunter once again for a 22-yard touchdown.
Although UCLA was able to mitigate some of the damage with a five-play, 75-yard drive that took only 40 seconds to complete and was capped off by a 19-yard scrambling score by Thompson-Robinson, the Bruins still trailed 21-17 at the half.
Early in the third quarter, though, Plummer's string of 14 straight completions came to an end, and UCLA eventually forced another punt. Following that, the Bruins drove 90 yards and scored seven more points on Thompson's 12-yard touchdown run by Robinson.
UCLA went three-and-out as the momentum seemed to be running out as Cal punted once again. Long snapper Jack Landherr IV caused a fumble at that point on the punt return, and the Bruins used that additional opportunity to score a field goal to extend their lead to six.
With a 49-yard toss to Hunter, Plummer regained his footing before hitting Ott for the game-winning score early in the fourth quarter. That left the Bruins down 28-27 with 11:16 remaining, necessitating a comeback in order for them to win.Every play that UCLA made resulted in a gain, and Charbonnet's 5-yard touchdown sealed the victory. Cal punted to recover the ball, and the Bruins almost ran out of time before giving it up on downs with 1:58 left.
The Golden Bears seemed to have continued their drive and were poised for a possible game-tying drive when they converted on fourth down, but Medrano forced Ott to fumble, and Thompson-Robinson kneeled it out for the victory.
UCLA will have to wait at least another week to find out where they will play their bowl game since they did not perform well enough over the last several weeks to guarantee a position in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
This may have been many players' last game wearing the blue and gold since so many players are aiming to go pro this summer and because the transfer portal will likely open in the coming weeks. No matter who will remain around for the long haul, they all came out on top, sending the Bruins into the playoffs on a positive note.
From Ecomhao
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