Bo Nix (#10) on the run. Photo by Evan Luecke / fi360 News
Eugene, OU – In the second quarter, Oregon’s offense seized over and didn’t let up, propelling the Ducks to a 45-30 victory over UCLA on Saturday in Eugene, Oregon.
A unexpected onside kick in the first quarter gave Oregon the lead, and to start the game, they scored on six successive possessions, including five straight touchdowns. UCLA had six of its seven possessions result in a score, but it only managed three field goals.
Photo by Evan Luecke / fi360 News
“We can’t trade 3’s for 7’s,” said Ucla Coach Chip Kelly.
This being the third time Chip Kelly visits Eugene as UCLA’s head coach that didn’t work out for a victory.
The Bruins’ unbeaten season and nine-game winning run came to an end when they were upset 45-30 by No. 10 Oregon. In Autzen Stadium, where the Bruins haven’t triumphed since 2004, No. 9 UCLA (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) was defeated by Oregon for the eighth time in a row.
The last time the Bruins won in Autzen was behind the legs of Maurice Jones-Drew tumbling into the end zone.
As the final unbeaten club in the Pac-12 rankings UCLA falls, the Ducks (6-1, 4-0) moved to the top of the conference.
Photo by Evan Luecke / fi360 News
UCLA moved the ball with 27 of 39 passes by Dorian Thompson-Robinson resulted in 262 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Jake Bobo the top receiver who had eight grabs for 101 yards and a touchdown, and running back Zach Charbonnet added 136 rushing yards on the ground and a score on just 19 carries.
“I would love that. I hope they win out, and we’re going to do the same, so we can try to see them in the Pac-12 championship.” said Thompson-Robinson.
Bo Nix, the quarterback, stood out with 278 yards and five touchdowns on 22 of 27 passes. Against UCLA’s renowned run defense, which was rated second in the Pac-12 and gave up 99 running yards per game, the Ducks gained 248 yards on the ground.
Photo by Evan Luecke / fi360 News
The Bruins will learn from being in this high intense game on the road. Now they will go back to Westwood to prepare for Stanford who will travel down to Pasadena for a late 7:30pm ESPN kickoff.
The Ducks will travel to Berkley to play the Cal Bears at 12:30pm next Saturday.
Seattle, WA – In the final game of their opening homestand, the Seattle Kraken showed great fight in a near comeback effort against the St. Louis Blues.
That comeback effort fell just short, as the Kraken gave up the game winning goal in overtime to the Blues. Although this was Seattle’s third straight loss, going winless on their opening homestand, the Kraken locker room was much more chipper after this one. Seattle is happy with the resilience and effort that they showed, which could give them good momentum heading onto the road.
A sub-issue for the Kraken in relation to their general defensive issues has been their early game goal allowance, which pits the team in a hole right away. While Seattle was able to postpone the early goals past the first four minutes (an issue in the first game of the season and first two of the homestand), the Blues broke through seven minutes into the first period and then got two goals within 17 seconds of each other later on into the initial frame. The Kraken continue to put themselves in a hole early on, but the fight that Seattle showed today was a positive. Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol spoke about the positives to take from this game.
“We played a good hockey game… we regained our composure and played a hell of a hockey game. I don’t think we’re in a funk… This is our hockey team, what you saw tonight. Tonight, is a good standard to go off of,” Hakstol stated.
Seattle forward Ryan Donato was a fan favorite last year, embodying an underdog spirit and always showing heart on the ice. While it wasn’t a certainty that he was going to return to the Kraken, Donato has already begun to pay dividends on his new one-year deal. Tonight’s performance was throwback Donato, as he made an impact all across the three periods. A fight in the first period defended rookie teammate Shane Wright, and ignited his time. A goal in the second period got his team back in the game and ignited the comeback that Seattle almost completed in order to get the two points. In addition to the fight and scoring, the goal Donato scored helped to give rookie teammate Shane Wright his first NHL point. Donato spoke about Wright, postgame.
“I don’t know why I’ve scored on Matty’s first point and now Shane’s, maybe it’s the young legs. Playing with Shane, he’s obviously new to a lot of the stuff that is going on around here. He’s gaining more confidence; I think people can see that. He’s fun to play with, and hopefully he can keep climbing and building off of what he’s doing,” Donato said.
While prevalent earlier on (see St. Louis goals number two and three), the Kraken seemed to be able to protect the puck slightly better as they settled in. Seattle actually was taking advantage of the poor puck management of St. Louis, who seemed to still be finding their footing in the early part of the season. It seemed like the Kraken were going to be able to swing the pendulum their way and pick up a good win until they again made a poorly timed and placed turnover. Justin Schultz failed to properly clear the puck in his own defensive zone, leading to an easy game winner for St. Louis. Until the Kraken can properly clean up their defensive mistakes, Seattle will not be able to unlock their full potential.
Following their winless opening homestand, the Kraken will head on the road for two games. The first of those two will be against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche, this Friday, October 21st at 6PM PST. Seattle and Colorado will collide at Ball Arena, as both teams will look for a win after suffering losses in their previous contests.
Seattle, WA – Just a few days after their tough loss to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the Seattle Kraken were drubbed again, but this time to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Kraken continue to struggle defensively, without much indication that those issues will be corrected in the immediate future. In the middle of a tough stretch, Seattle will need to find quick fixes in order to not get blown out in their upcoming games.
Outside of the 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, the Kraken have showed many similar defensive characteristics to their inaugural season. Bad habits linger, whether it’s getting lost in transition, bad turnovers, failing to get in proper lanes, amongst others. The Kraken could be a force if their defense put it together in addition to their newly acquired sharp shooters and power play. Seattle simply continues to show lack of consistent competence, and it will sink their ship if things don’t turn around. Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol discussed the difficulty of making mistakes against good teams like Carolina, postgame.
“You make mistakes against good teams, especially when they put you under pressure, and that’s gonna come back to haunt you, that happened to us tonight. There are several different points in the hockey game where that happened. We took three minor penalties in a row in the middle of the second, what lead to the first one though
was a turnover… it’s little thing that got us tonight, against a good team,” Hakstol stated.
Offseason signing Andre Burakovsky has already begun to pay dividends for Seattle, now firmly atop the teams point total at this time in the season. The two-time Stanley Cup Champion brings quality finishing and experience to the Kraken, and he has shown that early on, including his power play goal in this game. Just a few seconds into Seattle’s third power play, Jordan Eberle whipped a cross ice past in front of net to Andre Burakovsky. On Canes netminder Frederik Andersen’s weak side, Burakovsky wedged a shot into the small arm to blocker window to tally his 300th career point. Postgame, Burakovsky discussed his offensive contributions to the team.
“I want to make an impact all the time, scoresheet or not. I know that it’s coming on the score sheet, but I need to keep play better too. Handle pucks better, better plays, I think that reflects on everyone and the game today. Same as last game, I think we’re giving the puck away too easily. We gotta be better,” Burakovsky remarked.
This three game homestand for Seattle doesn’t get any easier as it finishes and then transitions into a road trip with a tough start. The Kraken welcome the St. Louis Blues to town for their next contest, a hockey team that made it to the second round of the playoffs this past year. To begin their road trip, Seattle heads to Colorado to take on the defending champion Avalanche. Things will not get easier for a team trying to figure things out, but the Kraken will have to find a way to piece things together if they want to stand a chance.
The Kraken will play the third and final game of their first homestand of the year on Wednesday, October 19th against the St. Louis Blues. Puck drop is at 7PM PST inside of Climate Pledge Arena, as the Kraken will play another good team. In addition to the game itself, Seattle will be honoring legendary Sue Bird throughout the entirety of the night.
INGLEWOOD, CA– After two straight losses it was clear the Los Angeles Rams offense needed to find other weapons besides Cooper Kupp, on Sunday, October 16th. Wide Receivers Allen Robinson and Ben Skowronek scored touchdowns in the Rams convincing bounce back win over the Carolina Panthers, 24-10 at Sofi Stadium.
The Rams improve to (3-3) on the season, ending their two game skid behind a ferocious defense and Allen Robinson’s coming out party of sorts. Robinson came over from the Chicago Bears in the off-season, yet has been widely ignored until Sunday when Stafford finally realized the value and tremendous skill Robinson possesses.
Robinson had his breakout performance as a Rams, five catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. Ben Skowronek also scored a touchdown on a thrilling 17 yard jet sweep, which gave Los Angeles the lead once again, this time for good.
Los Angeles trailed 10-7 at halftime. “Those are the games that are fun,” said Kupp postgame. “You don’t like how things are going offensively in the first half but you really like having a bunch of guys being able to contribute, and seeing other guys succeed and feeling like it was something we did together as a team.”
Running back Darrell Henderson Jr. had a touchdown and 43 rushing yards. Henderson must continue to improve, because he’s our primary running back at the moment. Cam Akers was dismissed from the team this week after a conflict with the coaching staff. The Rams are attempting to trade Akers.
Although the Rams got the victory, it was far from a terrific game. Considering the Carolina Panthers were without starting Quarterback Baker Mayfield, as well as the fallout from Head Coach Matt Rhule being fired the previous week.
This game was too close for comfort. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw an interception resulting in a pick six by Donte Jackson giving the Panthers a 10-7 edge. Failing to put the Panthers away allowed them to stay close until 2:25 left in the 4th quarter.
Stafford went 26 of 33 for 253 yards, one touchdown and an interception. On the bright side Stafford was only sacked once, a big improvement from last week when he was sacked five times by the Dallas Cowboys.
Rams Safety Nick Scott intercepted Jacob Eason’s pass in the end zone to seal the victory. Carolina had a meager 203 yards of total offense thanks to the Rams Stout defense. Carolina Panthers Running Back Christian McCaffrey had 158 yards from scrimmage, but was tackled with a clean, hard hit by Rams Cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
The Los Angeles Rams have a bye week before hosting our arch nemesis, the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners have beaten the Rams seven consecutive times in the regular season, including a dominant victory over the defending Super Bowl Champions on Monday Night Football 24-9.
A classic rivalry will be renewed on Sunday, October 30 from Sofi Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 1:25 p.m., every Rams fan needs to be there so it will not be a sea of red and gold.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA- OCTOBER 15, 2022. The San Jose Sharks loose to the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2. Photo credit Jorge Birelas / fi360 News
San Jose, CA- Going into the game both teams were winless, but after a scoring frenzy by the Chicago Blackhawks, it was clear who the better team was tonight. Sam Lafferty of Chicago was the big man on campus with 2 shorthanded goals. In the first period San Jose was up 2-0 thanks to goals by Nico Strum and Erik Karlsson, but would be the last for the boys in teal all game.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA- OCTOBER 15, 2022. The San Jose Sharks loose to the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2. Photo credit Jorge Birelas fi360 News
Chicago captain Jonathan Toews scored the Blackhawks first goal, then Lafferty put them in the lead 3-2 with his back to back goals while trying to kill a penalty. In the 3rd period the bleeding would get worse with 2 breakaway goals by Chicago (one by Raddysh and another by Dickinson) ending the game 5-2. This game was goalie Kaapo Kahkonen’s second game in net and right now, his record is 0-2, allowing a total of 8 goals in both games.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA- OCTOBER 15, 2022. The San Jose Sharks loose to the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2. Photo credit Jorge Birelas fi360 News
The Sharks will be going on a east coast road trip after this game where they will face Stanley Cup contenders, so the road of rebuilding for this team will only get rougher. As far as for Chicago, they will have 5 days off and time to relish in the win tonight.
A positive for San Jose is that before the game, they recognized the franchise’s first ever team captain and GM for 19 years, Doug Wilson. After a beautiful speech from Wilson himself, the team raised a banner to honor him. In Doug Wilson’s speech he passed the torch to new GM Mike Greir, saying “The city of San Jose will be proud of what this man can do for the franchise.”
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA- OCTOBER 15, 2022. The San Jose Sharks loose to the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2. Photo credit Jorge Birelas fi360 News
Even though the Sharks couldn’t celebrate a victory on this festive evening, this game was a reminder that this new era of the Sharks will take time and there will be some rough games like this one along the way.
The Sharks will travel to face the New York Islanders on Tuesday October 18 at 4:30pm.
California safety Daniel Scott (32) dives to tackle Colorado receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig (1) in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO on Saturday October 15, 2022. Colorado won in overtime 20 to 13. (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).
Boulder, CU- When Colorado needed a big play Montana “Mr. Inglewood” Lemonious-Craig (1) was there to snag winning touchdown in overtime for the 20-13 victory of Cal for the team first of the year.
Lemonious-Craig was a favorite target for both quarterbacks Owen McCown (#7) who completed 13/21 for 104 yards with an interception and J.T. Shrout was 8/12 for 69 yards and winning touchdown. Lemonious-Craig caught 8 passes for 119 yards on the Bears defense.
“I knew I was in on the touchdown,” said Lemonious-Craig, “I got up and told the ref, ‘Come on, give it to me, please.’ He didn’t, but we reviewed and they gave me the touchdown.”
Colorado interim coach Mike Sandford raises in hands to the refs questioning a flag in the first quarter against California at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO on Saturday October 15, 2022. Colorado won in overtime 20 to 13. (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).
Colorado new coach Mike Sanford Jr. who just took over the team is not 1-0 to break in his coaching debut. This game was the team first win of the season and a conference PAC-12 win too. Now the Buffalos are 1-5 on the season looking for more wins this season.
“This is all for the players, this is all about the players,” Sanford said. “This is all about their response, their resolve. The stuff that I said here 10 days ago, everyone thought I was crazy when I talked about what an unbelievable group of resilient fighters that we have in our locker room. I think everybody had a chance to see that on full display today.”
California running back Jaydn Ott (6) is tackled by Colorado linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo (8), safety Trevor Woods (43) and defensive lineman Na’im Rodman (91) in the first quarter at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO on Saturday October 15, 2022. Colorado won in overtime 20 to 13. (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).
The defense started the game off in the right direction with an interception of Cal’s Jake Plummer on the first series on 3rd and 10 by converted wide receiver Jordyn Tyson (#4) at Safety. This first turnover of the game would set up good mojo for the Buffaloes early.
Plummer did pass for 262 yards on 29/52 passes with a touchdown and that interception. He hit 10 different targets in this game. Marvin Anderson (#11) Cal caught 6 passes for 61 yards to lead in yards receiving. While the lone touchdown pass went to J.Michael Sturdivant (#7) who also caught 6 passes for 45 yards.
The fourth quarter was highest scoring with a Buffaloes touchdown and field goal, with the Bears coming up big with it’s second field goal of the quarter to send this game into overtime tied at 13 – 13.
Colorado running back Anthony Hankerson (22) cuts back against California in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO on Saturday October 15, 2022. Colorado won in overtime 20 to 13. (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).
The Buffaloes running game did do a little damage on the Bears with 118 tough yards. Running back Anthony Hankerson (#22) who carried the ball 16 times for 47 yards and that solo rushing touchdown for the game.
Sanford Jr. being a former quarterback when he played at Boise St had his backs nice a calm and prepared for what Cal would pressure.
Colorado linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo (8) celebrates his tackle for a loss in the first quarter against California at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO on Saturday October 15, 2022. Colorado won in overtime 20 to 13. (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).
“Shoot, the monkey was off the back, man,” said Sanford, “I ain’t win a game since Nov. 27 last year. It’s been a little minute.”
Now Colorado will travel to Oregon State on Oct 22 for a 6pm kickoff. Then Cal will host Washington that night at 7:30pm for Hall of Fame Game.
“Chip” leads Colorado out of the tunnel prior to game against California at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO on Saturday October 15, 2022. Colorado won in overtime 20 to 13. (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).
Seattle, WA – In their second home opener in franchise history, the Seattle Kraken were blown out 5-2 by the Las Vegas Golden Knights. After a semi-successful three point start over two games, the Kraken looked like the same team from year one in their first game inside Climate Pledge Arena this season. The Kraken will need to shore up their continued defensive issues even they truly plan to improve off of their inaugural season. The Kraken remain winless against Las Vegas, now losing all five contests against the Golden Knights in their existence.
The main issue for Seattle in their first year, and now being carried over into their second year, is the poor play from the defenseman that usually hangs their goaltending out too dry. Yes, there has been some poor play from the Kraken goaltenders, but the vast majority of the time the Seattle defense just plays incredibly unorganized. In the first period of this game, the Kraken failed to remain in their defensive assignments, following the puck and allowing open ice for easy shots on goal. Head coach Dave Hakstol discussed his team’s defensive miscues postgame.
“We weren’t sharp with the puck. Right from the start of the hockey game, we were stuck in quick sand for the first ten minutes of this game and couldn’t get our feet going. From there, once we steadied our game a bit, we didn’t execute with the puck. Looking at the opportunities that we gave them in transition right off of our tape, whether it be on entry, slow forechecks. We put pucks in bad areas and just didn’t get there, as well as other turnovers. They killed us on transition,” Hakstol remarked.
Photo by Aaron Nelson / fi360 News
Seattle was finally able to break the five-goal shutout, but not until late in the third period. Offseason signing Justin Schultz was able to find the back of the net on a wide-open trail to the net. Assistant captain Jordan Eberle found Schultz wide open, and simple one-timer beat Adin Hill in goal for Las Vegas. To get their second goal of the night, another new addition chipped in as Andre Burakovsky lasered a pass to Jaden Schwartz right in front of the net for a chip in. Alas, these were too little too late for Seattle. Despite his goal that broke the shutout, Schultz opted to reflect on what went wrong in this game.
“I don’t think we had the energy we had in the first two games for whatever reason. It was a tough back-to-back, not much rest, but that’s no excuse. We gotta start better. With a start like we had tonight, it’s up to us to start better,” Schultz said.
Despite showing offensive and scoring improvements through their first three games, the Kraken remain in a decently similar situation to their first year of play because of how poorly their defense has played overall. While it is still early, Seattle brass has said that they want to and aim to compete this season. With losses like this still occurring, head coach Dave Hakstol needs to find a way to get his defensemen’s head on straight going forward, or the Kraken may find a second head coach sooner rather than later.
The Kraken will continue a tough three game homestand when they welcome the Carolina Hurricanes to town on Monday, October 17th. Seattle will welcome the 2-0-0 Hurricanes to Climate Pledge Arena looking to bounce back, which isn’t totally out of the question when we take a look at the last time these two hockey teams met here. The
Kraken were able to upset Carolina with a late Marcus Johansson wrap around, so hopefully Seattle can find another gritty win over the Hurricanes in this one.
San Diego, CA – On Saturday evening, San Diego State welcomed the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors to Snapdragon Stadium for a Mountain West conference matchup. This game came on the heels of a loss to Boise St. where starting quarterback Braxton Burmeister left the game with a concussion. He practiced this week but wasn’t cleared for the game, so that left safety Jalen Mayden to take the helm. Luckily, Jalen has a strong history at the quarterback position. Coming out of high school he was a four star recruit at quarterback, but switched to safety after transferring from Mississippi St.
Photo by Rashad Griffin Sr. / fi360 News
The first half of this game was a defensive battle where both offenses struggled to gain any type of momentum for the most part. There was a small glimmer of light towards the end of the half, the Aztecs were able sustain a nice drive and get into field goal range to put them up 3-0. In the second half we saw the offense start to catch their groove behind the arm of Mayden. He threw for 159 yards in the fourth quarter and 322 for the game with a touchdown. With 1:19 left in the game, down one, Mayden was able to march down the field completing all five of his passes for 50 yards to set up a game winning field goal by Jake Browning. Aztecs won 16-14, and Jalen went on to talk about his position change postgame.
“Me and coach had an agreement that whatever I need to do for the team and he feels he can see me there, I’ll be able to do it. Once he told me the team rallied around me and it just got itself done.”
Photo by Rashad Griffin Sr. / fi360 News
Head Coach Brady Hoke went on to praise the adaptability of Jalen after the game.
“[On Jalen Mayden] He is an intelligent guy so he can pick up things really well… just like Jalen said, I asked him if he was interested and he said ‘if it helps the team I’ll do it’… that’s pretty cool you don’t see that in this day and age.”
After a performance like that, the question is do you roll with the hot quarterback or go back to Braxton. Coach Hoke said that there will be a competition so we’ll find out after the bye week who the starting quarterback will be.
Los Angeles, CA – The USC defense held Washington State scoreless in the second half and defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu had three sacks in a 30-14 victory over the Cougars Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Travis Dye rushed for 149 yards and Caleb Williams threw two touchdowns to Mario Williams to help the Trojans remain unbeaten. USC is 6-0 to start the season since 2006.
Photo by Full Image 360
“Really, really tough, hard-fought win,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said. “We talked to the guys all week about how circumstances don’t make or break you whether they are positive or negative.
The Trojans defense played well despite not having linebacker Shane Lee, who was out with an injury and losing starting safety Calen Bullock to a disqualification due to a targeting penalty.
“When you lose two of our best players, two of our leaders, you’ve got to have everybody step up,” Riley said. “We had a lot of guys step up. The defensive front had a dominant game.”
Photo by Full Image 360
The offense struggled at times but got key scores when they needed it. Williams finished 15 of 29 for 188 yards.
USC took a 7-0 lead on it’s opening drive when Williams connected with a wide-open Mario Williams for a 38-yard touchdown. The Trojans added a 31-yard field goal to take a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
Washington State opened the second quarter with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Cameron Ward to Robert Ferrel. After forcing the Trojans to punt, the Cougars drove down the field and scored on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Ward to Nakia Watson. Washington State took a 14-10 lead in the second quarter.
Photo by Full Image 360
USC marched down the field with an 11-play, 65-yard drive that was capped by a 4-yard touchdown run from Travis Dye to give the Trojans a 17-14 lead with 2:10 remaining in the second quarter.
“All credit goes to the O-line,” Dye said. “That defensive line is crazy good, and that defensive coordinator can really dial it up. The O-line was identifying everything and blocking it. It was wonderful tonight, all credit to them.”
Williams gave USC a 24-17 lead with a 24-yard pass to Mario Williams. Denis Lynch added two field goals in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Photo by Full Image 360
USC will go on the road to play Utah on Saturday, Oct. 15.
Logan Loya (17) goes in for a touchdown. (Photo by Full Image 360)
Pasadena, CA – A 3-0 record coming into Pac-12 play still had many Bruin fans wondering if this team was ready to compete. A thrashing on the road against Colorado made some heads turn. But the monumental upset win over Washington gave the UCLA faithful finally something to get excited about in October.
So here comes 11th ranked Utah to the Rose Bowl, where their only true competitive game so far was a Florida game where they lost the lead near the end of the game. Since then, each of their games have been clinched by more than three touchdowns. Today, the tables were turned with UCLA never letting go of their lead and dominating in the fourth quarter. UCLA’s 42-32 win now has some of the Bruin faithful wondering if they should be having some different conversations amongst themselves.
Safety Mo Osling III comes up tackle. (Photo by Full Image 360)
“They understand how you train during the week and how well you play on Saturdays,” Bruins head coach Chip Kelly said. “We are playing six games into the season, and you are seeing the results from what we are doing on a week by week basis.”
“I definitely wanted this one.” Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson Robinson said. “The point differential in the past has been crazy. It was a very very proud moment for me to see everyone happy after a win like this.”
This could very well be Kelly’s best game as UCLA’s head coach. There was no sense of panic. There was no sense of anyone being confused on what to run and where to be. While it may have taken Kelly a few years to establish some stability, the Bruins could find themselves into the top 15 with their bye week approaching.
Dorian Thompson Robinson paid his dividends in a big way with five total touchdowns, four in the air. His patience with the ball was by far one of his best, going 18-for-23, 8 pass completions going for more than 5 yards.
DTR (1) breaks around end for a touchdown. (Photo by Full Image 360)
“It is important how good Dorian has become,” Kelly said. “There has been so much investment in what he is doing, and you are seeing the result on the field. When you see the list of quarterbacks that he surpassed to be the number one quarterback in touchdowns thrown, that’s a big deal.”
“From all the hard times I have went through, back and forth,” Thompson Robinson said. I am so thankful to be a part of this team and celebrate so many great accomplishments already this season.”
Zach Charbonnet had a blast when it came to pounding the Bruin running game. In the first half alone, Charbonnet’s 93 of his 125 yards rushing came on two plays. Both set up scoring drives. He finished with a total of 198 yards on the ground.
“We got a lot of good looks that we wanted, and our offensive line played great,” Charbonnet said. “Everyone read the blocks they needed, making this a complete game for all of us.”
Zach Charbonnet in stride. (Photo by Full Image 360)
Dorian Thompson Robinson also has shown patience and offensive IQ. Going 10-for-12 in the first half, his two scoring touchdown drives were near perfect, selling a QB draw to the endzone and a play action 10 yards from the goalline finding Jake Bobo in the back of the endzone.
Taking a 14-10 lead into the locker room at the break, the Bruins were all about playing level. In both possessions the Bruins found the endzone with Thompson Robinson’s arm. In both possessions they again relied on the running game with Charbonnet and Keegan Allen.
Starting the fourth, the Bruins essentially had a chance to wrap the game up. On 4th and 3 from near midfield, defensive lineman Jay Toia jumps offside, giving the Utes a free first down. Three plays later Cameron Rising keeps the ball for a nine yard touchdown run, cutting the Bruin lead to 3. But on the ensuing Bruin possession, two plays and 70 yards later, Thompson Robinson again finds Logan Loya wide open up the middle, giving the Bruins the ten point lead yet again.
Signals first down. (Photo by Full Image 360)
Utah eventually runs out of luck coughing up the football on 4th and 1 with Darius Muasau scooping up an easy fumble running just shy to the goalline. UCLA scores one play later.
The Bruins are now 6-0 for the first time since 2005 in the Karl Dorrell era. With Utah now crossed off their list, their real final hurdle in October awaits them in two weeks heading to Oregon. Should the Bruins win, do we dare call it an upset?
“It is about how much work you put in,” Kelly said. Once you get across the white line you have to put the work in. The best thing this team does is come into work every day. I am so happy that these guys are buying into what we are doing.”
