Seattle, WA – The UCLA Bruins (5-2, 3-1) ran out the clock on the comeback effort from the Washington Huskies (2-4, 1-2), winning on the road 24-17 at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium on Saturday, October 16th, 2021.
Led by quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the Bruins appeared to have the game in control at multiple points. As a result of faltering defense and sputtering offensive drives, however, they allowed the Huskies a chance to claw their way back on several occasions.
The Huskies scored first on the night with a 25-yard Peyton Henry field goal just over five and a half minutes into the first quarter.
From there, the Bruins bullied their way to a 17-3 lead.
First was a 17-yard touchdown strike from Thompson-Robinson to wide receiver Kam Brown, which gave UCLA their first lead with 29 seconds left in the first.
Then Nicholas Barr-Mira delivered on a 39-yard field goal try to put the Bruins up 10-3.
With 3:33 remaining in the second quarter, Thompson-Robinson found the endzone for the second time on the night, this time on a 1-yard quarterback sneak that the Huskies initially looked to have stood up short.
Despite the apparent momentum disadvantage, the Huskies began their climb back into the game when quarterback Dylan Morris dropped a 26-yard, over-the-shoulder pass to wide receiver Rome Odunze in the back corner of the end zone with less than a minute remaining in the half.
Morris scored again with a 1-yard rushing touchdown of his own in the third quarter, followed by the point-after from Henry to even the score at 17-17.
The teams traded unsuccessful drives in the fourth quarter before UCLA regained the lead, this time for good, with another Thompson-Robinson touchdown pass to tight end Greg Dulcich with 8:19 remaining.
The Huskies’ hopes of another comeback drive ended when Dylan Morris threw his second interception of the game on a deep pass up the middle near the UCLA goal line, giving the Bruins a final possession to wind the remaining time with their potent rushing attack.
Thompson-Robinson finished with 183 yards through the air, along with the two passing touchdowns, on 21-of-26 attempts. He also tallied 87 rushing yards on 12 carries and the rushing touchdown.
Morris, meanwhile, tallied 184 yards on 20-of-30 passing attempts with the lone touchdown through the air and two interceptions, plus a single rushing touchdown.
UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet led the Bruins’ ground attack with 131 yards on 21 carries.
The Bruins return home for a showdown with No. 9 Oregon at the Rose Bowl next week, while the Huskies will head to the desert to take on Arizona in a Friday Night matchup on Friday, October 22nd.
