UCLA
1-3 , 1-0
Washington State
3-1 , 0-1
UCLA Football Downs Washington State, 67-63
September 21, 2019 | Football
PULLMAN, Wash. – Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for a career-high 507 yards and totaled five touchdown passes as the UCLA football team took down No. 19 Washington State, 67-63, in a Pac-12 game on Saturday night at Martin Stadium.
Thompson-Robinson accounted for seven touchdowns – five in the air, plus his first two collegiate rushing touchdowns – in the Pac-12 opening game for both UCLA (1-3) and Washington State (3-1). He finished the game having connected on 25 of 38 passes while picking up 57 yards on the ground.
Thompson-Robinson became UCLA's first quarterback to throw for at least 500 yards in a game since Drew Olson tallied 510 passing yards against Arizona State on Nov. 12, 2005, at the Rose Bowl.
"They've got a lot of resolve, and we had played a really good schedule before this," UCLA head coach Chip Kelly said. "We felt like coming into this, we were battle-tested. Our kids were prepared to play four quarters, and that's where our schedule in the beginning of the year had helped us. Give our guys credit. Special teams contributed. Our offense contributed. The defense came up with key turnovers at good times. It's a big win for us."
POSTGAME REACTION: D. Thompson-Robinson | UCLA's Coach Kelly
Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon threw a school-record nine touchdown passes to six different receivers. Gordon completed 41 of 61 passes for 570 yards in the first meeting between both schools since 2016.
UCLA's Demetric Felton and Chase Cota each topped the 100-yard receiving plateau. Felton finished with seven catches (including two touchdowns) and 150 yards, while Cota registered four receptions for 147 yards.
UCLA had trailed by as many as 32 points (49-17) in the third quarter before stringing together a remarkable comeback. The Bruins took the lead for good in the game's final 70 seconds. Trailing by a 63-60 margin, UCLA forced a fumble with 2:27 to play and scored on a 15-yard completion from Thompson-Robinson to Felton with 67 seconds remaining.
Felton finished the victory with 263 all-purpose yards, netting 150 receiving yards, one 100-yard kickoff return and 13 rushing yards.
UCLA finished the game with 657 total offensive yards. The Bruins' 507 total passing yards ranked as the third-highest single-game total in program history (just six yards shy of the school record of 513, in a game at Miami in 1998).
The Bruins strung together four consecutive touchdowns in the second half to erase a 32-point deficit and later took a 60-56 lead. Trailing 49-17 midway through the third quarter, UCLA pulled to within 49-46 in the first minute of the fourth quarter. The Bruins scored a trio of touchdowns in less than three minutes to trim Washington State's cushion to just 49-38.
UCLA followed with a touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter, plus an ensuing two-point conversion, to pull to within 49-46.
Washington State scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to extend its cushion to 56-46. Gordon concluded the Cougars' nine-play drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Easop Winston at the 10:08 mark.
Thompson-Robinson guided the Bruins back down the field on a six-play drive that covered 70 yards. He carried the ball three yards for his second rushing touchdown of the night, pulling UCLA to within 59-56 of Washington State with 8:10 remaining.
UCLA regained the lead, at 60-56, on a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown by Kyle Philips with 7:31 left to play. Washington State answered on its next possession with a 65-yard touchdown pass from Gordon to Max Borghi with 6:11 to go in the final quarter.
The Bruins had trailed Washington State at halftime by a 35-17 margin.
UCLA secured the game's first lead less than two minutes into the contest, claiming a 7-0 advantage on Joshua Kelley's 14-yard pass reception from Thompson-Robinson. That marked Kelley's first-ever touchdown catch as a Bruin.
Washington State tied the contest with a touchdown after a nine-play, 75-yard drive with 10:14 to play in the first half. UCLA responded with a 31-yard field goal from JJ Molson at the 4:49 mark in the opening quarter to take a 10-7 lead.
The Cougars opened the second half with touchdowns on consecutive drives, pushing their advantage to 21-10 with 8:14 to play before halftime. Gordon's 28-yard touchdown pass to Winston put Washington State ahead, 14-10, before Gordon connected with Travell Harris on a 10-yard touchdown strike.
UCLA trimmed the Cougars' cushion to 21-17, returning the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. That marked the Bruins' longest kickoff return since Ishmael Adams returned a kickoff 100 yards versus Arizona State in 2014.
Washington State pushed ahead, 35-17, with an eight-play drive covering 60 yards and a seven-play drive that spanned 90 yards, both within the final four minutes of the second quarter.
In all, the two teams combined to score the most points ever in a Pac-12 contest (130). Previously, Cal and Washington State had tallied 119 points in Cal's 60-59 victory over the Cougars in 2014.
Team Stats
UCLA 7, WSU 0
UCLA - Kelley, Joshua 14 yd pass from Thmpsn-Robinson (Molson, JJ kick) 3 plays, 29 yards, TOP 0:34
UCLA 7, WSU 7
WSU - Winston, Easop 4 yd pass from Gordon, Anthony (Mazza, Blake kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:57
UCLA 10, WSU 7
UCLA - Molson, JJ 31 yd field goal 13 plays, 62 yards, TOP 5:25
UCLA 10, WSU 14
WSU - Winston, Easop 28 yd pass from Gordon, Anthony (Mazza, Blake kick) 5 plays, 78 yards, TOP 1:58
UCLA 10, WSU 21
WSU - Harris, Travell 10 yd pass from Gordon, Anthony (Mazza, Blake kick) 2 plays, 14 yards, TOP 0:41
UCLA 17, WSU 21
UCLA - Felton, D 100 yd kickoff return (Molson, JJ kick)
UCLA 17, WSU 28
WSU - Winston, Easop 3 yd pass from Gordon, Anthony (Mazza, Blake kick) 8 plays, 60 yards, TOP 3:59
UCLA 17, WSU 35
WSU - Martin, Tay 7 yd pass from Gordon, Anthony (Mazza, Blake kick) 7 plays, 90 yards, TOP 2:20
UCLA 17, WSU 42
WSU - Bell, Renard 35 yd pass from Gordon, Anthony (Mazza, Blake kick) 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:06
UCLA 17, WSU 49
WSU - Patmon, Dezmon 6 yd pass from Gordon, Anthony (Mazza, Blake kick) 1 plays, 6 yards, TOP 0:04
UCLA 24, WSU 49
UCLA - Thmpsn-Robinson 1 yd run (Molson, JJ kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:04
UCLA 31, WSU 49
UCLA - Cota, Chase 37 yd pass from Thmpsn-Robinson (Molson, JJ kick) 1 plays, 37 yards, TOP 0:07
UCLA 38, WSU 49
UCLA - Felton, D 94 yd pass from Thmpsn-Robinson (Molson, JJ kick) 1 plays, 94 yards, TOP 0:13
UCLA 46, WSU 49
UCLA - Asiasi, Devin 7 yd pass from Thmpsn-Robinson (Cota, Chase pass) 4 plays, 51 yards, TOP 1:08
UCLA 46, WSU 56
WSU - Winston, Easop 33 yd pass from Gordon, Anthony (Mazza, Blake kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:20
UCLA 53, WSU 56
UCLA - Thmpsn-Robinson 3 yd run (Molson, JJ kick), 6 plays, 70 yards, TOP 1:53
UCLA 60, WSU 56
UCLA - Philips, Kyle 69 yd punt return (Molson, JJ kick)
UCLA 60, WSU 63
WSU - Borghi, Max 65 yd pass from Gordon, Anthony (Mazza, Blake kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:20
UCLA 67, WSU 63
UCLA - Felton, D 15 yd pass from Thmpsn-Robinson (Molson, JJ kick) 4 plays, 26 yards, TOP 1:20
