UCLA
Colorado
No. 24 UCLA Downs Colorado, 35-31
October 31, 2015 | Football
PASADENA, Calif. - Paul Perkins rushed for 118 yards on 12 carries to help the No. 24 UCLA football team edge Colorado, 35-31, in a Pac-12 contest at the Rose Bowl on Saturday afternoon.
UCLA led 21-6 at halftime, but saw Colorado secure a 31-28 lead in the fourth quarter after scoring 18 consecutive points. The visiting Buffaloes (4-5, 1-4) set a school record by running 114 offensive plays, but could not score on its final two drives with UCLA ahead, 35-31.
The Bruins (6-2, 3-2) denied Colorado on a 4th-and-4 situation with 3:34 to play, and after the Buffaloes regained possession in the final 90 seconds, UCLA's Nate Meadors intercepted Colorado quarterback Sefo Liufau with 51 seconds to play.
Bruins' quarterback Josh Rosen completed 19 of 33 passes for 262 yards and one touchdown.
Colorado finished with 554 yards of total offense. Liufau threw for 312 yards, completing 37 of 58 passes and throwing two touchdowns. Patrick Carr rushed for 100 yards on 19 carries, and Donovan Lee accrued 62 rushing yards on 13 attempts.
Buffaloes' kicker Diego Gonzalez was 3-for4 on field goals, connecting from 25, 23 and 45 yards.
Trailing by a 31-28 margin, Bruins' running back Soso Jamabo capped a four-play, 69-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown carry. Jamabo's game-winning score helped UCLA snap Colorado's 18-0 second-half scoring run.
The Buffaloes had scored 18 straight points, starting at the 1:06 mark in the third quarter on Gonzalez's third field goal of the afternoon, a 45-yard kick.
Colorado followed with a pair of touchdowns to take a 31-28 lead. The Buffaloes capitalized on a fumble by Rosen, who was stripped of the ball while being sacked. Samson Kafovalu recovered the football, racing 33 yards and into the end zone with 14:37 left in the final quarter.
With UCLA ahead, 28-23, Colorado forced the Bruins to punt before taking the lead on two plays. Liufau completed a 62-yard pass to Devin Ross before Carr had a six-yard touchdown run with 12:04 remaining. A successful two-point conversion put Colorado ahead, 31-28.
In a first half dominated by UCLA, the Bruins used two long scoring plays in the second quarter to lead 21-3. Ishmael Adams intercepted a pass from Liufau and returned it 96 yards for the score at the 7:01 mark to push the Bruins ahead, 14-0. After a Colorado field goal, Perkins had an 82-yard touchdown run to give UCLA a 21-3 cushion.
Gonzalez kicked his second field goal of the day as time expired in the second quarter, sending UCLA to the locker room with a 21-6 advantage.
Colorado began its third-quarter resurgence with a one-yard touchdown run by Donovan Lee at the end of an eight-play, 75-yard drive that reduced UCLA's cushion to 21-13.
The Bruins responded with a six-play, 81-yard drive capped by an 11-yard touchdown run from Nate Starks, putting UCLA ahead, 28-13, with 7:35 left in the third quarter.
UCLA returns to action at Oregon State on Saturday, Nov. 7. Game time in Corvallis, Ore., is 1:30 p.m. The Bruins' game at Oregon State will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
