PASADENA, Calif. - Josh Rosen threw for 267 yards and Soso Jamabo rushed for three touchdowns as the UCLA football team defeated UNLV, 42-21, in a non-conference game at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night.
The Bruins (1-1) scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to secure a 21-point lead after UNLV (1-1) had reduced UCLA's cushion to seven points, 28-21, midway through the third quarter.
Rosen, UCLA's sophomore quarterback, completed 23 of 38 passes in the team's second game of the season. He threw one touchdown pass and added a score on the ground.
The Bruins totaled 219 yards on the ground. Jamabo registered 90 yards on 11 carries, as all three of his touchdown runs came in the first half. Brandon Stephens finished with 71 yards on 11 attempts.
"It's good to get a win," UCLA head coach Jim Mora said. "That was a hard-fought game against a really worthy opponent. That's a [UNLV] team that has made a lot of improvement in a year, and their players are buying into their system."
UNLV quarterback Johnny Stanton completed 11 of 28 passes for 153 yards. Stanton had a 14-yard touchdown pass and one 11-yard touchdown run. UNLV running back Lexington Thomas recorded a game-high 112 rushing yards on 19 carries, including a long of 37 yards.
UCLA never trailed on Saturday night, playing before 63,712 fans in the team's home opener at the Rose Bowl.
The Bruins led by as many as 21 points late in the second quarter. UCLA secured a 28-7 lead with 3:49 to play before halftime on a 7-yard carry by Jamabo, his third rushing touchdown of the game.
UNLV responded with a touchdown in the final minute of the second quarter, cutting UCLA's advantage to 28-14. The Runnin' Rebels reduced the Bruins' cushion to 28-21 with 5:13 left in the third after Stanton's 11-yard touchdown carry.
UCLA's Bolu Olorunfunmi helped the Bruins push their lead back to 14 points, 35-21, with a one-yard carry at the 11:39 mark in the fourth quarter. Olorunfunmi's touchdown came after the Bruins drove 73 yards on 10 plays over three minutes.
UCLA pushed its margin back to 21 points, as Rosen kept the ball for a one-yard touchdown carry with 5:57 to play to cap the Bruins' 88-yard, 13-play drive.
The Bruins opened the scoring on their first drive of the game. Jamabo punched in the ball from three yards out, giving UCLA a 7-0 lead after a 14-play, 71-yard drive.
UNLV tied the game, 7-7, on its next drive. Thomas found the end zone with a 12-yard run at the 2:15 mark in the opening quarter, before the Bruins pushed their margin to 28-7 with a trio of touchdowns in the second quarter.
The Bruins return to action at BYU on Saturday, Sept. 17. Game time in Provo, Utah, is slated for 7:15 pm (PT). UCLA's game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.