UCLA
2-8 , 2-5
Arizona State
6-4 , 4-3
UCLA Falls to Arizona State, 31-28
November 10, 2018 | Football
UCLA battled until the end against Arizona State, but the Bruins' comeback attempt in the final minute and a half fell short in a 31-28 loss in Tempe.
Down by just three with a minute and a half to play, UCLA quarterback Wilton Speight had a chance to lead the Bruins to a game-tying or game-winning drive. It started out promising with two quick passes to Chase Cota to move the ball up to the UCLA 41, but a sack and fumble on the next play dropped the Bruins back to the 33, and back-to-back false starts took yardage back and time off the clock to dash UCLA's comeback hopes.
"You've got to execute," said UCLA head coach Chip Kelly. "They executed better than we executed, and that's what the bottom line is. I think our guys played with great effort, but if we're going to hurt ourselves, then we're not going to win football games in this conference."
Speight threw for a UCLA-best 335 yards on 26-of-35 passing and two touchdowns. Tight end Caleb Wilson made 11 receptions for a season-high 164 yards and two touchdowns. Arizona State quarterback Manny Wilkins rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another, while running back Eno Benjamin rushed for 182 yards and one touchdown.
After Arizona State (6-4, 4-3 in the Pac-12) opened the game with a field goal, the Bruins clinically answered with a seven-play touchdown drive on their first possession, topped by a two-yard rushing touchdown by Kelley, his sixth-straight game with a touchdown.
The Bruins (2-8, 2-5) had a drive stall early in the second quarter when they were stopped on fourth and one on the ASU 14, and the Sun Devils took advantage, driving 85 yards down the field and regaining the lead with a 13-yard touchdown run by Manny Wilkins. Two plays after the Bruins missed a 44-yard field goal, the momentum quickly shifted back to UCLA when Darnay Holmes scored on a pick-six, returning an interception for a 31-yard touchdown to give UCLA a 14-10 lead with 4:36 to play in the half.
Arizona State scored a touchdown with just under a minute left in the second quarter to take a 17-14 lead into halftime.
The Sun Devils capitalized on an interception at the ASU 22 halfway through the third quarter, using a 41-yard run by Benjamin to drive down the field. The Bruins stopped ASU on third and goal on the three, but Benjamin ran it in on fourth and one at the one-yard line to increase the Sun Devils' lead to 24-14.
Speight brought UCLA right back in it with a six-play, 75-yard drive culminating in a 33-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Wilson that trimmed the lead to just three, 24-21. The Bruin defense came up with a big stop on the next drive, aided by a 10-yard sack by Lokenia Toailoa at the UCLA 22 at the end of the third quarter, to help keep the Sun Devils off the board.
ASU used a 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that ate up a whopping eight minutes of the clock to take a double-digit lead (31-21) into the final four minutes of the game, but Speight quickly marched the Bruins down the field, taking under two minutes to lead UCLA to a score on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Wilson.
The Bruins make it a 3 point game with under two minutes to go!
โ UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) November 10, 2018
Catch the finish on @Pac12Network. #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/lvDzPUsv7I
Down just 31-28 with under two minutes to play, the Bruins tried an onside kick and nearly recovered, but the Sun Devils fell on it at the UCLA 45. UCLA's defense stepped up, forcing ASU into a three-and-out, taking just 22 seconds off the clock. The Bruins regained the ball at their 20 with 1:33 to play, but a sack and two consecutive false starts killed time and yardage, and with no time outs remaining, UCLA faced 3rd and 23 at the Bruin 19 with under 10 seconds left, and Speight's pass fell incomplete as time expired.
Team Stats
UCLA 0, ASU 3
ASU - Ruiz, Brandon 34 yd field goal 13 plays, 60 yards, TOP 5:44
UCLA 7, ASU 3
UCLA - Kelley, Joshua 2 yd run (Molson, Jj kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:03
UCLA 7, ASU 10
ASU - Wilkins, Manny 13 yd run (Ruiz, Brandon kick), 7 plays, 85 yards, TOP 2:54
UCLA 14, ASU 10
UCLA - Holmes, Darnay 31 yd interception (Molson, Jj kick)
UCLA 14, ASU 17
ASU - Ralston, Nick 5 yd pass from Wilkins, Manny (Ruiz, Brandon kick) 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:38
UCLA 14, ASU 24
ASU - Benjamin, Eno 1 yd run (Ruiz, Brandon kick), 7 plays, 76 yards, TOP 2:34
UCLA 21, ASU 24
UCLA - Wilson, Caleb 33 yd pass from Speight, Wilton (Molson, Jj kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:00
UCLA 21, ASU 31
ASU - Wilkins, Manny 1 yd run (Ruiz, Brandon kick), 15 plays, 80 yards, TOP 8:05
UCLA 28, ASU 31
UCLA - Wilson, Caleb 10 yd pass from Speight, Wilton (Molson, Jj kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:59
