UCLA 0/7/7/7 - 21
OREGON 14/7/7/14 - 42
EUGENE, OREGON - The Oregon special teams lived up to their name by setting up the Ducks’ first three touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead against the UCLA Bruins. The game was former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly’s first game at Autzen since he left in 2012 to coach the Philadelphia Eagles, it also snapped a two-game losing streak for the Ducks and earned them a bowl bid.
After Oregon’s opening possession ended with a punt from midfield, the Duck defense quickly put a stop to UCLA’s first drive. Then, senior safety Ugochukwu Amadi scored the game’s first touchdown by returning the proceeding punt 56 yards to give Oregon an early 7-0 lead. Dorian Thompson-Robinson and the Bruin offense managed to reach the Oregon 14-yard line, but freshman Jevon Holland snatched an interception in the end zone to keep UCLA scoreless. It appeared the Bruins would hold the Ducks to a field goal when on 3rd-and-10 a pass from Justin Herbert was broken up by Adarius Pickett, but coach Mario Cristobal mirrored vintage Chip Kelly by going for it on fourth down with a fake to much success. Blake Maimone rolled out with the ball after pretending to be a holder and found tight end Jacob Breeland who was able to bully his way to the Bruin one-yard line, where CJ Verdell was eager to pick up the easy score on the next play.
The Ducks were forced to punt on their next possession, but UCLA’s Pickett fumbled the catch, and Tony Brooks-James jumped on the ball at the Bruin 11 yard-line. Three plays later, Herbert found receiver Dillon Mitchell for the four-yard score to cap off a 21-0 run by the home team. Thompson-Robinson took advantage of a cover zero by finding Caleb Wilson for a 63-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 14 with 6:45 remaining in the second, but with a missed field goal from both teams neither offense was able to add to the score before the half.
UCLA failed to score on their opening drive of the second half, but the Bruin defense earned some much needed momentum by stopping Oregon’s offense on fourth-and-1 at the Bruin 47. However, that momentum was short-lived, because on the first play of UCLA’s next possession Thompson-Robinson fumbled the ball after a Justin Hollins sack. The senior linebacker not only forced the turnover, but also returned the fumble to the UCLA seven-yard line. The Ducks then took a 28-7 lead three plays later with a one-yard touchdown from Cyrus Habibi-Likio.
UCLA responded with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by a 25-yard Joshua Kelley touchdown run, but a few minutes later Oregon re-established the three-score lead with a 67-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell. Theo Howard scored for the Bruins with 8:12 left in the final quarter, but again, the Ducks answered with another long touchdown, this time a 54-yard run from Brooks-James to finish the scoring at 42 to 21. Not a very happy ‘welcome back’ party for Chip.
"We heard all week that today was about re-establishing an identity that was about physically running the football, I was really proud of the way we came out really committed to that. It just gives us confidence."
- Calvin Throckmorton
Oregon Offense (total: 492 - pass: 292 - rush: 200)
UCLA Offense (total: 496 - pass: 297 - rush: 199)
Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 3 - FUM: 2 - INT: 1)
UCLA Defense (forced turnovers: 0)
UO (6-3, 3-3) UCLA (2-7, 2-4)