UCLA vs Arizona State final score: Bruins, Brett Hundley dominant in 62-27 rout over Sun Devils
The pivotal Pac-12 showdown between the UCLA Bruins and the Arizona State Sun Devils was decided by the health of each team’s starting quarterbacks. Brett Hundley was healthy for the Bruins and reasserted himself as one of the nation’s best signal-callers and Mike Bercovici made a pair of costly mistakes in place of the injured Taylor Kelly as UCLA remained undefeated and knocked off the previously unbeaten Sun Devils, in Sun Devil Stadium.
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Playing without their star quarterback, the Sun Devils were led down the field on their opening drive by Bercovici who led the home team to a nine-play, 43-yard drive to get in position for Zane Gonzalez to drill a 49-yard field goal to take the early 3-0 lead.
UCLA equaled things up with a field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn after Eddie Vanderdoes forced a fumble from D.J. Foster as the Bruins got their first of many turnovers on the night.
Bercovici started to settle in after a shaky start and when the nerves dissipated and he got comfortable the Sun Devils began to move the ball and pick up some first downs. Bercovici led a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with his five-yard pass to Kody Kohl putting Arizona State up 10-3.
The Bruins got a second Fairbain field goal to make it a 10-6 game after a 43-yard pass from Brett Hundley to Thomas Duarte got UCLA closer to their Pac-12 south foes after one quarter in Sun Devil Stadium.
Arizona State didn’t appear like they were missing Kelly as the second quarter got underway with Bercovici looking comfortable in Todd Graham’s offense and his receivers Jaelen Strong and Cameron Smith getting open and making big catches.
Smith’s 29-yard touchdown reception 36 seconds in to the second quarter put the Sun Devils up 17-6 and it looked like they seized momentum.
As UCLA has done for much of the first half, the Bruins responded and on this drive wasted little time answering the touchdown as Hundley found freshman receiver Eldridge Massington for an 80-yard touchdown on third down after making four would-be tacklers miss and then streaking down the field for the score to make it 17-13.
Hundley and the Bruins would seize control and go to halftime after a huge swing in momentum in the final minutes of the first half as he connected with Nate Eise for a three-yard touchdown to finish with 219 yards and halftime on 15-of-20 passing and two touchdowns after questions about his availability earlier in the week.
On the ensuing drive, Bercovici led Arizona State in the 2-minute offense and got the team in position to at least tie the game up with a field goal, but an interception at the five-yard line by Ishmael Adams and his 95-yard return for a touchdown with two seconds left in the half gave the Bruins 14 points in 2:11 and a 27-17 lead at halftime.
The Bruins began the second half in the same way they ended the first half and that was with another big play as Hundley found Jordan Payton for teh first of two touchdowns on the night, this one going for an 80-yard score on the first play of the third quarter to give UCLA a 34-17 lead.
Arizona State tried to stop the wave of momentum that began to sink the Sun Devils in their home stadium but were stalled on the seven-yard line and had to settle for a Gonzalez field goal from 24 yards out, but then The Bruins put another nail in the coffin of the Bruins with Adams returning the ensuing kickoff for 100 yards.
A few quick jukes and a crushing block got Ishmael Adams loose for a 100-yard kickoff return for TD. https://t.co/tgpuFZJC1G
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) September 26, 2014
Bercovici had his third turnover of the evening on the next series for Arizona after he was stripped on a sack and two plays later a one-yard plunge from Nate Starks made it a 48-20 game as the Bruins scored five touchdowns in 8:46.
Arizona State could not overcome the absence of Kelly as Bercovici was pressured, flustered and overmatched as UCLA seized momentum on his back-breaking interception and they never looked back as the made a convincing statement with this Pac-12 win.
Hundley finished 18-of-23 passing with 355 yards and four touchdowns while adding 72 yards and a touchdown on the ground on eight carries to finish second on the team to Paul Perkins’ 137 yards on 17 carries.
Bercovici finished with nice box score numbers with yards and three touchdowns, but his back-breaking turnovers put the Sun Devils in a hole they couldn’t dig themselves out of as the Bruins were forced to abandon the run game as Foster finished with a season-low 30 yards on nine attempts. Arizona State hopes to have Kelly back for the USC Trojans next week.
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