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 UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley threw for 355 yards and four
touchdowns and rushed for another score, and the Bruins rolled to a
62-27 victory over the 15th-ranked Sun Devils.
As the Bruins did early warmups, "UCLA" was scratched onto the
maroon and gold symbol. Stadium personnel repainted the pitchfork,
and a security guard stood watch until moments before kickoff.
"I was just laughing about how frantic they rushed to the field to
cover it up," UCLA wide receiver Thomas Duarte said. "It was amusing
to see how serious they took it."
Hundley, showing no ill effects from the left elbow injury that
knocked him out in the first quarter of a victory over Texas on
Sept. 13, threw 80-yard touchdown passes to wide receivers Eldridge
Massington and Jordan Payton during a 42-3 run in the second and
third quarters that turned a 17-6 UCLA deficit into a 48-20 lead.
"The first series he seemed tight to me, just reading his body
language," UCLA coach Jim Mora said. "His eyes, the way he looked.
Then he just relaxed. He played fearless. That's what we were
looking for. I'm sure that's what he was looking for. Not worrying
about his elbow. Just playing."
Hundley completed 18 of 23 passes, tied a career-high with the four
touchdown passes and also rushed for 72 yards on eight attempts.
He received treatment every day since the Texas game, teammates
said, although Mora did not specify exactly when the medical staff
cleared Hundley to play.
"This is a violent game," UCLA defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich
said. "You are going to have to play when nicked and play well when
nicked. He did that today. It is a great reflection of who he is as
a football player and who he is as a man."
UCLA (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) scored five touchdowns in an eight-minute,
46-span beginning with Hundley's 3-yard scoring pass to tight end
Nate Iese with 2:13 left in the first half that gave the Bruins
their first lead, 20-17.
Bruins defensive back Ishmael Adams scored on a 95-yard interception
return with two seconds left in the first half and on a 100-yard
kickoff return with 9:08 remaining in the third quarter for a 41-20
lead.
In between, Hundley completed an 80-yard touchdown pass to Payton on
the first play of the second half. Two plays after Arizona State
quarterback Mike Bercovici fumbled, UCLA halfback Nate Starks scored
on a 1-yard run to make it 48-20 with 8:27 left in the third
quarter.
Bercovici, a junior making his first career start, threw for 488
yards with three touchdown passes and two interceptions. He finished
42-for-68, setting school records for attempts and completions.
Bercovici was replacing senior Taylor Kelly, who sustained a foot
injury in a 38-24 victory over Colorado on Sept. 13 and is expected
to miss at least one more game.
Arizona State (3-1, 1-1) produced 622 yards of total offense and
committed four turnovers, three by Bercovici, whose underthrown ball
led to Adams' 95-yard scoring return.
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"Unacceptable on my behalf," Bercovici said. "I have to understand
the situation. We have three points there, we have a great
field-goal kicker. I can't put the ball in jeopardy. It is a
learning experience. I will never do it again."
UCLA had 580 total yards and no turnovers, and four of its scoring
plays went at least 80 yards.
"That was embarrassing," Arizona State coach Todd Graham said. "It
was a frustrating night.
"We made a lot of catastrophic mistakes. We couldn't tackle, and I
thought we even got tired. I thought they would get tired. We only
played 58 plays on defense, and we struggled to get lined up at
times. The standard that we set here was not met tonight."
Sun Devils junior halfback D.J. Foster, who was fifth in the
Football Bowl Subdivision with an average of 170 rushing yards per
game, was held to 30 yards on nine carries. He caught five passes
for 68 yards.
UCLA halfback Paul Perkins ran 14 times for 137 yards, including an
81-yard run in the fourth quarter. Payton caught five passes for 151
yards and two touchdowns.
The teams traded field goals early in the first quarter before
Bercovici threw a 5-yard scoring pass to tight end Kody Kohl, his
first career touchdown, for a 10-3 lead.
Bercovici's 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cam Smith made
it 17-6 two plays into the second quarter, but that is when UCLA
took off.
"That game showed we had some grit in us," Mora said. "I've been
around some teams that would have folded, but we don't do that."
NOTES: The winner of the last two Arizona State-UCLA games won the
Pac-12 South Division. The Sun Devils won 38-33 in Los Angeles last
year, and the Bruins won 45-43 in Tempe in 2012. ... Pac-12
commissioner Larry Scott attended the game. ... Two former Arizona
State and current NFL players, QB Brock Osweiler (Denver Broncos)
and HB Marion Grice (Arizona Cardinals), were in attendance.
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