Arizona State Sun Devils vs UCLA Bruins Match Player Stats On Oct 03, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Oct 3, 2015

PASADENA, Calif. -- Arizona State's energy-infused defense gave the UCLA offensive line grief.

On offense, the Sun Devils kept the UCLA defense off balance with a bevy of sleight of hand plays.

The result: Arizona State upset No 7 UCLA 38-23 in convincing fashion in front of 80,113 Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.

Arizona State took a 2-0 lead with 2:14 remaining in the first quarter when UCLA freshman quarterback Josh Rosen was flagged for intentional grounding in the Bruins' end zone.

On UCLA's ensuing free kick, Arizona State's Tim White gave the Sun Devils great field position with a 63-yard return. Three plays later, White took a bubble screen from quarterback Mike Bercovici and scored from 12 yards out. The extra point put ASU on top 9-0 with 1:21 left in the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, UCLA's offense finally came alive and scored on an eight-play, 88-yard drive that took only 2:27. Rosen hit wide receiver Thomas Duarte on a 13-yard strike with 6:42 left in the half.

White burned UCLA on another kick return of 47 yards to set up Arizona State's next score, a 31-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez that gave the Sun Devils a 12-7 lead with 3:58 left in the second quarter.

Rosen had a pass intercepted by linebacker Laiu Moeakiola on UCLA's next possession. The Sun Devils capitalized on that turnover when Gonzalez tacked on another field goal, this time from 25 yards out with 21 seconds left in the first half.

But UCLA went into the locker room at halftime with momentum after Rosen engineered a swift drive that ended with a 53-yard field goal by Ka'imi Fairbairn, with no time remaining in the half.

Arizona State struck first in the third quarter. A deft read option fake by Bercovici resulted in the Sun Devils' quarterback racing 34 yards untouched through the center of the Bruins' defense for a touchdown and the Sun Devils led 22-10 four minutes into the second half.

The Sun Devils widened that margin to 29-10 on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Bercovici to wide receiver D.J. Foster with 7:56 left in the third quarter.

Down 29-10, the Bruins responded with their first scoring drive of the second half to slice the deficit to 29-16.

Running back Paul Perkins scored on a one-yard run, at 13:52 of the fourth quarter. Perkins, who had been bottled up for much of the game to that point by a swarming Sun Devil defense, set up his touchdown with a 29-yard run.

UCLA closed the gap on its next possession.

Rosen and Thomas Duarte collaborated on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 9:19 left in the game.

With Arizona State leading 29-23, the Sun Devils were able to melt time off the clock and change field position. A 46-yard punt by Matt Haack pinned the Bruins back on their 1-yard line with just over five minutes left.

Unable to move the chains, the Bruins were forced to punt and the snap flew over punter Matt Mengel's head for another safety.

NOTES: Through three quarters, Arizona State held UCLA to a net 21 yards on 20 carries. Meanwhile, the Suns Devils had 146 yards on 33 carries. ... UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen has set three single-game passing records for true freshmen. He has the most passing yards in a game (351 vs. Virginia), most pass attempts in a game (42 vs. UNLV), and most completions in a game (28 vs. Virginia). ... Rosen's three touchdown passes against Virginia tied the true freshman record held by Cade McNown, who threw three touchdown passes in 1995 against Kansas. With his next touchdown pass, Rosen will break the record of seven touchdown passes thrown by a true freshman. McNown set that record in 1995. ... Arizona State wide receiver and return specialist Tim White had two kick returns for 110 yards in the first half. ... Arizona fifth-year senior Devin Lucien began his college career at UCLA before transferring. Lucien caught a key third-quarter pass to set up an Arizona State touchdown. ... Sun Devil linebacker Salamo Fiso was a teammate of UCLA cornerback Randall Goforth at Long Beach Poly High School.