TEMPE, Ariz.—Dorian Thompson-Robinson hurdled a defender on a 33-yard touchdown run, one of his two rushing scores, and also passed for two TDs as No. 10 UCLA held off Arizona State 50–36 on Saturday night, Nov. 5.
Thompson-Robinson threw an interception on the first play from scrimmage, and the Sun Devils turned it into a field goal. But then he led drives of 75, 77, 91 and 90 yards to give UCLA (8–1, 5–1 Pac-12) a 28–10 halftime lead that grew to 35–10 on his 4-yard run in the third quarter.
Arizona State quarterback Trenton Bourguet threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns, and the Sun Devils (3–6, 2–4) scored 17 straight points to close to 42–36 on Xazavian Valladay’s 1-yard TD run and Bourguet’s 2-point conversion pass with 6:24 left.
UCLA put it away on its next possession on Colson Yankoff’s 1-yard touchdown run with 2:30 remaining. Thompson-Robinson finished with 169 yards passing and 120 yards rushing.
The Bruins played without Pac-12 leading rusher Zach Charbonnet, who was in uniform and active on the sideline but wore bandages on his left triceps and left calf.
Kazmeir Allen had 137 yards rushing, including a touchdown, and 63 more receiving for UCLA. Keegan Jones added 98 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns while stepping in for Charbonnet, who was third in Division I with 137.7 yards rushing per game
Thompson-Robinson showed his athleticism early. He hurdled Arizona State defensive back Jordan Clark at the 3-yard line on his 33-yard score on UCLA’s second series, and his 3-yard scoring pass to Jones gave the Bruins a 14–10 lead they never relinquished.
Jones scored on a 10-yard run on the next drive and Thompson-Robinson threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Michael Ezeike for a 28–10 lead with 33 seconds left in the first half.
No Zach Attack
Charbonnet engaged with teammates on the sideline and even joined the offensive unit in a group huddle on the field during a third-quarter drive. He also was held out of a 45–7 victory over Alabama State in Week 2 for undisclosed reasons.Poll Implications
The Bruins should move up in the AP Top 25 after losses by No. 1 Tennessee, No. 5 Clemson and No. 6 Alabama. While Tennessee likely will remain in the top six, Alabama and especially Clemson should take a hard fall. The Pac-12 could have three teams in the top eight, with No. 8 Oregon and No. 9 USC also poised to gain ground.The Takeaway
Bruins coach Chip Kelly has the UCLA offense purring. Even without Charbonnet, the Bruins rolled up 571 yards of total offense with a multi-pronged attack reminiscent of his plug-and-play days at Oregon, when the Ducks were perennial national title contenders. The Bruins are averaging 40.8 points per game have scored at least 30 in every game. The defense gave up 45 points in a loss at Oregon two weeks ago, exacerbating season-long questions that were not answered with Arizona State’s 300-yard second half.Up Next
UCLA visits Arizona on Saturday.Arizona State visits Washington State on Saturday.
