Pasadena – Okay, we’re back from a great halftime show in which the UCLA Marching Band did a salute to the Armed Forces, including formations that saluted the Army(Tank), Navy(battleship), Air Force(B-1 Bomber) and Marines(Eagle) while playing their “theme songs.”
Already the Bruins have increased their lead to 42 points on a 25-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn with 9:56 left in the quarter. So let’s see what happens for the next 30 minutes.
STEADY BRETTY: Bruins freshman quarterback Brett Hundley is almost perfect so far behind center for the Bruins. At the half, Hundley and completed 17 of 20 passes for 195 yards and two scores, but Hundley also threw 13 consecutive passes to end the half and when the Bruins got the ball for the first time in the third, hit two more passes.
HOW MANY FINGERS?: Arizona Quarterback Matt Scott came out of the game after getting his bell rung again. Last week in the win against USC, Scott took a shot to the helmet and vomited on the field before continuing to play. This time however, the Wildcats opted to play it safe and pulled him from the game. He’s not on the sidelines anymore and appears to have been taken into the locker room by the Wildcats’ medical staff. B.J. Danker is now behind center for the Wildcats.
GIMME 50: Brett Hundley hit Joseph Fauria for anothe Bruins score and the Bruins surpassed the last time they scored 50 points in a game, the 2005 Sun Bowl, when UCLA beat Northwestern 50-38. The Bruins’ all-time single game scoring record came against Stanford, who were then known as the Indians, a 72-0 shut out in 1954, the year the Bruins won their only National Championship.
INJURY TIME: Play was stopped with 12:55 after Arizona linebacker Hank Hobson was knocked out after a play. Hobson appeared to drop to the ground and roll over in pain. He was attended to by the Wildcat medical staff and was carted off the field. As he was loaded into the cart, the crowd acknowledged him with a round of applause.
M-TOWN IN THE HOUSE: Former Monrovia Cat Ellis McCarthy saw some playing time as soon as the fourth quarter rolled around. With the Bruins up 52-10, McCarthy the freshman lineman who helped M-Town to get over the Mid-Valley Finals Jinx with two titles is getting playing time, which can only improve his abilities as he matures into a leader on the defense.
GETTING KICKS FROM POINT 66: And the rout continues. A score from freshman running back Melvin Emesibe gave the Bruins 66 points, equaling the third-largest output in school history. The Bruins hit the 66-point plateau twice in the 1997 season. First they humiliated Texas 66-3 at the Rose Bowl on September 13, then trounced the Houston Cougars 66-10 in Houston three weeks later. The wins were part of the 20-game win streak the Bruins rode until the end of the 1998 season when they fell to Miami, 49-45, ending the Bruins hopes at getting into the first BCS Championship. The second-highest scoring output also came in 1954, when they opened the season against the San Diego Naval Training Center.
TAKE A BOW, ROOKIE: Running back Melvin Emesibe made a splash in his time in the fourth quarter. Emesibe, a freshman from Hesperia High in the High Desert, posted the Bruins’ final score of the night, a one-yard run with 5:47 left in the game. Emesibe’s first touchdown so moved teammate Johnathan Franklin, he ran onto the field to congratulate his protege. Unfortuately, his celebration prompted an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from the referees for leaving the sideline. However, kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn was still able to hit the extra point from further out that he planned.
THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE: The final gun sounds and UCLA comes away with a 66-10 victory over Arizona. The win, combined with USC’s 62-51 shootout loss to Oregon, gives the Bruins sole possession of first place in the PAC-12 South Division. Brett Hundley was unstoppable, completing 23 of 28 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked only once in the game and ngave up no interceptions. Johnathan Franklin, the new all-time rush leader had 24 carries for 162 yards and two touchdowns. Joseph Fauria was Hundley’s prime target, pulling in five catches for 81 yards and two scores.
ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD: The Bruins will play their final game on the road next Saturday as they travel up to the Palouse to take on the Washington State Cougars. Last year, the Cougars lost to the Bruins 28-25 at the Rose Bowl, despite leading 25-20 in the fourth quarter. The Bruins will close out their regular season with the annual battle for the Victory Bell against USC then on Thanksgiving weekend
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
Johnathan Franklin:
On breaking Gaston Green’s record with his touchdown -“It’s a great feeling, my teammates have been pushing for me all season… I was just thinking about whatever I can do to make my team win… I was so emotional, I’m happy my teammates were able to celebrate it with me.”
On freshman teammate Melvin Emesibe’s first career touchdown at UCLA – “A lot of people don’t see what Melvin does after practice and on the weekends, it’s so great to have him get his opportunity.”
On his teammates getting ready to face Arizona – “Our game started tuesday in practicve, it’s not about breaking records, it’s about our team winning… We just gotta keep working in practice, we know the position we put ourselves in, if we keep up our efforts, we’ll be where we need to be.”
On whether his three previous efforts against Arizona played a motivating factor for him tonight – “It’s all about the now, the past has nothing to do with today, that’s all we have in front of us
Coach Jim L. Mora:
Thoughts on the victory – “This was a good win, we played all phases of the game. It’s good to get some of the guys who don’t get the chance to play out there get some opportunities tonight.”
On Franklin’s reaction to Emesie’s touchdown – “My favorite moment tonight, here is this guy to my left (Franklin), who when Melvin scored, rushed to the end zone to congratulate him. It cost us 15 yards, but he did it.”
On the Bruins’ overall performance – “They played disciplined, they tackled well against a team like that, our coverage and rush meshed well from the start, there wasn’t a lot of places to throw it.”
On Eric Kendricks’ performance – “Kendricks had nine games in the scheme, very good athlete, reacts, just starting to see the result of that commitment, he looked comfortable playing in our defense… We use a lot of guys in the defense, he’s got more repetitions in the defense. ”
On the overall performance of the defense -“Our defense felt challenged, an outstanding offense came in tonight. We struggled last week and gave up more points than we had all season. There’s no magic to this, it’s just doing what you’re supposed to do.”
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