Stanford tops UCLA, forces rematch next week
PASADENA, Calif. – UCLA coach Jim Mora made it clear his Bruins weren’t at their best Saturday in losing to Stanford. Mora and his players are just grateful to get another shot at the Cardinal next Friday.
“Congratulations to Stanford. They played a heck of a game and they’re a heck of a football team,” Mora said after the 11th-ranked Cardinal beat No. 15 UCLA 35-17 to win the Pacific-12 North title and a rematch with the Bruins in the conference championship game at Stanford. “We have some things that we have to do to get better by Friday night. We will get right back to work.”
Stepfan Taylor rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns, and Kevin Hogan passed for 160 yards and another score for the Cardinal (10-2, 8-1 Pac-12), who had to beat the Bruins to earn a rematch because No. 5 Oregon (11-1, 8-1) beat Oregon State 48-24 earlier Saturday.
The Cardinal, who have three straight 10-win seasons for the first time, handed Oregon a 17-14 overtime setback last weekend to put themselves in position to win the North title with a victory over the South champion Bruins (9-3, 6-3), who earned their berth in the title game by beating Southern California 38-28 last weekend.
But Mora said the Bruins held nothing back.
“If we were holding something back, we wouldn’t have had our starters in there at the end,” he said. “We are trying to create a culture about winning. The only way to win is you go for it every time you step on the field. If you didn’t do that, you cheat everybody.
“We wanted to win this game today. We came up short. They tried their best to win. We did not play as well as we can. There is a lot to learn.”
The win was the sixth straight for Stanford and its fourth in a row over UCLA, which had a five-game winning streak snapped – its longest in seven years.
UCLA redshirt freshman Brett Hundley completed 20 of 38 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown with one interception while being sacked seven times, and Johnathan Franklin, the Bruins’ leading career rusher, was held to 65 yards on 21 carries. Stanford entered ranked second nationally in sacks and rushing defense.
Franklin began looking to the rematch immediately. “I’m excited about next week,” he said.
| Stanford | 7 | 14 | 14 | 0 | — | 35 |
| UCLA | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | 17 |
Stan—Terrell 11 pass from Hogan (Williamson kick)
UCLA—Fauria 13 pass from Hundley (Fairbairn kick)
Stan—Wilkerson 10 run (Williamson kick)
Stan—Taylor 49 run (Williamson kick)
UCLA—FG Fairbairn 48
Stan—Taylor 1 run (Williamson kick)
Stan—Amanam 11 fumble return (Williamson kick)
UCLA—Franklin 11 run (Fairbairn kick)
A—68,228.
| Stan | UCLA | |
| First downs | 19 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards | 49-221 | 33-73 |
| Passing | 160 | 261 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 15-22-0 | 20-38-1 |
| Return Yards | 27 | 32 |
| Punts-Avg. | 6-41.2 | 7-43.9 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 4-1 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 6-55 | 12-135 |
| Time of Poss. | 34:31 | 25:29 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Stanford, Taylor 20-142, Wilkerson 13-48, Wright 5-24, Hogan 4-12, Seale 2-11, Young 1-4, Hewitt 1-3, TEAM 2-(-2), Zychlinski 1-(-21). UCLA, Franklin 21-65, James 4-8, Hundley 8-0.
PASSING—Stanford, Hogan 15-22-0-160. UCLA, Hundley 20-38-1-261.
RECEIVING—Stanford, Ertz 5-71, Taylor 3-27, Hewitt 2-25, Patterson 2-16, Terrell 2-11, Toilolo 1-10. UCLA, Evans 4-86, Fauria 4-66, J.Johnson 3-45, Franklin 3-7, Fuller 2-27, James 2-15, Manfro 1-8, Payton 1-7.