Brooks: Bruins Start Fast, Roll Past Buffs

Saturday, November 19

Pasadena, Calif.

5:30 p.m.

Colorado

2-10 , 1-7

UCLA

6-5 , 5-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Colorado

UCLA

November 19, 2011 | Football, B.G. Brooks

Box Score Notes Quotes Final Game Book

By: B.G. Brooks, Contributing Editor

PASADENA, Calif. – Rather than sustaining momentum built in an inspired home win last weekend, the Colorado Buffaloes crumpled and fell back on their nearly 5-year-old road habits here Saturday.

UCLA, a middle-of-the-pack Pac-12 team that might be battling to keep its coach employed, jumped on its visitor for 21 fast first-quarter points and coasted to a 45-6 rout in the Rose Bowl.

The loss – the Buffs' 24th consecutive out-of-state since 2007 – dropped CU to 2-10 overall and 1-7 in the Pac-12. The Bruins, meanwhile, improved to 6-5 and 5-3, remaining in control of their fate in the South Division and doing nothing to turn up the heat on head coach Rick Neuheisel.

The former CU coach is now 21-25 in his fourth season at his alma mater, but the Bruins became bowl eligible for the second time under Neuheisel and could reach the first Pac-12 championship game. They play rival USC next weekend.

UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince finished the night 15-of-19 for 225 yards and a carer-high four TDs, while CU's Tyler Hansen completed 16-of-31 for 127 yards and was intercepted three times. The Buffs had 229 yards in total offense to the Bruins' 553.

Saturday's game matched father and son: CU coach Jon Embree and his oldest son, Taylor, a Bruins senior receiver. Saturday was UCLA's Senior Day, but Jon Embree remained with his players and left the pre-game duties to his wife, Natalyn, and other family members, some of whom were wearing half UCLA/half CU jerseys.

CU trailed 21-6 at the half, but the way the game opened that 15-point deficit looked pretty good. UCLA, which had been outscored 65-30 in its 10 previous first quarters this season, had a 14-0 lead before this game was 5 minutes old and was up 21-0 with just over 4 minutes remaining in the opening quarter.

In last weekend's 48-29 rout of Arizona, the Buffs recorded season highs in points, first downs (27) and rushing yards (273), and fashioned four 80-yard scoring drives in amassing 500 yards in total offense. But those numbers were distant memories in the Rose Bowl as CU succumbed to one of its patently bad road starts, which shoved the Buffs into catch-up mode for the last three quarters.

The first half was a statistical wasteland for CU, which managed only 19 yards rushing, six first downs and 117 yards in total offense.

Still, senior tailback Rodney Stewart did eclipse another record: In catching a 1-yard pass from Hansen late in the second quarter, Stewart made his 87th career reception and set a school mark for career catches by a running back. He finished with a team-best seven catches for 36 yards.

Other than that, the Bruins bottled up "Speedy," who had celebrated a superb Senior Day last week with 181 yards rushing and three TDs. He also threw a TD pass, but UCLA never allowed him to do much damage with his feet or his arm. His 77 yards on 21 carries accounted for the bulk of the Buffs 87 yards rushing.

Meanwhile, CU's defense was trying to avoid being "pistol whipped" – and that wasn't easy. Running that offense and initially befuddling the Buffs, the Bruins scored on their second offensive play, with Prince and junior receiver Shaq Evans teaming for a 54-yard touchdown pass that sailed over Buffs defensive backs Jason Espinoza and Terrel Smith.

CU's ensuing possession started with a false start on senior tight end Ryan Deehan, and two plays later, when Deehan bobbled a Hansen pass, linebacker Sean Westgate grabbed the football. Deehan then grabbed Westgate's facemask, drawing a 15-yard penalty that set up UCLA at the CU 14-yard line.

Tailback Jonathan Franklin covered that distance in one play, and in a mere 46 seconds of possession time, the Bruins had a 14-0 lead. They got their third touchdown on their third first-quarter possession, this time driving 80 yards in 12 plays and scoring on a 5-yard Prince-to-Joseph Fauria pass.

Down 21-0, CU finally mustered a response, but it took a pass interference penalty on third down against UCLA and a reversed decision from the replay officials on the first play of the second quarter. Hansen and Toney Clemons connected for a 20-yard pass that Clemons obviously believed was a touchdown – but it wasn't ruled that way initially.

However, after a booth review, Clemons was awarded the TD, making Saturday's game the fourth straight in which he has caught a touchdown pass – one shy of the school record set by Rae Carruth in 1996.

The Buffs had scored, but there was a downside: Will Oliver missed the extra point, his second botched PAT try of the season. UCLA kicker Tyler Gonzalez was wide right on a 25-yard field goal attempt on the Bruins' next series, but CU failed to capitalize for the rest of the quarter and trailed 21-6 at intermission.

Prince completed eight of his 10 first-half passes – he was 7-for-7 in the first quarter for 121 yards – for 148 yards and two TDs. The Buffs struggled to run for the entire first half, gaining only 19 yards on 15 rushes against a run defense that was No. 12 in the conference (190.2 yards a game). CU's only first-half offense was Hansen's passing; he went 10-for-17, gaining 98 yards and accounting for the TD.

After accepting the second-half kickoff, UCLA marched 73 yards and positioned Gonzalez for a 22-yard field that increased CU's deficit to 24-6 that turned out to be the only scoring of the third quarter.

The Bruins opened the fourth quarter with a six-play, 62-yard scoring drive that was capped by Prince's 15-yard TD pass to the 6-8 Fauria, the nephew of former Buffs tight end Christian Fauria. That TD, plus Gonzalez's PAT, shot UCLA ahead 31-6, but Prince teamed with Nelson Rosario 5 minutes later for an 11-yard scoring pass that gave the Prince his fourth TD pass – a career high – and the Bruins a 38-6 lead.

After Hansen suffered his third interception, giving UCLA possession at the CU 13, Malcolm Jones scored on a 1-yard run with 3:52 to play. The Bruins led 45-6 and the Buffs' hideous road losing streak was intact.

A final chance to break it remains this season. That comes Friday at Utah in the last game of Embree's first season. Otherwise, the streak carries into 2012.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU