Utah Falls Short to No. 12 UCLA, 34-27

Thursday, October 3

Salt Lake City, Utah

8:00 PM

University of Utah

3-2 , 0-2

UCLA

4-0 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UCLA

UTAH

10/3/2013 12:00 AM | Football

Box Score

Oct. 04, 2013

Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Quarterback Brett Hundley hit the trifecta Thursday night with one touchdown throwing, receiving and rushing to lead No. 12 UCLA to a 34-27 victory over Utah that lifted the Bruins to 4-0 for the first time since 2005.

Hundley, who went 17 for 27 for 211 yards, also had an interception, throwing an ill-advised pass into the flat that Keith McGill picked off and returned 19 yards for a touchdown to tie it at 24 with 13:23 left.

But the sophomore quarterback followed with a meticulous 13-play, 48-yard drive - completing a pair of passes to convert third downs, then scrambling for 8 yards to set up the go-ahead field goal.

Shortly after Anthony Jefferson's second interception of the night, Hundley ran 36 yards to put the Bruins (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) ahead 34-24 and they held on after Utah made a field goal to pull within seven, then recovered the onside kick.

When it was over, UCLA had snapped a two-game losing streak dating to 2007 at Utah (3-2, 0-2) and established themselves as the early team to beat in a Pac-12 South division in which every other team has at least one loss.

Combined with his 85 rushing yards, Hundley finished 4 yards short of reaching the 300-yard mark in total offense for the fourth time in four games this season.

And fitting for a guy who can do it all, he even had a 27-yard quick kick, which pinned the Utes down on their 8 in the first quarter.

This game between two fast-break offenses started fast, as expected, with both teams scoring touchdowns over the first five minutes.

It settled into more of a tactical game from there and Hundley made better choices, completing passes to nine receivers and even catching a pass himself.

It came on a trick play, when the Bruins snapped the ball to running back Jordon James, who flipped it to receiver Devin Fuller, who hit his wide-open quarterback as he busted out from the line.

That score tied it at 14 and set up a quarterback-versus-quarterback showdown that Wilson lost badly.

But Utah's sophomore QB couldn't be blamed for all those picks. In fact, the first four came off tipped balls, a couple of which hit his receivers in the hands. He finished 22 for 44 for 288 yards and two scores, including a 54-yard connection to Dres Anderson for Utah's first touchdown.