UCLA 17, NO. 13 UTAH 9
SALT LAKE CITY -- UCLA's Josh Rosen threw for 220 yards and a touchdown and UCLA beat No. 13 Utah 17-9 Saturday to end the Utes' Pac-12 title hopes and put the Bruins one win from the championship game.
UCLA (8-3, 5-3) and crosstown rival USC (7-4, 5-3) will play next week for the Pac-12 South and the right to play for a conference championship. It would be UCLA's first Pac-12 championship game since 2012 with the chance to win its first conference title since 1998.
The Bruins seemed all but out of the Pac-12 race after back-to-back conference losses in early October. The Bruins could have been officially eliminated after a loss to Washington State two weeks ago, but losses around the conference kept coach Jim Mora's team alive.
The Bruins scored touchdowns on two long drives to start the first and third quarters and that was enough against the short-handed Utes (8-3, 5-3). Star running back Devontae Booker is out for the remainder of the season after having knee surgery Thursday. The senior suffered a torn meniscus and bone bruise in his left knee last week against Arizona.
Rosen, UCLA's freshman star, completed 15 of 30 passes and had a 122.6 quarterback rating. He's now thrown a school-record 218 consecutive passes without an interception.
Paul Perkins added 98 rushing yards and a touchdown while Jordan Payton had a game-high 105 receiving yards for the Bruins.
Utah's Travis Wilson threw for 110 yards and rushed for 67 while Joe Williams, who took over for Booker, ran for 121 yards.
UCLA scored its lone touchdown of the first half on the opening possession of the game. Rosen hit receiver Thomas Duarte for 33 yards on the first play and 28 yards for a touchdown five snaps later.
Ka'imi Fairbairn put the Bruins up 10-0 with 33-yard field goal with 4:01 left in the quarter, a score set up by Randall Goforth's recovery of a Williams fumble that ended the Utes' first possession.
The Utes put together long, clock-eating drives in the second quarter, holding the ball for nine more minutes than UCLA. But Utah's four first-half drives produced just two 39-yard field goals by Andy Phillips. Phillips added a 21-yard field goal in the third quarter to cut the Bruins' lead to 10-9.
UCLA's Perkins scored on a two-yard run with 5:17 left in the third quarter to put Utah in a hole that it never recovered from.
In other games involving Pac-12 teams, Mike Bercovici threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns in his final home game and Arizona State returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the fourth quarter to knock off rival Arizona 52-37. ... Vernon Adams Jr. threw for 407 yards and six touchdowns and No. 23 Oregon defeated No. 24 USC for its fifth consecutive victory. … Jake Browning threw four touchdown passes as Washington scored on its first six possessions on the way to a 52-7 victory over Oregon State.
MOUNTAIN WEST
Interception seals victory
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Nick Stevens passed for 264 yards and a touchdown, and Kevin Pierre-Louis's interception late in the fourth quarter sealed Colorado State's 28-21 victory over New Mexico.
Izzy Matthews' 1-yard TD run with 8:41 left broke a 21-21 tie and capped off a 12-play, 87-yard drive for the Rams (6-5, 4-3 Mountain West).
Lamar Jordan was intercepted on the next play from scrimmage, but the Lobos defense pushed Colorado State back 9 yards and Braxton Davis missed a 52-yard field-goal attempt.
New Mexico (6-5, 4-3) got the ball back at its 35 with 6:02 left, but Jordan could only drive the offense 10 yards in 10 plays before Pierre-Louis's game-saving pick with 1:11 left.
Jordan was 4 of 9 for 58 yards and three interceptions. Lamar Jordan rushed for 97 yards and a TD on 23 carries, and Jhurell Pressley had 75 yards and two TDs.
In other games involving Mountain West teams, Tanner Mangum threw for 336 yards on 24-of-37 passing as BYU dominated Fresno State 52-10. ... Devante Mays ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns and Kyler Fackrell recovered a fumble in the end zone in the fourth quarter as Utah State became bowl eligible by scoring the final 24 points to beat Nevada 31-27.
Sports on 11/22/2015