Brett Hundley threw three touchdown passes and notched a career-high 410 passing yards as UCLA overcame some sloppy early play to dominate California, 37-10, on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.
The Bruins led, 24-10, at the half and then shut out the Bears in the second half while looking downright sharp compared to the first half, when they incurred eight penalties. UCLA, the nation’s leader in penalties per game, had just one penalty after halftime.
Despite showing signs of life in the first half, Cal (1-5) never really had a chance against the No. 11 Bruins (5-0). The Bears are as banged up as any team in the Pac-12 and their lack of quality depth on defense, in particular, was glaring. Worse, Cal’s freshman quarterback, Jared Goff, appears to be hitting the rookie wall. He threw for 215 yards with no touchdowns against UCLA, well below his averages coming into the game.
Hundley had no problem picking up yards against the hapless Bear secondary. He completed passes to 10 different receivers, with Devin Fuller leading the way with six catches for 98 yards. UCLA’s leading rusher, Jordon James, was out with an injury, so Hundley’s career day came at a good time -- the Bruins managed just 78 net yards on the ground.
UCLA is now 5-0 for the first time since 2005, but the tough part of the schedule looms. A Stanford team that is no doubt ornery coming off a loss to Utah will host the Bruins next Saturday. Then a trip to Eugene comes after.
How good are the Bruins? We’ll soon find out.
