Bruins Fourth Quarter Comeback Falls Short to AZ State in Rose Bowl

The sunset above the Rose Bowl on Saturday night was a picturesque backdrop, ­the clouds a mix of orange hue and pink hanging above the San Gabriel Mountains. But inside the stadium the scene was anything but beautiful for Bruins fans as the Arizona State Sun Devils upset the No.7 ranked UCLA Bruins 38 to ­23.

It was the Bruins first loss of the season, and QB Josh Rosen’s first loss at the college level.

Trailing 29 to ­10 entering the final quarter, UCLA mounted a spirited comeback effort that put them in a position to win the game with 5 minutes left. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. Arizona State marched down the field and on a critical 3rd down, RB Kalen Ballage ran 23 tough yards, mostly backwards for a touchdown, putting an exclamation point on the game.

Arizona State hasn’t lost back-­to-­back regular season games since 2012; it was a must win victory that saved their season.

ASU was led by Quarterback Mike Bercovici, who beat the Bruins with his arm and his legs. He threw for 273 yards, two touchdowns and rushed for a 34 yard TD on a quarterback keeper. The Bruins defense looked dazed and a step behind all night, the loss of Eddie Vanderdoes and Myles Jack is being felt for the first time all year.

The offense was out of sync; the offensive line was unable to protect Quarterback Josh Rosen who was sacked multiple times and the running game never showed up. The Bruins streak of 24 consecutive games rushing for 100 yards was snapped by the Sun Devils. Quarterback Josh Rosen never got into a rhythm due in part to the collapsing pocket. He still finished 22 of 40, 280 yards,an interception and 2 TD passes to WR Thomas Duarte.

80,113 fans filled the Rose Bowl on a brisk Saturday night. The Bruins record is now 4-­1, 1-1 in the PAC­12. The road isn’t about to get any easier for UCLA, they must regroup before meeting the Stanford Cardinal on Thursday in Palo Alto.