UCLA Football Comes Back to Defeat Colorado : Zach Charbonnet leads

Ground Game Comes Alive, UCLA Football Comes Back to Defeat Colorado

The Bruins secured bowl eligibility for the first time under coach Chip Kelly.

It seemed at one point like they were going to have to wait at least another week to make that claim, but a big push to start the second half helped them turn the tides and take control against the Buffaloes.

UCLA football (6-4, 4-3 Pac-12) trailed Colorado (3-7, 2-5) 20-10 at the half, only to shut out their opponent in the second half en route to a 44-20 blowout victory. It marked the Bruins’ sixth win of the year, making them eligible for the postseason for the first time since coach Chip Kelly joined the program ahead of the 2018 season.

“It’s a real special moment, especially for the seniors,” said safety Quentin Lake. “We’ve been through trials and tribulations for the last four years so it’s fun to kind of really relish in all the work that you put in. I’m proud of everybody – proud of the whole staff, everybody that’s a part of the Bruin nation. This one feels good.”

The turnaround in the second half came across all over the box score, but most notably on the ground.

UCLA was averaging 227.5 rushing yards per game during its 5-2 start, but just 128 per game during its two-game skid entering Saturday. It looked like more of the same through two quarters, picking up just 69 rushing yards before the half compared to the Buffaloes’ 155.

Make that 3️⃣7️⃣ unanswered points for the Bruins after Kyle Philips takes this punt return 82 yards to the house!

UCLA 44, Colorado 20
10:10 – 4th quarter

?: Pac-12 Network
?: https://t.co/dFgLVloTvd #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/6OYu8pgIYw
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) November 14, 2021

UCLA scores 37 points in a row and defeats Colorado, 44-20, to become bowl eligible

The UCLA offense exploded in the second half Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, thoroughly dominating Colorado to become bowl eligible.

UCLA earns bowl eligibility with runaway victory triggered by second-half dominance

The third time was the charm for UCLA as the Bruins earned their sixth win of the season on their third try to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2017.

UCLA (6-4, 4-3 Pac-12 Conference) poured 37 unanswered points on Colorado in the second half to win 44-20 and complete a 10-point halftime comeback.

After allowing Colorado (3-7, 2-5 Pac-12) to run up 242 yards in the first half en route to a 20-10 lead, the Bruins held the Buffaloes scoreless in the second half. Meanwhile, UCLA got going behind its running game that racked up 176 rushing yards after halftime and 502 total yards for the game.

Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson led the Bruins with 99 yards with one touchdown and nine carries. Zach Charbonnet and Britain Brown rushed for 67 yards for three touchdowns and 58 yards for one touchdown, respectively.

The Bruins snapped a three-game losing streak at home and will play in their first bowl game under Chip Kelly. UCLA has not played in a postseason game since 2017, losing to Kansas State in the Cactus Bowl.

UCLA football becomes bowl eligible for first time since 2017

he UCLA football program has secured bowl eligibility for the first time during Chip Kelly’s coaching tenure.

While the Bruins have had an opportunity to secure eligibility since they obtained a 5-2 overall record following the win over Washington on Oct. 16, the Bruins had lost the last two games against Oregon and Utah.

“Like I said at the beginning of the week, we still have stuff left to play for, and obviously the bowl game was one of them,” quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson said. “Now that we have that, we can check that off the list but the work’s not done.

“We still have to play the last two games, and we have a big one coming up next week against USC. We’ll definitely get back to the drawing board on Monday and start this thing all over again.”

Barr-Mira struggles again

UCLA kicker Nicholas Barr-Mira had a 47-yard field goal attempt go wide left on fourth-and-12. He has now missed field goals in five of the last six UCLA games, including the last three games.

The redshirt sophomore would avenge his missed field goal in the second quarter against Colorado, making a 41-yard field goal before halftime.

Barr-Mira would continue to struggle, missing an extra point attempt after running back Zach Charbonnet scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter.

Barr-Mira was voted as the Pac-12 Conference special teams player of the week last month when he made field goals of 23 and 43 yards and made all four of his extra point attempts against Arizona.

He joined punt returner Kyle Philips as the second Bruin to win the honor this season.

Barr-Mira joined the Bruins as a walk-on and hasn’t been awarded a scholarship. He took over the starting role after J.J. Molson’s final season in 2019. Molson is currently a member of the Green Bay Packers.

HONORARY CAPTAIN

Brendon Ayanbadejo was UCLA’s honorary captain Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

The former UCLA linebacker was a member of two Pac-10 championship teams and an all-conference player for the Bruins before graduating in 1999.

He went undrafted in the 1999 NFL draft but went on to have a 13-year career and played for several teams, including the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins and the Baltimore Ravens. Ayanbadejo was a member of the Ravens’ Super Bowl XLVII championship team.

UCLA Bruins football

The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles, in college football as members of the Pac-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level.

The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll at least once in every decade since the poll began in the 1930s.

Their first major period of success came in the 1950s, under head coach Red Sanders. Sanders led the Bruins to the Coaches’ Poll national championship in 1954, three conference championships, and an overall record of 66–19–1 in nine years. In the 1980s and 1990s, during the tenure of Terry Donahue, the Bruins compiled a 151–74–8 record, including 13 bowl games and an NCAA record eight straight bowl wins. The program has produced 28 first round picks in the NFL Draft, 30 consensus All-Americans, and multiple major award winners, including Heisman winner Gary Beban. The UCLA Bruins’ main rival is the USC Trojans. Chip Kelly became head coach in 2018.

The Bruins were the Pac-12 Conference South Division champions for two years and played Pac-12 Football Championship Games in both 2011 and 2012.

Zach Charbonnet

Zach Charbonnet is an American football running back who plays for the UCLA Bruins.

(born January 8, 2001)

He played for the Michigan Wolverines in 2019 and 2020. In January 2021, he entered the NCAA transfer portal. He played high school football at Oaks Christian School in California and was variously ranked as the No. 3, No. 4, or No. 6 running back prospect in the country.

Zach Charbonnet leads UCLA football past Colorado

UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet helped the Bruins overcome a slow start in the first half to defeat Colorado 44-20 at the Rose Bowl.

UCLA (6-4 overall, 4-3 Pac-12 Conference) is officially bowl eligible for the first time under Chip Kelly.

Charbonnet scored three short yardage touchdowns in the second half to help the Bruins pull away. Charbonnet had 17 carries for 67 yards.

It was his second three-touchdown performance for the Bruins, with the last coming against Hawai’i in the season opener. Charbonnet leads the team with 11 rushing touchdowns this season.

Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson ran for 23 of his 99 total rushing yards on a touchdown with 6:07 left in the third quarter and provided the Bruins with their first lead of the game, after trailing by as much as 13 points in the first half.

The senior moved into fifth all-time on UCLA’s career quarterback rushing yards list with 1,034 career rushing yards, passing Mark Harmon’s 976 yards from 1971-1973.

“I think it was good just to be back out there,” Thompson-Robinson said. “Being away from football, you kind of miss it.

“Just fun to be back out there with the guys. We started out a little slow, but we definitely picked it up in the second half and I couldn’t be more proud of this group.”