Pasadena, Calif. —Zach Charbonnet scored three touchdowns and rushed for a career high 198 yards, as Stanford drop to No. 12th ranked UCLA, 38-13, Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.
It was the sixth 100-yard game of the season for Charbonnet, who also had 61 yards receiving on five catches. The junior leads the country in all-purpose yards per game at 170.9 and the PAC-12 with 964 yards rushing.
“I thought Zach played outstanding today,” coach Chip Kelly said. “He’s a three-down back. He can pick up pass protection, he’s a weapon coming out of the backfield and obviously we saw what he’s like when he runs the football.”
Stanford (3-5, 1-5) had a two-game winning streak snapped but scored its first touchdown in 11 quarters when Tanner McKee hit Benjamin Yurosek on fourth-and-goal from the UCLA 2-yard line.
The Bruins controlled the ground game for 324 yards and averaged 7.2 yards per carry as they upped their record to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the PAC-12. It is the Bruins best start since 2005, when it won its first eight contests.
The Cardinals scored on its opening series on Joshua Karty’s 22-yard field goal, the Bruins rebounded quickly and scored two touchdowns in 20 seconds. Thompson-Robinson capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive with a 3-yard run off a power play to give the Bruins a 7-3 lead with 6:05 remaining in the first.
Tanner McKee completed 13 of 29 passes for 115 yards, one week after throwing for 320 yards.
UCLA scored on their first four possessions. Charbonnet plowed in from 1 yard out in the second quarter to make it 24-3 at the break and added a 37-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.
“Our mindset is always play good defense, no matter what. But obviously, if we want to have a good game, we’ve got to play some complementary football,” linebacker Ricky Miezan said.
UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson had 249 scrimmage yards, including 199 passing (18-of-29), and rushed for a touchdown
“That was a really tough plane ride for us to sit down and think about, but as soon as we touched down we were ready to go and get back on the field,” said Thompson-Robinson. “Especially for guys like me. I only have like four or five more weeks here as a Bruin, so I’m trying to take advantage of every opportunity I can.”
The Cardinals turned it over on the first play of their ensuing drive when Darius Muasau picked off McKee. Charbonnet then went 23 yards up the gut on the next play to put UCLA up by double digits.
“We emphasized going back to fundamentals, tackling and stopping the run. Keep it simple. Last week we were thinking too much,” Muasau said.
Charbonnet, who leads the PAC-12 in rushing with 964 yards — is the first UCLA back since Tyler Ebell in 2002 to have five straight 100-yard games. Eight of his 21 carries went for at least 10 yards or better. The junior also had 61 yards receiving on five catches and leads the nation in all-purpose yards per game at 170.9.
“Yeah, we need more than that. That was just punching the ball in,” coach David Shaw said of the late TD. “There’s a lot of things that we need to clean up for momentum, and the biggest thing is really protection and connection between our quarterbacks and receivers.”
Bruins Tidbits
The Bruins extended its lead to 38-6 in the fourth with a six-play, 99-yard drive. Kazmeir Allen went 72 yards for a touchdown, which was the Bruins’ first run of more than 70 yards since Demetric Felton Jr. had a 75-yard TD against Oregon State in 2019.
THE TAKEAWAY
UCLA: The Bruins beat Stanford at the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2006. They have won eight straight home games since last season’s loss to Oregon.
UP NEXT:
Stanford: Hosts Washington State next Saturday.
UCLA: Travels to Arizona State next Saturday.
