UCLA fell to Texas A&M, 31-24, in overtime after their attempt to tie the game and force a second OT slipped through the Bruins’ hands at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.
Texas A&M defeats UCLA, 31-24, in overtime
UCLA’s attempt to tie Texas A&M and force a second overtime slipped through the Bruins’ hands.
UCLA had the ball at the Aggies’ 7 in first-and-goal, but two runs netted one yard and two Josh Rosen passes fell incomplete.
Actually, the first pass, perfectly thrown, slithered through the finds of tight end Austin Roberts at the goal line.
The second, under a heavy rush, also to Roberts, was broken up by Aggies defender Justin Evans.
Texas A&M had scored on its overtime possession on a fourth-and-goal run by quarterback Trevor Knight.
UCLA struggled offensively until the fourth quarter, when the Bruins outgained the Aggies, 221 yards to 23.
Rosen, who threw several bad passes and often operated under a heavy rush, rallied to complete 26 of 46 passes for 343 yards and a touchdown, with three interceptions. The top receiver with Kenneth Walker, who had six receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown.
UCLA didn’t have any kind of consistent running game, though Soso Jamabo gained 91 tough yards in 23 carries. The Bruins had 125 yards in 40 carries -- including a 42-yard run by Bolu Olorunfunmi.
Knight completed 22 of 42 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown, with an interception. He also ran for 31 yards and two touchdowns in nine carries.
The Aggies rushed for 203 yards in 41 carries, including 94 in 15 carries by Trayveon Williams.
UCLA’s home opener is next Saturday against Nevada Las Vegas at the Rose Bowl.
UCLA, Texas A&M in overtime, tied 24-24
UCLA won the coin toss headed into overtime and chose to be on defense.
An 11-yard pass, a three-yard run, a six-yard run and a three-yard run gave the Aggies a first-and-goal at the 2.
Trayveon Williams ran a yard, then for no gain. Then Trevor Knight tried the center of the UCLA for no gain -- though Texas A&M challenged the call, saying he was in the end zone.
The replay official upheld the call, leaving Aggies Coach Kevin Sumlin with a decision.
Play it safe and kick a field goal, or go for it.
He went for it, and Knight scored easily on a run after faking a handoff into the middle of the line.
Now it’s UCLA’s turn from the Texas A&M 25.
UCLA vs. Texas A&M: Here’s what happened in final minute of regulation
After UCLA tied the score, 24-24, Texas A&M gained one yard on its next possession.
That gave the Bruins 58 seconds to go 42 yards for a winning score.
First key play: Josh Rosen had the ball stripped out of his hand by Justin Evans, but the officials on the field ruled Rosen down by contact. The play was very close, even on the replay, but the on-field call was upheld.
Which didn’t matter, because ...
On the next play, Rosen fumbled the center snap and then threw low enough over the middle toward Darren Andrews that Evans -- yes, him again -- was able to make a leaping grab for an interception at the UCLA 48.
The Aggies moved the ball to the UCLA 40, but a pass by Trevor Knight to Ricky Seals-Jones that might have moved Texas A&M to within field-goal range was stripped by Bruins defender Adarius Pickett.
That left Knight to heave a desperation pass into the end zone in the final seconds. It fell incomplete and we’re headed to overtime.
UCLA outgained Texas A&M, 221 yards to 23 in the fourth quarter.
Just like that, it’s a 24-24 tie between UCLA and Texas A&M
So ... about that UCLA offense.
It just scored 15 points in the last minute and 40 seconds.
A 62-yard pass play from Josh Rosen to Kenneth Walker III pulled UCLA within two points, and Rosen connected with Austin Roberts on a pass for the tie.
On the touchdown play, Rosen rolled to his right and, off balance, lofted a pass that Walker came back for between two defenders. He then steadied himself and ran the final 23 yards for the score.
Before the two-point play, there was some confusion on the UCLA sideline, and the Bruins were forced to take a timeout as the play clock wound down, but after Rosen took the snap, he found Roberts wide open in the middle of the field.
Aggies go out in three; and now things get interesting
After UCLA cut Texas A&M’s once-comfortable lead to eight points, the Aggies went three and out.
After a punt, it’s UCLA’s ball at its own 23 with 3:42 left in the game.
UCLA within striking distance, cuts Texas A&M lead to 24-16
As much as UCLA’s offense has looked a little off in this game, the Bruins are still in it after scoring with 4 minutes 19 seconds left on the clock.
UCLA drove 64 yards in seven plays, with quarterback Josh Rosen supplying all by the final nine yards.
Rosen had a 12-yard run -- he also took a seven-yard sack -- and completed three passes for 50 yards.
Bolu Olorunfunmi did the rest with a spectacular touchdown run in which he was hit at the 3 yard line, was lifted feet over head into almost a handstand on the back of Aggies defender Armani Watts, found his balance, and found the end zone.
Not Rosen’s fault (this time); another turnover for UCLA
Quarterback Josh Rosen looked as sharp as he had all day on UCLA’s most recent possession.
He was done in by his receivers.
First, Jordan Lasley dropped a pass that might have gone for a touchdown. Rosen delivered a strike that hit Lasley right in the hands, and in full stride, but got nothing to show for a it.
After that, a run went no where (no surprise there) and Rosen completed back-to-back passes for 33 yards.
On the next play, another Rosen pass hit Alex Van Dyke right in the hands, then popped in the air, where it was picked off by Justin Evans.
Texas A&M leads, 24-9, with 7:18 remaining in the game.
Rosen has completed 20 of 37 passes for 222 yards, with two interceptions -- the first his fault, the second not.
UCLA offense struggling as Texas A&M takes 24-9 lead into fourth quarter
The fourth quarter has now started in College Station, Texas, and UCLA is still waiting for its offense to show up.
The Bruins have averaged only 2.8 yards per rush, and quarterback Josh Rosen hasn’t been able to solely carry the load.
Texas A&M has outgained UCLA, 389-234, and the Bruins have only converted two of 13 third-down plays.
Texas A&M pulling away, leads UCLA, 24-9
For now, Trevor Knight of Texas A&M looks very much like the best quarterback on the field at College Station, Texas.
Knight and UCLA’s Josh Rosen have each thrown 28 passes.
Knight has completed 18 for 202 yards, including an off-balance floater to Josh Reynolds that just resulted in a 40-yard touchdown.
Rosen has completed 15 passes for 161 yards for a UCLA offense that,so far, has looked a little lost.
UCLA’s offense is pretty offensive; Coach Polamalu’s fault?
Based on what I’m seeing on social media -- and isn’t that always the best indictor? -- UCLA football fans are not loving the debut as offensive coordinator of Kennedy Polamalu.
Indeed, quarterback Josh Rosen and the Bruins have looked out of synch most of the game.
Gosh, Josh! Texas A&M leads UCLA, 17-9, in third quarter
UCLA’s first drive of the second half stalled around midfield for one reason: a Josh Rosen pass to tight end Austin Roberts that was terribly short.
Roberts had broken free down the right seam, and there wasn’t a defender within five yards of him, but Rosen’s pass was underthrown so far that Roberts had to slam on the breaks and jackknife to his knees trying to scoop it.
Definitely not an NFL -- or even major-college football -- throw.
UCLA’s punt pushed the Aggies back to their own 13, but Trevor Knight connected with Ricky Seals-Jones for a 33-yard gain on the first play and Texas A&M was off and running.
It took 11 plays for the Aggies to go 87 yards for a touchdown.
Trevor Knight scored it, powering past UCLA defenders just shy of the goal line and reaching the ball over.
The key play on the drive was a third-down holding call on Fabien Moreau in the end zone that gave the Aggies a first down at the UCLA 2.
Knight scored a play later.
Photos: UCLA vs. Texas A&M
Halftime stat leaders as Texas A&M leads UCLA, 10-9
Give this round to Texas A&M, 10-9, in what doesn’t look at this early stage like a battle of college football heavyweights.
Welterweights?
Neither team has run the ball with any consistency, which may be the best reason neither has done very well finishing drives.
UCLA has run for 79 yards in 19 carries, but 32 yards came on one run by Bolu Olorunfunmi. Soso Jamabo has 53 yards in 13 carries.
Texas A&M has run for 103 yards in 17 carries, but 42 of the yards came on one run by Trayveon Williams.
UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen has completed 11 of 19 passes for 131 yards, with one interception.
Trevor Knight has completed 14 of 21 passes for 100 yards for the Aggies.
Each team has one turnover that led to a field goal.
Texas A&M kicks back, takes 10-9 lead over UCLA at the half
Neither of these teams is very good at finishing a drive.
Texas A&M got a 22-yard kickoff return by Keith Ford, followed by a 42-yard run by Trayveon Williams and eventually moved the ball to UCLA’s 5.
And stalled.
A third-down pass sailed wide, which was followed by a 23-yard field goal by Daniel LaCamera that sailed just barely inside the left upright.
If it ends up meaning anything later, UCLA’s JJ Molson looks a lot steadier than LaCamera.
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OK, make that steadier on short kicks.
Molson missed wide right on a 48-yard try with two seconds left in the half.
However, his coaches didn’t help him much.
UCLA had third-and-one with seven seconds left and might have run a play to get the freshman from Montreal a little closer.
But Bruins coaches took so long to huddle on the sideline, the play clock ran down and they had to take their final timeout.
That left Molson with a long attempt, and his miss left Texas A&M with a halftime lead.
UCLA regains lead, 9-7, over Texas A&M
UCLA’s JJ Molson started this game having not made a field goal in college.
Now he has three in less than two quarters.
The question for UCLA is, will the Bruins live to regret it.
UCLA put another nice drive together, but for the second consecutive possession, was turned away without a touchdown after having first-and-goal.
Molson’s field goal this time was from 23 yards out.
Josh Rosen completed passes of 12 yards to Elridge Massington and 25 yards to Darren Andrews, but his third-down pass in the end zone was nearly picked off by Nick Harvey.
Texas A&M takes 7-6 lead over UCLA in second quarter
It didn’t take long for UCLA to regret not getting a touchdown after a first-and-goal from the Texas A&M five.
After settling for a field goal, the Bruins defense had no answer to a suddenly potent Aggies offense.
Texas A&M drove 70 yards in 11 plays — six passes and five runs.
Quarterback Trevor Knight completed all six of his passes on the march, for 42 yards.
Keith Ford scored the touchdown on a seven-yard run.
UCLA settles for another field goal and a 6-0 lead
Here’s one of those good news, bad news situations for UCLA football fans.
The good: The Bruins just tacked on another three points on a JJ Molson field goal, this one from 20 yards.
Another positive: The Bruins did it after starting on their own 4-yard line.
The bad: The Bruins did it after starting on their own 4-yard line — and having first and goal at the Texas A&M 5.
The big play for UCLA was a 32-yard run by Bolu Olorunfunmi, who was stopped at the center of the line on the play, but kept his legs churning and managed to wiggle free.
The play moved the ball to the Aggies 5, but two incomplete passes bookended a two-yard gain by Soso Jamabo.
UCLA leads Texas A&M, 3-0, in second quarter
For a couple of supposedly high-powered offenses, UCLA and Texas A&M didn’t do much in the first quarter of their opener.
Neither team has been able to establish any kind of running game; each team has a turnover. And each team managed just one field goal attempt — each after a turnover.
The difference: JJ Molson made his for UCLA. Daniel LaCamera’s hit the right upright for Texas A&M.
UCLA was backed up against its own end zone late in the first quarter, but a couple of Josh Rosen passes have moved the Bruins to their own 39 to start the second quarter.
Rosen completed six of eight passes for 62 yards in the first quarter. Tight end Trevor Roberts has two receptions for 24 yards.
However, Rosen often has been under a heavy rush.
Soso Jamabo has 15 yards in eight carries.
The Aggies have rushed for 19 yards in seven carries, and quarterback Trevor Knight has completed five of 10 passes.
UCLA 3, Texas A&M 0
JJ Molson made his first college field goal attempt, from 38 yards out, as UCLA capitalized on a turnover and an Aggies personal foul penalty.
On the first play after Kenny Young’s fumble recovery, Josh Rosen took a late hit, giving the Bruins 15 yards.
UCLA’s Soso Jamabo was stopped on a third-and-two run by the Aggies’ Nick Harvey, bringing on Molson.
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Texas A&M’s second possession was three and out, with quarterback Trevor Knight taking a hard hit from Taahan Goodman on a third-down run.
After the punt, UCLA took over at its own 25 and quickly moved into Aggie territory before Bruins quarterback Josh Rosen tried to do a little too much under a heavy rush.
OK, so maybe it was more like a lot of too much.
Rosen was wrapped up and almost down for a sack when he decided to just flip the ball down field.
The pass, if you could call it that, was easily picked off by Priest Willis, who returned the ball 13 yards to UCLA’s 38.
UCLA got a break, though, when, after one first down, a 38-yard field-goal try by Daniel LaCamera hit the upright.
So the Bruins still lead with a little more than five minute4s left in the first quarter.
We’re underway at College Station; Texas A&M has the ball first
UCLA will kick off to Texas A&M, and the 12th Man -- that famous A&M home crowd -- is ready.
The press box is shaking.
Kickoff goes to the end zone and the Aggies will start from their own 20 after return.
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Well, the ball didn’t stay with the Aggies long.
On the fifth play, Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight connected with Jamal Jeffrey on a swing pass and Jeffrey fumbled when UCLA’s Taahan Goodman put a shoulder pad on the ball.
Kenny Young recovered for UCLA, giving the Bruins the ball at the Aggies’ 43.
See this Jim Mora? (And every other college football coach)
Proof positive there can be problems in depth perception
A two-deep UCLA lineup was distributed in the Kyle Field press box before the team’s opener against Texas A&M, which might have left Bruins Coach Jim Mora aghast.
Mora is not a fan of formal depth charts and never releases them. The one handed out in the press box might partially explain his disdain.
It included defensive end Deon Hollins and fullback Cameron Griffin, both expected to miss the game because they had not fully recovered from concussions.
The two-deep also showed Soso Jamabo and Ishmael Adams both wearing No. 1, but the jersey was worn only by Adams. Jamabo was wearing No. 9.
Mora’s primary issue with depth charts is the variety of players he shuffles through different positions, with only a handful of spots being filled by a bona fide starter.
Warning for UCLA: Watch for the bomb
Noel Mazzone, Texas A&M’s first-year offensive coordinator, knows how to stretch a defense, knows how to have fun and isn’t opposed to doing both at the same time on the same play.
The first play.
Which is why UCLA’s secondary might want to make sure nobody gets behind a safety on the Aggies’ first play from scrimmage.
Remember the play Mazzone called last year, when he called the shots for the UCLA offense?
Josh Rosen was a hot-shot freshman then and everyone wanted to know what the fuss was about.
Mazzone tried to show them on UCLA’s first play: He had Rosen wind up and throw a bomb toward Kenneth Walker III.
The pass fell incomplete, but Rosen wore a big smile afterward. And a message was sent.
This year, Mazzone has another quarterback making a debut: Trevor Knight, a graduate transfer from Oklahoma.
Might he try to send a similar message?
Stay tuned.
By the way, after that first launch fell incomplete, Rosen did OK in his opener. He finished having completed 28 of 35 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns as the Bruins defeated Virginia, 34-16.
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Who’s No. 1?
For UCLA, it’s Ishmael Adams.
See this from Ben Bolch:
UCLA must beat the heat as well as Texas A&M in opener
UCLA is feeling the heat, but it could be worse. A lot worse.
The 16th-ranked Bruins commenced their warmups before their season opener against Texas A&M at Kyle Field on Saturday with the temperature a relatively comfortable 87 degrees, according to weather.com.
The 61% humidity did bump the “feels like” portion of the weather report to a more sweltering 94 degrees, but the temperature was actually lower than had been predicted several days ago.
UCLA fans who made the trek from Los Angeles might want to slather on the sunscreen because the ultraviolet index was a 10 out of 10.
Fans are trickling in, with the crowd expected to top 100,000. The Bruins have not played before a six-figure crowd since 2010, when they played at Texas in front of 101,437.