EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Pittsburgh quarterback Nick Patti once again steps in for a bowl game after the guy ahead of him on the depth chart didn't stick around.
For UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the Sun Bowl will be his first postseason experience after appearing in 45 games over the senior's five seasons.
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Dorian Thompson-Robinson ran for two touchdowns and passed for another as No. 17 UCLA rallied from an 11-point deficit to beat California 35-28 on Friday.
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — UCLA's dreams of a Pac-12 title and Rose Bowl berth ended when a late-game comeback attempt fell short a week ago against Southern California.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Caleb Williams passed for a career-high 470 yards, Austin Jones rushed for a season-high 120 yards and No. 7 Southern California beat No. 16 UCLA 48-45 on Saturday night to reach the Pac-12 Championship game.
Here are some things to watch this week in the Pac-12 Conference:
GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 7 USC (9-1 overall, 7-1 Pac-12, No. 7 CFP) at No. 16 UCLA (8-2, 5-2, No. 16 CFP), Saturday.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Many fans and other observers thought Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s performance against Southern California last year was an emphatic final chapter to his UCLA career.
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Dorian Thompson-Robinson hurdled a defender on a 33-yard touchdown run, one of his two rushing scores, and also passed for two TDs as No. 10 UCLA held off Arizona State 50-36 on Saturday night.
No. 10 UCLA (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12, No. 12 CFP) at Arizona State (3-5, 2-3), Saturday, 10:30 p.m. EDT (FS1)
Line: UCLA by 10 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It took years for UCLA to find consistency on offense.
Now that the No. 10 Bruins have it, scoring 30 or more points in each of their past 11 games, they have no intention of giving it away.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — While some may have wondered if UCLA would let last week's loss at Oregon linger, Zach Charbonnet and the rest of the Bruins quickly shelved those concerns.
Charbonnet tied a career high with 198 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns as the 12th-ranked Bruins bounced back with a 38-13 victory over Stanford on Saturday night.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Usually when UCLA plays Oregon a lot of attention falls on Chip Kelly, the current Bruins coach and former Ducks coach.
This year, not as much. When No. 9 UCLA visits No. 10 Oregon on Saturday, there are more compelling storylines — like two quarterbacks who are among the Pac-12's best this season.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Dorian Thompson-Robinson's knocked another item off his revenge list Saturday by leading No. 18 UCLA past No. 11 Utah 42-32.
The fifth-year senior said during the week leading up to the game that he had something to prove against the Utes, who had handily won five straight in the series by an average of 27 points.
Things to watch this week in the Pac-12 Conference:
GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 11 Utah (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12) at No. 18 UCLA (5-0, 2-0)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dorian Thompson-Robinson has been answering questions about his play and UCLA's turnaround in the same fashion as he deals with opposing defenders.
By hurdling over them.
The fifth-year senior quarterback and the Bruins both made huge statements about respect with a 40-32 victory Friday over No.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Dorian Thompson-Robinson had read and heard the comments about UCLA's unbeaten start not meaning much due to the quality of opponents it played.
On Friday night, Thompson-Robinson and the Bruins made sure to make a statement with their first victory over a top-15 team since 2014.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — No. 15 Washington and UCLA are both unbeaten and have many questions to answer going into Friday night’s matchup at the Rose Bowl.
The Huskies — under first-year coach Kalen DeBoer — have won their first four games for the first time since 2017 but are playing their first road contest of the season.
BOULDER, Colorado (AP) — Zach Charbonnet ran for three touchdowns and Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for two more to power UCLA to its seventh straight win, a 45-17 rout of winless Colorado on Saturday.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Chip Kelly prepared UCLA squad leading up to Saturday's game against South Alabama to expect a trick play when they least expected it.
The Bruins were ready though, which allowed them to escape with a 32-31 victory at the Rose Bowl after Nicholas Barr-Mira's 24-yard field goal on the final play of the game.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Backup quarterback Ethan Garbers threw for 164 yards and ran for a pair of touchdowns, and UCLA improved to 2-0 for the second consecutive year with a 45-7 rout of Alabama State on Saturday.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA’s focus on incremental gains to build sustainable success under coach Chip Kelly seems to finally be paying off, having won four straight games by at least 24 points dating back to last season.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Some players might get flustered falling behind 10 points early in the second quarter, especially as a 24 1/2 point favorite. Not so much when you're a fifth-year senior like Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dorian Thompson-Robinson is back for one more season at UCLA, even though many encouraged him to declare for the NFL draft.
The fifth-year quarterback would have been a midround pick in this year's class.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — The Rose Bowl was chilly, and the crowd was fairly sparse. The UCLA Bruins still celebrated their regular season-ending victory over California to honor the seniors who persevered through their difficult four-year transformation into a winner.
STARS
—C.J. Stroud, Ohio State, threw for 432 yards and six TDs as No. 5 Ohio State blew out No. 7 Michigan State 56-7
—Bryce Young, Alabama, passed for a school-record 559 yards and five TDs, and the No.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dorian Thompson-Robinson romped through the Coliseum end zone during the second quarter and looked up to see a young fan in Southern California gear holding out a UCLA hat and a pen.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The stakes are fairly low in the 91st Crosstown Showdown by the usual standards of Los Angeles' biggest rivalry game.
UCLA has already secured bowl eligibility for the first time under coach Chip Kelly, but the Bruins' record (6-4, 4-3 Pac-12) and their recent play aren't particularly inspiring.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Zach Charbonnet had three rushing touchdowns for the second time this season, Dorian Thompson-Robinson racked up 356 yards of total offense and UCLA became bowl eligible for the first time in four years with a 44-20 victory over Colorado on Saturday night.
SEATTLE (AP) — Dorian Thompson-Robinson carried UCLA long enough for freshman Devin Kirkwood to make the first big play of his college career.
Thompson-Robinson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, Kirkwood came up with a critical interception inside the final 5 minutes, and UCLA beat Washington 24-17 on Saturday night.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Brittain Brown burst up the middle, lost his footing and planted his hand in the ground to keep his balance. Barely breaking stride, he kept going for a 48-yard touchdown.
Disappointing he had lost a fumble earlier in the game, Brown scored the back-breaking touchdown that sealed UCLA's victory.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — UCLA has a chance to bounce back from its second loss of the season against a team that hasn't won since 2019.
An easy win coming up? The Bruins can't look at it that way.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Arizona State's Jayden Daniels are the top two dual-threat quarterbacks in the Pac-12. They will also be the focal point in a pivotal South Division game at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — When the game was on the line, Dorian Thompson-Robinson wasn't going to allow UCLA to lose.
Thompson threw a tiebreaking 75-yard TD pass early in the fourth quarter and came back from a banged-up shoulder to throw a clinching touchdown late that helped No.
No. 24 UCLA (2-1, 0-0 Pac-12) at Stanford (2-1, 1-0), Saturday at 3 p.m. EDT (Pac-12 Networks).
Line: UCLA by 4 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — For anyone looking for the one player who might best define the Chip Kelly era at UCLA, Dorian Thompson-Robinson is the perfect example.
The junior quarterback has seen the Bruins progress from a team that had a school-record 20 true freshmen play during Kelly's first season in 2018 to being ranked for the first time in four years.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Fresno State's Jake Haener was able to overcome a crushing hit to his right hip to lead the Bulldogs to an upset victory over No. 13 UCLA.
Haener threw for 455 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown pass to Jalen Cropper with 14 seconds remaining, as the Bulldogs beat the Bruins 40-37 Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Dorian Thompson-Robinson and UCLA picked up their third win over a ranked opponent during the Chip Kelly era Saturday night. This 38-27 victory over No. 16 LSU in a nationally-televised prime-time game will have more resonance nationally.
No. 16 LSU (0-0) at UCLA (1-0), Saturday at 8:30 p.m. EDT (FOX).
Line: LSU by 2½, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — The mother of UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson echoed the thoughts of many Bruins fans during the first half of Saturday's game against Hawaii after Zach Charbonnet scored his third touchdown.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chip Kelly has a win over Southern California and two victories over ranked teams during his tenure at UCLA. What he doesn’t have is a win over a nonconference opponent.
If the Bruins want to show signs of a turnaround, that will need to change Saturday at the Rose Bowl against Hawaii.
With the season looming, a handful of Pac-12 teams have yet to name a starting quarterback.
Four vets are back: USC's Kedon Slovis, UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Cal's Chase Garbers and Arizona State's Jayden Daniels.