Call it versatility. Or confusion.
UCLA would probably prefer to just call it winning.
Two weeks into the season, the No. 11 Bruins are undefeated thanks to a 42-35 win over the Memphis Tigers Saturday night at the Rose Bowl. They couldn’t have achieved their two victories in more opposite fashion.
After the offense produced one touchdown a week ago against Virginia, quarterback Brett Hundley and company found the end zone six times while piling up 540 yards.
The UCLA defense that scored three touchdowns in one game for the first time in 28 years last week gave up 463 yards to Memphis, just 82 fewer than Tigers’ Week 1 opponent Austin Peay of the FCS.
Hundley picked up the slack, completing 33 of 44 passes for 396 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
The Heisman Trophy candidate alleviated much of the concern from what was considered a poor performance last week, though he completed 60 percent of his passes for 242 yards against Virginia. The Bruins’ scored touchdowns on four consecutive first-half possessions and at one point in the second quarter Hundley was 21 of 24 for 241 yards with a pair of touchdown passes.
While the Bruins’ offense was piling up 28 first-half points, the defense allowed Memphis three touchdown drives in four possessions, keeping the Tigers will within striking distance down just seven points at the half.
UCLA opened up its second two-touchdown lead of the game when Myles Jack, who saw his first action of the season at running back, rumbled for a 4-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. The Bruins’ defense seemed to be settling down and carried the 35-21 lead into the fourth quarter.
In 37 seconds, it all changed.
Memphis running back Doroland Dorceus broke loose for a 40-yard touchdown run less than a minute into the fourth quarter.
With UCLA backed up against its own goal line two plays later, Hundley threw an interception that Memphis’ Fritz Etienne returned 17 yards for a touchdown to complete a stunning turnaround and tie the game at 35.
Faced with his most difficult decision of the game on the ensuing possession, UCLA coach Jim Mora elected to go for it on fourth-and-one from the Memphis 42-yard line. Myles Jack made his coach look good with a conversion one play before Hundley found Thomas Duarte wide open for a 33-yard touchdown. Duarte finished with four receptions for 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
A botched fake punt attempt by Memphis that UCLA returned for a touchdown not withstanding, the Bruins’ held on by stopping Memphis on its final three possessions.
Aside from the 37-second stretch that produced two touchdowns, the Tigers were shut down in the second half. But that didn’t stop Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch from setting a career high with 299 yards on 26 of 40 passing.
To say it’s difficult to know what to expect when UCLA visits Texas next week would be an understatement.