No. 12 Oregon downs UCLA in mistake-filled game

PASADENA >> Oregon’s visit to the Rose Bowl on Saturday went so well, it turned its own fumble into a touchdown.

Early in the third quarter against UCLA, Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota took the snap on second-and-10. He bobbled it, letting it bounce a few feet forward and to the left.

But with no Bruin defender anywhere near him, the Heisman candidate simply scooped the ball back up in stride and ran around 20 yards untouched to the end zone. Capping a 10-play, 80-yard drive that gave Oregon an 18-point lead, it was just one of many disastrous moments in UCLA’s 42-30 loss.

The Bruins have now lost six straight games to Oregon — two under third-year head coach Jim Mora — but Saturday’s mess was arguably the most discouraging of them all.

No. 18 UCLA entered this game as just a 1.5-point underdog, with a chance to prove that last week’s two-point was just an anomaly — that the team could still play itself back into playoff contention with an upset of 12th-ranked Oregon. After all, the Bruins were just two weeks removed from a 62-27 beating of Arizona State, one that lifted them to No. 8 in the Associated Press poll.

Instead, UCLA began the game by shooting itself in the foot. A fumble by Brett Hundley bounced back 24 yards, setting the Ducks up with a short field and their first touchdown of the game.

The Bruins didn’t fare better defending Oregon’s next drive. UCLA committed pair of penalties on third downs, including defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes throwing a punch at Ducks running back Thomas Tyner — a play that surprisingly didn’t result in his ejection.

Five plays later, Tyner scored on a 21-yard screen pass from Mariota. Down 15-3, the UCLA meltdown trickled to the sideline. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich got in a heated argument with Mora, eventually handing over his headset and storming away.