UCLA downs No. 16 Nebraska
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brett Hundley had four touchdown passes as UCLA took a 36-30 win over 16th-ranked Nebraska in a non-conference thriller at the Rose Bowl.
Hundley went 21-for-31 with 305 yards and Johnathan Franklin amassed 217 yards on 26 carries while Joseph Fauria caught two scores for the Bruins (2-0), who took their opener against Rice last week.
Taylor Martinez was 17-for-31 with 179 yards and an interceptions, and added 111 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown for the Cornhuskers (1-1), who fell to 15-3 in non-conference games under head coach Bo Pelini.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The game was tied at the break and Nebraska received the kickoff, but Ameer Abdullah fumbled it and UCLA recovered at the Nebraska 28.
The Cornhuskers defense, though, bailed the team out and held UCLA to a 22- yard field goal from Ka'imi Fairbairn for a 27-24 lead.
An exchange of punts saw the Cornhuskers get the ball back at their own 38 and take the ball down to the UCLA 26 where Brett Maher kicked a 43-yard field goal to tie the game with under eight minutes to play in the third.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Bruins got into the Cornhuskers red zone, but stalled at the Nebraska 20 and lined up for a field goal. They opted for the fake, but Richard Brehaut's pass to Fauria was incomplete.
The offenses stalled over the next couple of drives, but the Cornhuskers got into scoring position early in the fourth and attempted a 37-yard field goal, but Maher hooked it just left.
The Bruins had to punt from just past midfield and pinned Nebraska at its own 5-yard line.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On the first play, Datone Jones busted through the middle and read a fake handoff perfectly. He zeroed in on Martinez and nailed him in the end zone for a safety and a 29-27 lead with under nine minutes to play.
The Bruins were unable to add to their lead after the free kick as Fairbairn's 34-yard attempt was off the mark.
Each team then punted the ball with Nebraska getting the ball back at its own 20. However, on the second play, Martinez was picked off by Andrew Abbott, who returned it 24 yards to the Nebraska 16.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}That led to an 8-yard touchdown catch by Franklin from Hundley for a 36-27 lead with 2:13 to play.
Thanks to a good return and personal foul call to UCLA, the Cornhuskers got a 40-yard field goal from Maher to make it a one-score game with 1:38 to play, but UCLA recovered the onsides kick attempt and ran out the clock.
Fairbairn missed a 36-yard field goal on UCLA's first touch and Nebraska had to punt after a three-and-out.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The punt, however, was shanked and went just 13 yards to give the Bruins the ball at the Nebraska 27. The next play saw Hundley and Fauria connect for a touchdown.
The Cornhuskers answered on their next touch as a 6-play, 75-yard drive was capped on a 6-yard touchdown run by Abdullah to tie the game with seven minutes left in the first.
Later in the first, Nebraska got the ball back at its own 4-yard line. On the second play, Martinez kept the ball himself, bursted through the line and out- raced everyone down the left sideline on a 92-yard score to give the team a 14-7 lead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}UCLA answered with a 12-play drive that covered 58 yards, but it stalled at the Nebraska 17 and Fairbairn booted the ball through the uprights from 35 yards out to make it a 14-10 game.
The Bruins held Nebraska and got the ball back at their own 42. On the first play, Franklin took the ball 36 yards, which helped set up a 4-yard catch by Fauria from Hundley to give the team a 17-14 lead with just under eight minutes to play in the second.
Nebraska, though, answered on their next touch and Abdullah finished the 7-play, 87-yard drive with a 17-yard run for a 21-17 lead with five minutes left.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The scores kept coming when Hundley hit Steven Manfro in-stride near the Nebraska 20 and he took it into the end zone on a 49-yard score with under four minutes to play.
Following an exchange of punts, Nebraska had the ball at its own 38 with 40 seconds to play. Three straight passes got the ball down to the UCLA 21, but Martinez was sacked for a 16-yard loss on the next play. After two straight UCLA timeouts in an attempt to ice the kicker, Maher booted a career-long 54- yard field goal to tie the game at the break.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nebraska still leads the series with UCLA, 6-5. The last time the two schools met was in 1994 when second-ranked Nebraska posted a 49-21 victory at home ... Abdullah finished the game with 118 yards on 16 carries ... Kenny Bell led Nebraska receivers with six catches for 109 yards ... The teams combined for 1,091 yards, 653 from the Bruins.