PASADENA—After a dreadful October for UCLA football, the Bruins needed a victory to salvage their season against the visiting Colorado Buffaloes with their season hanging in the balance. Down by 13 at halftime, the Bruins mauled Colorado in the second half, cruising to a 44-20 victory at the Rose Bowl on November 13.

With this decisive win, the UCLA Bruins improve to (6-4, 4-3 PAC-12) on the season. Why was the sixth win of the utmost importance? Six victories means that UCLA is eligible to play in a bowl game at the end of the regular season.

Scoring 37 unanswered points in the second half thanks to Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson who returned after missing the Utah game due to an injured thumb.

DTR was rejuvenated in his return to the gridiron as he accounted for 356 yards of total offense, while running back Zach Charbonnet rushed for three touchdowns.

The panoramic view of the historic Rose Bowl at sunset was magnificent, our first half not so much. The Buffalos ran wild in the beginning, running back Jarek Broussard rushed for 108 yards, as UCLA trailed 20-7 headed into the locker room.

“I was pretty ticked and frustrated at halftime. We had some penalties and I obviously wasn’t playing my best,” DTR said. “We knew we had to pick each other up.”

Going 18 of 27 for 257 yards as well as rushing for 99 yards and a TD. His 23-yard scamper into the end zone put the Bruins up 23-20. Rather than running away from their problems, the Bruins faced them head on. Leaving the defense flat on their back.

The explosive offense had a season high 502 yards, 245 on the ground. UCLA is a perfect 6-0 when they rush for 200 or more yards.

Kyle Phillips 82-yard punt return was the exclamation point for the Bruins. Next up is the Crosstown Showdown against USC.

Mark your calendars; Saturday, November 20 is the game of the year. The Trojans have had a challenging season, firing Clay Helton early after an embarrassing loss to Stanford.

USC has a 4-5 record this season, their week 11 game against Cal was postponed because of COVID-19. At stake is the Victory Bell, USC narrowly defeated UCLA, 43-38 in 2020 at the Rose Bowl. This will be the 91st installment of greatest rivalry in Los Angeles sports period.

USC is 49-32-7 all-time against UCLA. However, the Bruins are 3.5 point favorites.

Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The game will air on FOX 11.