SAN DIEGO– Bruins freshman quarterback Dante Moore got his first start on Saturday, September 9 as UCLA toppled San Diego State by a score of 35 to 10 at Snapdragon Stadium. Moore was poised and confident finishing the outing with 290 passing yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions as the Bruins improve to 2-0.
UCLA struck first as Moore threw a dart over the middle to Josiah Norwood, who split the defense racing 81 yards for the games first score.
Team defense was on full display in San Diego. The Bruins sacked the Aztecs three times and made 10 tackles for losses.
The Bruins forced four consecutive turnovers late in the game and defensive back Alex Johnson came away with two interceptions on the day.
UCLA’s run game got active to start the second quarter – with Moore under center and a yard to go on a fourth down, the freshman quarterback handed it off to junior running back Carson Steele for an uncontested 13-yard rushing touchdown. Steele scored on the first play of the second quarter, slowly building UCLA’s lead.
UCLA outpaced the Aztecs on offense, amassing 550 total yards to San Diego State’s 259. The Bruins held the Aztecs to just 63 rushing yards while running for 254 of their own. UCLA has yet to allow more than 65 rushing yards in a game this season.
The Bruins handed it off to sophomore rusher T.J. Harden, he ran it up the middle for a gain of six yards. Harden got the pigskin in his hands the next down, gaining three yards to put UCLA in a third-and-one situation.
The Bruins went right back to Harden, who found a gap up the middle and broke off for 59 yards and a touchdown.
UCLA scored 21 points in the second quarter as it turned into a blowout.
The Bruins are back in action against North Carolina Central next Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Rose Bowl. The game will kick off at 2 p.m.
