PASADENA, Calif. — Mike Bercovici passed for 273 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score, and Arizona State got its season back on track with a 38-23 victory over No. 7 UCLA on Saturday night.
Tim White and D.J. Foster caught scoring passes for the Sun Devils (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12), who responded to their dire situation after two September losses with a solid effort in their second straight win at the Rose Bowl. Arizona State built a 29-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter and then hung on.
Thomas Duarte caught his second touchdown pass from Josh Rosen with 9:19 to play, trimming the Sun Devils’ lead to 29-23. But after UCLA (4-1, 1-1) got stranded inside its 1 by Matt Haack’s punt, the Bruins snapped the ball out of their own end zone with 4:16 left for their second safety of the night.
Kalen Ballage wrapped it up with a 23-yard TD run with 45 seconds to play, covering most of that distance with UCLA defenders hanging on him.
Arizona State’s defense rebounded splendidly after giving up 42 points in a home loss to Southern California last week. The Sun Devils shut down UCLA’s running game and tormented Rosen, blitzing the freshman relentlessly while forcing him into a 22-for-40 performance for 280 yards with an interception.
UCLA’s offense played three ugly quarters before coming to life in the fourth. Prolific tailback Paul Perkins was held to 63 yards rushing and a fourth-quarter touchdown.
Bercovici made a 34-yard TD run up the middle early in the third quarter. Demario Richard led the Sun Devils with 79 yards rushing and added 57 yards receiving, while former UCLA receiver Devin Lucien made a key fourth-quarter catch for ASU.
The road team has won all four games in this matchup since coaches Todd Graham and Jim Mora took over at their respective schools in 2012. The Bruins scored 140 points in their last three meetings with the Sun Devils, but Arizona State’s defense was in charge for most of the night this time.
Arizona State took the lead in the first quarter when Rosen was called for intentional grounding in the end zone on the Bruins’ fourth possession. White followed up the Sun Devils’ first safety in two years by returning the kickoff 65 yards and then rumbling in with a 14-yard TD catch.
Bercovici ran practically untouched up the middle for a score early in the third quarter, and Foster caught a TD pass shortly afterward.
UCLA’s offense finally got rolling in the fourth quarter, with Perkins making a gutsy 29-yard run before a 1-yard TD plunge. Linebacker Isaako Savaiinaea made a midfield interception moments later, and Duarte caught a 17-yard TD pass to get the Rose Bowl rocking.
Arizona State’s next drive stalled at midfield, but Haack rolled his punt out of bounds right in front of the goal-line pylon, and UCLA snapped its own punt attempt high out of the end zone.
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