At the end of the night, UCLA prevailed for their first victory of the year, 27-17. While all victories in college football are hard fought, the Bruins showed a lot of vulnerability and roughness, not putting the game away until the fourth quarter against a non BCS opponent in their home opener. Derrick Coleman and Jonathan Franklin were really the only bright spot on the UCLA offense, combining for 268 yards.
In fact it was Coleman that put the game away for the Bruins. With 3:35 left in the game, Coleman broke loose for a 24 yard run that put UCLA up 27-17, a score SJSU wasn’t able to chip away at. Richard Brehaut was 10-20 and 140 yards in his first full game.
For a UCLA team with low expectations, the win is just another notch on their road to qualifying for a bowl invite. But with Texas flying in for the return game on their home and home series next week, UCLA could be looking at a 1-2 record going into Pac 12 play. The games certainly aren’t going to get any easier, and tonight wasn’t all that impressive of a performance.