The Jim Mora era got off to a great start on Thursday night, as the UCLA Bruins rolled over the Rice Owls 49-24 at Rice Stadium in Houston. Here is a look at the game with some numbers that stood out, especially from redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Hundley.
Star of the game: The redshirt freshman Hundley ran for a 72-yard touchdown on his first play from scrimmage, and the Bruins never looked back. Hundley completed 21 of 28 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns to go with that run. Not bad at all for his first start.
Nearly a new high: Not to be outdone, tailback Johnathan Franklin ran for 214 yards on just 15 carries and scored three times himself. Franklin nearly matched his career high on the ground of 216 yards, set in 2010 against Washington State in 2010. The Bruins ran for 343 yards on 37 carries against Rice, an average of 9.3 yards per carry.
Record setter: Franklin "became the first player in UCLA history to have two rushes of at least 72 yards in a game after scoring on touchdown runs of 74 and 78 yards in the first half."
Rolling up the yards: UCLA amassed a whopping 646 total yards, the eighth highest total in school history, and the largest 2005 against Arizona State.
Still undefeated: The Bruins improved to 5-0 all-time against Rice, and have beaten the Owls by an average score of 37-17.
About those PATs: The Bruins had three, count 'em three, extra-point attempts blocked on Thursday, all by the same player! Cameron Nwosu set a new NCAA record with three blocked extra-points in one game.
Up Next: The Bruins return home, where they will get an extra two days to prepare for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. UCLA hosts the Big Ten (it still feels weird saying that) foe on Saturday, Sept. 8 at 4:30 p.m. at the Rose Bowl, in a game televised by Fox.
Talk about the game with Bruins fans at Bruins Nation, and hit up the SB Nation college football hub for more comprehensive NCAA football coverage.