RECAP: No. 1 Ohio State Overwhelms UCLA, 48-10
Bo Jackson ran for 112 yards and a touchdown and James Peoples ran for two scores when No, 1 Ohio State steamrolled UCLA 48-10 before 104,168 in Ohio Stadium on a pleasant 65-degree night.
The Buckeyes (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) dominated the undermanned Bruins for a 27-0 halftime lead on touchdown runs of 1 yard by Jackson, 19 from James People, an 11-yard catch for Bryson Rodgers and Jayden Fielding field goals of 41 and 33 yards.
It was 34-7 when Lorenzo Styles Jr., returned a kickoff 100 yards to make it 41-7.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava did not play due to a concussion.
Redshirt sophomore Luke Duncan made his first career start and was 16 of 23 for 154 yards and a TD.
Ohio State star receiver Carnell Tate missed a second straight game with an undisclosed injury.
Jeremiah Smith, listed as questionable before the game, made four catches for 40 yards playing only the first half.
Dominant
UCLA gained 2 yards off the opening series and punted 44 yards to the OSU 29.
It took five Jackson runs, three Julian Sayin completions and one spectacular Smith catch to go the 71 yards in 3:54 for a 7-0 lead at 8:47 of the first quarter.
Max Klare opened the drive with a 7-yard catch. Jackson ran for 7 and Bryson Rodgers’ reception went for 16 to the UCLA 41 before Smith’s twisting one-handed grab along the left sideline for 18 yards.
Jackson then went for 4,7,11 before taking it up the gut from the 1.
The Bruins next had to punt after their initial first down. They had a third-and-5 from their 41 but were penalized for delay of game and a false start. Needing 16 yards, Anthony Woods ran for 11.
The Buckeyes began their second series from the 18. Sayin was 7 for 7 for just 50 yards and the drive stalled at the UCLA22 , resulting in a 41-yard field goal for Jayden Fielding and a 10-0 score with four seconds left in the quarter.
Brandon Inniss on the third play, had a catch for 8 and Smith followed with a 7-yarder to the 32. Quincy Porter hauled in a 14-yarder along the way and Isaiah West pulled in a 12-yard pass to the 29. On third down, Sayin was hurried and Klare made an 8-yard catch to the 22.
Sayin for the quarter was 10 for 10 for 91 yards and the Buckeyes led in total yards 131-31.
Another UCLA punt. Another starting point at the 18.
The Buckeyes needed two fourth-downs on the 12-play drive, the last an 11-yard catch by Bryson Rodgers to make it 17-0 with 4:41 left in the half. The 82-yard drive consumed 6:51.
Jackson rushed for 13 two carries and Mylan Graham made a catch for 9. Jackon ripped off a 32-yard run to the 28 before Sayin went back to Graham but it ended up as his first incompletion after going 11 for 11 for 100.
Later, the Buckeyes faced fourth-and-5-from the 23 when an Inniss catch of 7 gave OSU new life. But after illegal formation and holding penalties, a Smith catch of 15 under tight coverage along the right side made it fourth-and-5 from the 11.
After an Ohio State timeout, Sayin rolled right to buy time. He waited and waited before spotting Rodgers at the goal line.
UCLA had a third-1-from its 34 when Kenyatta Jackson Jr. burst through the line and swallowed Mikey Matthews for a 2-yard loss.
UCLA’s fourth punt went out of bounds at the 19. On the second play, Jackson took off for a 38-yard gain to the UCLA 43 with two minutes left.
Coming out of the timeout, Innis caught a 2-yarder but Sayin missed Klare open by 15 yards downfield. Sayin went back to Klare for 7 and on third-and-1 from 34, UCLA was called for pass interference at the 19.
That’s when the highlight happened. Peoples broke to his right and was headed down the right sideline when he saw defensive back Cole Martin approaching him at the 10. Peoples hurdled him, kept his balance and scored to make it 24-0 with 1:19 left.
The 81-yard drive took 1:53 and five plays.
Just when it couldn’t get worse for UCLA it did. Punting from the 22 with 16 seconds left, Will Karoll shanked it straight into Buckeye defensive end Caden Curry and it was recovered by Karoll at the 14 with 10 seconds left.
Sayin threw incomplete to Inniss with six seconds to go and Fielding booted a 33-yard field goal with one second left to make it 27-0.
The Buckeyes had 294 yards (147 each passing and rushing while UCLA totaled 58 (21 passing, 37 rushing) and the first downs were 16-2.
Shining Moment
The Buckeyes got off to an inauspicious start to the second half. Sayin had two incompletions and was sacked on third down. Before the punt, OSU was guilty of a false start before Joe McGuire’s 44-yard punt was returned to the UCLA 37.
The Bruins went for it on fourth-and-1 from the 46 but Curry stopped Woods for a 1-yard loss.
OSU turned it over on downs on Sayin’s incompletion when the Buckeyes needed 4 yards from UCLA 49. Since his hot start, Sayin was 9 of 15 for 55 yards.
On OSU’s next possession West scored from the 1. It took 13 plays and 6:16 to go 69 yards.
Graham had a 21-yard catch to the UCLA 48, Jackson would have runs of 9 and 18, the latter put the ball on the 1. After West was stopped the first time he cut outside and easily scored to make it 34-0 with 2:27 left in the third quarter.
The shutout was broken when UCLA went 75 yards in five plays and 2:10.
Duncan’s 51-yard pass to Rico Flores to the 19 with 1:35 left in the third quarter was the first time UCLA crossed midfield.
Two plays later, Duncan connected with Kwazi Gilmer for an 18-yard touchdown to make it 34-7.
Ohio State immediately responded with its first kickoff return for a TD in 15 years when Lorenzo Styles Jr. went 100 yards to make it 41-7 with three seconds left in the quarter.
Jordan Hall scored on a kickoff against Michigan in 2010. It was also its first of 100 yards since Ted Ginn in 2005 vs. Minnesota.
The Bruins made it 41-10 on a 32-yard field goal by Mateen Bhaghani with 8:49 to play.
Lincoln Kienholz replaced Sayin on the next Buckeyes drive and they went 75 yards on 11 plays and 6:55 off the clock to go up 48-10 on a 10-yard run by Peoples with 1:54 to play.