Bruins say goodbye to seniors on a low note after loss to Stanford

It was a painful way to say goodbye, on a couple levels.

UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley spent the final minutes of a 31-10 loss to Stanford on the sideline with his throwing hand in ice. He was injured when his finger hit a helmet late in the fourth quarter.

“Basically it is nicked and bruised pretty bad,� Hundley said. “It got pretty big, and I couldn’t do much with it.�

Hundley said the initial X-rays were negative. He will be re-examined in the coming days, but did not think the finger was broken.

“They will look into it,� Hundley said. “All I can do is hope for the best.�

Hundley completed 17 of 32 passes for 146 yards and one touchdown. Jerry Neuheisel finished the game.

Hundley also played his last game at the Rose Bowl.

“It hurts,� he said. “We have done a lot these last three years. On the brighter side of things, we are blessed with another opportunity [in a bowl game]. We’ll see where we land.�

Kendricks tops chart

Senior linebacker Eric Kendricks had 11 tackles to pass Jerry Robinson on UCLA’s all-time list. Kendricks has 471 tackles in four seasons. Robinson had 468 from 1975 to 1978.

“He’s always going,� sophomore linebacker Myles Jack said. “I have never seen a lull in his game. I have never seen him get tired. He’s the same guy every day. As a young guy that’s hard to do. You get emotional. He knows how to keep composure. That’s one of the things I’m going to miss.�

Last gasp

UCLA’s opportunity to rally Friday seemed to end with a desperate heave.

Stanford led 28-10. The Bruins had a lurch-along drive that stalled at the Cardinal 30-yard line and lined up for a field goal.

Instead of kicking, holder Jerry Neuheisel pulled the ball back and was chased to his left. He lofted a long pass that was intercepted at the goal line by Jordan Richards with 1 minute 26 seconds left in the third quarter.

“At that point of the game, we were looking to take a chance,� Neuheisel said. “Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t. It worked in practice. We’ll keep taking chances. Hopefully it will turn out better next time.�

Senior moment

The Bruins held a pregame ceremony for their seniors. The postgame scene was not as upbeat.

“There were some tears, and it was quiet,� Jack said. “That was their last game at the Rose Bowl. That was what was disappointing to me. We wanted the seniors to go out with a win.�

Perkins rambles

Running back Paul Perkins had 116 yards rushing for 1,262 yards on the season. It ranks him sixth on UCLA’s all-time single-season list.

Perkins leads the Pac-12 in rushing title, sitting 92 yards ahead of USC’s Javorius Allen and 126 yards ahead of Utah’s Devontae Booker. USC plays Notre Dame and Utah plays Colorado on Saturday.

Hollins hurt

Linebacker Deon Hollins left the game in the first quarter with a left ankle injury. He was taken to the locker room for X-rays and spent the second half on the sideline.

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