Stanford routs UCLA, 31-10

Look at it this way, UCLA fans. It could be worse.

The Bruins could play in the Pac-12 Conference North Division.

UCLA’s futility against the powers of the conference’s northern half continued Friday at the Rose Bowl as Stanford rolled to a 31-10 victory.

UCLA has now lost its last seven games to Stanford. The Bruins’ losing streak against Oregon stands at five, and won’t be ending in next week’s Pac-12 championship game.

UCLA needed a win against Stanford to take a place in that game.

The Bruins’ losing streak against the Cardinal is tied for its longest against a conference team since UCLA joined what is now the Pac-12 in 1928.

UCLA also had a seven-game losing streak to USC.

Stanford’s win over the No. 8 Bruins marked the first time this season the Cardinal defeated a ranked team. Stanford had lost five previous games against ranked opponents.

The key for the Cardinal is scoring points. They are now 7-0 when they score more than 20 points in a game. They are 0-5 when they do not.

UCLA fell to 9-3 overall, 6-3 in Pac-12 play.

The Bruins drove 64 yards for a touchdown in five plays over a game-time span of less than a minute and a half the first time they had the ball.

And did almost nothing thereafter.

Stanford came into the game with nation’s sixth-best overall defense, and the Cardinal dominated at the line of scrimmage and in the secondary.

UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley completed 17 of 32 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game late in the fourth quarter with an injury to his right hand.

Backup Jerry Neuheisel completed three of nine passes for 16 yards with an interception.

Paul Perkins, the Pac-12’s leading rusher, ran for 116 yards in 17 carries.

The star of the game was Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan, who completed 16 of 19 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 46 yards in seven carries.

Hogan, operating without top receiving target Ty Montgomery, who missed the game with an injury, completed passes to nine different receivers.

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Five minutes left to play at the Rose Bowl.

UCLA trails Stanford, 31-0, and has the ball at its own 36 yard line with Jerry Neuheisel now playing quarterback.

Brett Hundley is standing on the UCLA sideline with a bag of ice over his right hand.

That could be how he ends his last game at the Rose Bowl.

He is expected to declare himself eligible for the next NFL draft.

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UCLA drove inside the Stanford 10-yard line, but stalled there as Brett Hundley had to leave the game with what looks like an injury to his right (throwing) hand.

Backup Jerry Neuheisel came on with the Bruins at the seven yard line, and he completed his first pass, to Devin Fuller, for a short gain.

However, his next two tries -- toward Thomas Duarte and Jordan Peyton -- fell incomplete.

Stanford takes over at its own four with less than seven minutes left in the game.

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Stanford’s offense has been the surprise of this game, but the Cardinal defense -- which has been terrific -- is just doing what it typically does.

Stanford ranks sixth in the nation in total defense, and the Cardinal has been stingy since UCLA drove for a very quick touchdown on its first possession.

A lot of UCLA fans are now leaving the Rose Bowl in an attempt to beat the afternoon traffic.

We’ll see if they move any better than UCLA has today.

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Stanford 31, UCLA 10 (10:40 left in fourth quarter)

Jordan Williamson has connected on a 34-yard field goal after another Stanford possession kept alive by the legs and arm of quarterback Kevin Hogan.

Hogan ran for eight yards on a third-and-four play to keep the march going.

Then he hooked up with Francis Owusu for a 43-yard gain on a third-and-nine play.

Hogan has completed 16 of 19 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He has run for 46 yards in seven carries.

Does anybody remember that UCLA marched 64 yards in five plays for a touchdown on its first possession of today’s game?

Me either.

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UCLA’s offense shows some signs of life. With Brett Hundley completing some short passes, the Bruins move from their own 19 as far as the Stanford 30.

But in the end, the Bruins ... well ... it got ugly.

A Hundley scramble on third down left the Bruins with a fourth-and-five.

Ka’imi Fairbairn came on for what would have been a 48-yard field-goal try had the Bruins not tried a fake that didn’t go so well.

Holder Jerry Neuheisel, UCLA’s backup quarterback, ended up chucking a floater up to the goal line, where Stanford’s Jordan Richards came down with it for an interception.

Stanford takes over at its own 20.

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Kevin Hogan threw a pass that wasn’t caught and the Cardinal offense went three plays and out.

The start of a trend?

UCLA had better hope so.

The Bruins take over at their own 19, down 28-10, with 6 minutes 17 seconds left in the third quarter.

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Another possession wasted by UCLA. Not even a roughing the punter penalty against Stanford gives the Bruins enough yardage for a first down.

Stanford’s ball again, this time from the Cardinal’s own 36.

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Stanford 28, UCLA 10 (9:16 left in third quarter)

Stanford doesn’t look anything like a team that has struggled on offense this year.

Kevin Hogan’s passing sunk UCLA in the first half.

Stanford’s ability to run the ball has the Bruins on the ropes in the second half.

The Cardinal drove 80 yards in seven plays -- all runs -- on their first possession of the third quarter.

Remound Wright scored from two yards out on a third-down play. He was stopped temporarily at the line of scrimmage, but then powered his way in.

Stanford, which started the day with an 0-5 record against ranked teams this season, is dominating the line of scrimmage against No. 8 UCLA.

The Cardinal’s scoring drives are of 75, 75, 92 and 80 yards.

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In an effort to get Brett Hundley back on track, UCLA threw short passes and picked up the speed in which it was running plays on its first possession of the second half.

And Hundley completed all three of his passes.

And UCLA went no where.

The passes covered five, seven and minus-1 yards.

UCLA will have to pull off a first if they are to advance to the Pac-12
Conference title game next week.

The Bruins have been down by double digits at halftime twice this season -- and lost both times.

Stanford takes over for its first possession of the second half at its own 20.

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It’s halftime at the Rose Bowl, and it’s not looking good for UCLA, which needs a win to advance to the Pac-12 Conference championship game.

Stanford has already passed its usual win-loss scoring bar. When the Cardinal score more than 20 points, they are 6-0. When they don’t, they are 0-5.

Stanford leads, 21-10.

Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan is hot, having completed 14 of 15 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns. He also has run for 22 yards in five carries.

UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley is not. His last five passes have fallen incomplete, and he’s seven of 13 for 73 yards and a touchdown for the game.

UCLA’s clock management isn’t very good, either. The Bruins let the final 19 seconds of the first half run off clock, even though they had three timeouts.

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Stanford 21, UCLA 10 (41 seconds left in second quarter)

Kevin Hogan, Stanford’s quarterback, isn’t perfect.

He failed to complete one of his passes on Stanford’s 92-yard scoring drive.

He threw over the middle to Michael Rector, who let a catchable pass go off his finger tips.

So, on the next play, Hogan ripped off a 10-yard run for a first down.

A little later, Hogan scrambled, broke a tackle, and found Devon Cajuste in the end zone for a 37-yard touchdown.

Hogan has completed 14 of 15 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns.

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Paul Perkins, the Pac-12 Conference’s leading rusher, ripped off a couple of nice runs -- of 11 and 20 yards -- but after moving the ball to near midfield, the Bruins stall when they turn to the pass.

After a punt, Stanford is pinned inside the 10, though.

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Stanford 14, UCLA 10 (6:24 left in second quarter)

Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan is putting on a passing clinic.

He has completed all 10 of his 10 passes, and his 22-yard strike to Michael Rector in the right corner of the end zone has given Stanford its first lead.

Hogan is throwing from the pocket, and out of the pocket, with his feet set and on the run.

It doesn’t matter. He has been pin-point accurate.

He has connected with seven different receivers for 128 yards.

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UCLA 10, Stanford 7 (11:46 left in second quarter)

The Bruins took over at the Stanford 49 and moved as far as the 24 before stalling with three incomplete passes.

Brett Hundley’s third-down pass for Devin Fuller was dropped at the five-yard line.

Ka’imi Fairbairn put the Bruins in the lead with a 42-yard field goal.

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The second quarter is about to start at the Rose Bowl.

UCLA, needing a win to advance to the Pac-12 Conference championship game, is tied with Stanford, 7-7.

Stanford, which has struggled on offense much of this season, has outgained UCLA, 110 yards to 71.

Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan has completed all six of his passes for 76 yards. UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley is four for five for 53 yards and a touchdown.

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Penalties are hurting Stanford -- quite an understatement, actually.

A 54-yard punt return by Christian McCaffrey is nullified by a block in the back.

Stanford takes over at its own 10 with 4:42 left in the first quarter.

Geez, Stanford and UCLA can’t run a play without a flag flying.

On third-and-eight, Myles Jack is called for being off side.

Kevin Hogan then runs for seven yards and the Cardinal pick up 15 yards more on a UCLA penalty for illegal use of hands.

Then it was Stanford’s turn. A Cardinal player was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, a loss of 15 yards.

Then Stanford took a delay of game penalty, which was followed by two runs for losses and another run for a short gain.

Mercifully now, a punt.

Pretty football.

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UCLA’s second possession doesn’t go as well as its first.

Paul Perkins gained three yards on a pass and four yards on a run, but Brett Hundley’s third-down pass was high and the Bruins have to punt.

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UCLA 7, Stanford 7 (6:00 left in first quarter)

Not a good start for the Stanford offense, either. But the Cardinal turned things around on their second possession.

A 39-yard run by Remound Wright is wiped out by a holding penalty.

Kevin Hogan rallies with a 21-yard pass to Christian McCaffrey for a first down, and then a pass to Francis Owusu for a five-yard gain.

After an off-side call on UCLA, Hogan strikes again -- this time connecting with Austin Hooper for 25 yards.

After a run by Barry Sanders lost a yard, Hogan found Hooper again, this time for a 13-yard gain and another first down.

Remound Wright then gained four yards on a run, followed by another four-yard gain by McCaffrey.

Kelsey Young bulled his way to the goal line from four yards out, which was initially ruled a touchdown but overruled on review.

The ball was marked about a foot short of the goal line, and Wright scored easily from there on a run over left tackle.

The drive: 75 yards in 10 plays.

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UCLA 7, Stanford 0 (11:18 left in the first quarter)

Stanford gets the ball first, but doesn’t go anywhere.

UCLA takes over at its own 36.

First play: Brett Hundley hits Thomas Duarte with a pass to the Stanford 42.

Paul Perkins for a five-yard gain.

A 15-yard pass from Hundley to Devin Fuller, then Perkins for another five-yard gain on a run.

Then Hundley to Duarte again for 15 yards and a touchdown.

Wow, that looked easy.

So much for a USC hangover.

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A key for UCLA today will be to shake off the USC hangover.

Coach Jim Mora has preached the 24-hour rule, a policy of immediate amnesia regarding the previous game. Except the previous game is one the Bruins will never forget -- a 38-20 victory over USC.

The Bruins need to beat the Cardinal to get a re-match against Oregon in the Pac-12 title game on Dec. 5. UCLA has lost six consecutive games to Stanford.

“It’s kind of hard when it’s the cross-town team in a big rivalry like that,� safety Anthony Jefferson said. “At this point we have to focus on Stanford. We haven’t beaten them in a while.

This game is as big or bigger as the SC game.�

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UCLA has not beaten Stanford since a 23-20 victory in 2008. The Cardinal could have clinched the victory that day with a touchdown, but Coach Jim Harbaugh elected to kick a field goal facing a fourth-and-one at the UCLA 11-yard line with two minutes left.

Stanford running back Toby Gerhart had a 138 yards rushing on the day.

UCLA drove 87 yards, with quarterback Kevin Craft throwing a seven-yard touchdown pass to Cory Harkey with 10 seconds left. Craft had one of his best games for UCLA. He completed 23 of 39 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns.

Harbaugh now coaches the San Francisco 49ers.

Gerhart is with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Craft is the quarterback for the IMB BigBlue of the Japanese X League. He threw three touchdown passes in 38-10 victory over the Lixil Deers two weeks ago to close out the regular season.