UCLA 37, Houston 6
PASADENA, Calif. -- The UCLA defense entered its matchup against the high-flying Houston passing game with quite a chip on its shoulder.
Rice put together a surprisingly efficient effort in the first half of the Bruins' season opener, leaving pundits questioning UCLA's toughness against the run.
Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez picked the Bruins apart for a half in UCLA's surprising Week 2 win before the Bruins figured him out.
In came the Cougars' vaunted aerial attack to the Rose Bowl, ready to throw all over the place, as Houston did in a season-opening win over UCLA last year.
Instead, Houston awakened the beast.
The Bruins narrowly missed their first shutout since 2007 as two defenders scored touchdowns and redshirt senior cornerback Sheldon Price added three interceptions in UCLA's 37-6 win Saturday night in front of 53,723.
UCLA grounded the Cougars' passing game with a combination of pressure, both at the line of scrimmage and in the defensive backfield.
Houston quarterback David Piland completed 28 of 60 passes for 249 yards with five interceptions, the most by the Bruins defense since 1987. UCLA added a fumble recovery and a sack. The shutout was only averted by Piland's 86-yard touchdown run with just under five minutes left.
The Bruins' offense, while effective, did not put measure up to the lofty standard set in the team's first two games.
UCLA gained 567 yards, including 320 on 27-of-42 passing by redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Hundley. Johnathan Franklin, the nation's leading rusher, added 110 yards on 25 carries.
In a matchup of one of the country's best running games and one of the best passing games, the story quickly became the UCLA defense.
How quick?
Try about 16 seconds.
That's how long it took Bruins linebacker Eric Kendricks all of a quarter of a minute to scoop up a fumble on a backward pass by Piland and cruise into the end zone.
UCLA maintained a healthy cushion for much of the first half, heading into halftime up 17-0. It was a rather unassuming 17-0 lead, though.
Despite 308 yards of offense, the Bruins' lone offensive touchdown went to a defensive player, defensive end Datone Jones, who caught a 7-yard touchdown pass as a tight end in a bunch formation late in the first quarter.
Less than a minute later, switching from his No. 97 offensive jersey back to the familiar No. 56, Jones picked up a tackle for loss.
That was typical for the UCLA defense early in the game, as the Bruins stifled the high-powered Houston passing attack. Piland completed 16 of 33 passes for 155 yards and an interception before halftime, and the Cougars converted just three of 12 third downs and averaged 4.7 yards per pass. Houston offered little compliment to its passing game, running nine times for negative-5 yards at the half.
UCLA's vaunted running game, meanwhile, spun its wheels a bit, too. The Bruins had 97 yards on 24 carries, with Franklin contributing 12 carries for 57 yards.
