PASADENA, Calif. - In North Carolina Central University's first confrontation with a nationally-ranked FBS opponent, UCLA wasted no time demonstrating its No. 24 ranking. The Bruins scored a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage on their way to a 59-7 victory inside the historic Rose Bowl on Saturday.
UCLA (3-0) connected on a 67-yard pass for a 7-0 lead just 18 seconds into the contest. The Bruins went on to score 35 points in the opening 15 minutes, the most first-quarter points ever surrendered by the Eagles. The host added 10 more points in the second stanza for a 45-0 cushion entering the locker room.
NCCU (2-1) engineered a 14-play, 56-yard drive early in the fourth quarter, capped by a 1-yard rushing touchdown by
Chris Mosley, to break up the shutout.
Senior quarterback
Davius Richard started the game, completing five passes for 28 yards and rushing for 11 yards, before being replaced by
Walker Harris in the second quarter. Harris threw for 114 yards on 12-of-18 passing.
Three NCCU receivers collected four receptions each.
Quentin McCall topped the group with 39 yards, followed by
Devin Smith with 28 yards and
Joaquin Davis with 24 yards. On the ground,
Latrell Collier posted 48 yards on 14 carries
As a team, NCCU tallied 232 yards of total offense, compared to UCLA's 614 total yards.
The Eagles' defense was led by
Kole Jones and
Jaden Taylor with eight tackles each, while
Jayden Flaker added seven takedowns and an interception.
Up next, NCCU travels to Indianapolis to play Mississippi Valley State University in the Circle City Classic.
