Saturday, November 10, 2012 10:30 PM (ET)

Recap: UCLA 44, Washington State 36

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 11, 2012

No. 19 UCLA 44, Washington State 36:
Brett Hundley threw three touchdown passes and the Bruins got a boost from their special teams and held off a furious rally to defeat the host Cougars in a Pac-12 Conference game.

UCLA (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12) got a pair of defensive touchdowns in the first half. Roosevelt Davis returned a blocked field goal 68 yards to open the scoring early in the first quarter and Eric Kendricks returned a fumble 40 yards giving the Bruins a 37-7 lead just before halftime.

The Bruins also blocked two field goals and two punts and Hundley, a redshirt freshman was strong again. He finished 18 of 21 passing for 261 yards as UCLA won its fourth straight to set up a showdown with rival USC next week for what shapes up to be for the South Division title and a berth in the Pac-12 title game.

Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday replaced Jeff Tuel, who was injured in the first half, and threw a career-high five touchdown passes. The fifth scoring pass cut a 30-point deficit to only eight with 1:31 to play but UCLA recovered the following onside kick to secure the victory.

The loss capped a tumultuous week for Washington State (2-8, 0-7) which played without star wide receiver Marquess Wilson who announced he is leaving the team, alleging abuse by the coaching staff.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Wilson, a junior who set the school's single-season receptions record last year with 82 catches for 1,388 yards, was suspended indefinitely Wednesday for an unspecified violation of team rules earlier this week. ... Washington State coach Mike Leach is still looking for his first conference win. Leach was fired by Texas Tech in 2009 following accusations that he mistreated the son of former NFL player Craig James, who was a Texas Tech player at the time. ... A week after setting the UCLA record for career rushing yards, Johnathan Franklin finished with 66 yards on 19 carries.
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