Football Begins Pac-12 Play Saturday at Colorado

GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Folsom Field
Kickoff Time: 11:01 a.m. PT
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Lincoln Kennedy (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network from IMG College): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Matt Stevens (analyst), Wayne Cook (sideline)
SiriusXM: Ch. 108/Ch. 206
SXM App: Ch. 969

THE MATCHUP
UCLA's first Pac-12 Conference matchup of the season is set for Saturday in Boulder, Colo., where the Bruins meet Colorado in a battle to be televised by Pac-12 Network. The Bruin IMG Radio Network will broadcast the contest, which will also be aired over SiriusXM and the Varsity App. UCLA will return home next week for a Friday contest against Washington in Rose Bowl Stadium.

This is the sixth straight season that UCLA has opened the Pac-12 season on the road. Last year, it prevailed in the league opener on a trip to Stanford. UCLA has posted a 6-5 record in conference openers since the Pac-12 was formed in 2011. Nine of those league season openers have come on the road during that span, including in each of the five previous seasons.

UCLA will be looking for its first win in Boulder since Brett Hundley guided the Bruins to a 40-37 overtime decision in 2014. The Bruins lost at CU in 2016 (10-20), 2018 (16-38) and 2020 (42-48). CU head coach Karl Dorrell played receiver for the Bruins from 1982-86 (he is 22nd on the UCLA receiving list with 108 catches) and was head coach at UCLA from 2003-07, posting a 35-27 record. He was a member of three UCLA teams which advanced to play in and win the Rose Bowl Game following the 1982, 1983 and 1985 seasons.

UCLA followed up its 45-17 win against Bowling Green in the 2022 season opener and 45-7 victory over Alabama State in Game 2 with a 32-31 verdict over South Alabama. K Nicholas Barr-Mira booted a 24-yard field goal on the last play of the game to lift UCLA to its third win of the season. Against Alabama State, the Bruins moved out to a 31-7 halftime advantage in sweeping past the Hornets. In the season-opening contest, the Bruins generated over 600 yards of offense for the third time during head coach Chip Kelly's time at the helm. RB Zach Charbonnet (111) added his eighth 100-yard game as a Bruin.

AT A GLANCE
• The Rose Bowl is celebrating its 100th year of hosting some of the world's major sports and entertainment events in 2022.
• UCLA is opening its Pac-12 Conference schedule on the road for the 10th time in the 12 seasons since the league expanded to a dozen teams for the 2011 campaign. The trip to Colorado will mark the sixth straight season the Bruins have commenced their league slate away from the Rose Bowl.
• The Bruins own a 12-5 edge in the all-time series with Colorado, which dates back to 1980, but have failed to come away with a win in the last three trips to Boulder, Colo.
• UCLA's 4-1 road record in 2021 was the best by a Pac-12 team and included wins at USC, at Arizona, at Washington and at Stanford.
• UCLA has now won six straight games after its 2022 wins over Alabama State, Bowling Green and South Alabama. The Bruins were coming off of a 3-0 end to the 2021 season, with wins over Colorado, USC and California. UCLA had last won six straight contests over the 2013 and 2014 seasons (last two of 2013 and first four of 2014). UCLA last won more than six straight in 2005, when it captured wins in the first eight games of that season.
• During its six-game winning streak, UCLA has outscored the opposition 147-30 in the second halves of those contests.
• UCLA won its three non-conference regular-season contests for the first time since the 2015 season, when it dispatched Virginia, UNLV and BYU.
• Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who is rated 11th in the nation with a completion percentage of .729, made his 38th career start against South Alabama to tie Drew Olson (2002-05) for third on the all-time school quarterback list. Second on the chart is Brett Hundley (2011-14), with 40. Cade McNown (1995-98) is the all-time school leader, with 44.
• UCLA is rated 16th in the nation (third in the Pac-12) in total offense (506.0 yards per game). The Bruin defense is rated 26th overall (fourth Pac-12), at 290.3 yards per game allowed.
• Kazmeir Allen is rated seventh in the Pac-12 in receptions per game (5.3). His 16 catches on the season are one shy of his total of 17 for the entire 2022 season.
• UCLA last won the first four games of a season in 2015, when it defeated Virginia, UNLV, BYU and Arizona.

LAST MEETING
In last year's meeting with Colorado, UCLA stormed back from an early deficit at the Rose Bowl, scoring 37 unanswered points and pulling away for a 44-20 victory. The Bruins became bowl eligible with the win. UCLA trailed 20-10 in the first half before outscoring the Buffaloes 34-0 in the final two quarters. UCLA's ground game was unstoppable, as the Bruins compiled 245 rushing yards and five scores on the ground. Zach Charbonnet totaled three rushing touchdowns on the night. Kyle Philips landed the knockout blow with an 82-yard punt-return touchdown early in the fourth quarter. He also totaled eight catches for 99 yards.

In the 2020 contest in Boulder, Colo., Dorian Thompson-Robinson completed 20 of 40 passes for 303 yards and four touchdowns as UCLA lost at Colorado 48-42 in the season opener for both teams. The Bruins rallied back from a 35-14 halftime deficit to get within one score but could not catch the Buffs. UCLA sliced the Colorado margin to 48-42 with under two minutes to play but was unable to recover an onside kick with 1:45 to play.

TEAM NOTES
• UCLA has now won six straight games. The Bruins had last earned wins in six straight contests across the 2013 and 2014 campaigns (last two of 2013 and first four of 2014). The last time it won more than six straight was when it opened the 2005 season with eight straight victories.
• UCLA's 4-1 road record in 2021 was the best by a Pac-12 team and included wins at USC, at Arizona, at Washington and at Stanford ... overall the Bruins have won five of their last six road contests (lone loss at Utah in 2021).
• UCLA has won its last five home games (2021 - Colorado and California, 2022 - Bowling Green, Alabama State and South Alabama), which is its longest streak since it captured wins in all six home games in the 2017 season.
• UCLA outscored South Alabama 19-14, Alabama State 14-0 and Bowling Green 21-0 in the second halves of games to begin the 2022 season for a combined 54-14 edge. In winning its last three contests of the 2021 season, UCLA outscored its opponents 93-16 in the second halves — including shutouts of Colorado (34-0) and California (25-0). It has now outscored the opposition 147-30 in the second halves of its last six games.
• UCLA has outscored opponents this season 30-0 in the fourth quarters of games.
• Ten players registered their first starts as Bruins against BGSU: WR Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, WR Jake Bobo, OT Raiqwon O'Neal, DB Devin Kirkwood, LB Grayson Murphy, LB Gabriel Murphy, LB Kain Medrano, DB Azizi Hearn, LB Darius Muasau and DL Jay Toia ... Mokiao-Atimalala, Bobo, O'Neal, Grayson Murphy, Gabriel Murphy, Hearn and Muasau made their UCLA debuts. TE Hudson Habermehl made his first starts against Alabama State.
• Seeing their first action as Bruins in the Alabama State contest were QB Chase Artopoeus, K Joseph Firebaugh Jr., LS Beau Gardner, RB Christian Grubb, DL Hayden Harris, OL Jaylan Jeffers, DB D.J. Justice, K Ari Libenson, RB Deshun Murrell, LB Erich Osteen, DL Quintin Somerville, TE Sam Summa and true-freshmen RB Jack Pedersen, WR Braden Pegan, DB Kamari Ramsey, WR Elijah Rodriguez, DB Clint Stephens, DB Croix Stewart, LB Jalen Woods and P Chase Barry. In the opener, versus BGSU, 16 players saw their first action as Bruins off the bench: DL Jacob Sykes, LB Hayden Nelson, DL Sitiveni Havili-Kaufusi, TE Grant Norberg, DL Gary Smith III, OL Benjamin Roy Jr., LB Carson Schwesinger, LB James Dinneen, DB Kaleb Tuliau, DB Isaiah Newcombe, DB Jaylin Davies, QB/holder Sean Holland, WR Ryan Cragun, LB Laiatu Latu and true-freshmen RBs T.J. Harden and Carsen Ryan.
• Two true freshmen saw action for the Bruins in the opener: RBs T.J. Harden and Carsen Ryan. Nine more true freshmen saw their first action in Game 2 against Alabama State: P Chase Barry, WR Jadyn Marshall, RB Jack Pedersen, WR Braden Pegan, DB Kamari Ramsey, WR Elijah Rodriguez, DB Clint Stephens, DB Croix Stewart and LB Jalen Woods.
• UCLA is +21 turnovers in wins and -27 in losses overall under head coach Chip Kelly... in 2021, UCLA was +5 in turnovers for the season, but committed seven of its 14 turnovers in its four 2021 losses ... in its four 2020 losses, UCLA committed 12 of its 13 turnovers on the season.
• UCLA compiled 626 yards of total offense in the win over BGSU, the most since it racked up 657 in a comeback win at Washington State Sept. 22, 2019. It is the third time in Coach Kelly's Bruin tenure the team has recorded 600 or more yards (also 609 at USC in 2021).
• UCLA held BGSU to 162 yards of total offense in the opener (39 rushing, 125 passing) ... it marked the first time UCLA held a team under 200 yards since its 2020 game against California (176). The last time a UCLA defense limited an opponent to fewer than 162 yards of total offense was 2008, when Arizona State gained 122 yards (21 rushing, 101 passing).
• UCLA scored three touchdowns of 50 yards or more against BGSU: Dorian Thompson-Robinson's 68-yard run, a 52-yard catch and run by Keegan Jones from Thompson-Robinson and a 50-yard strike from Ethan Garbers to Josiah Norwood. It had three such plays all of 2021.

For more, view the full UCLA football Week 4 release HERE.