UCLA vs. Pittsburgh Sun Bowl: Live Updates, Highlights, Analysis
No. 18 UCLA football (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12) is playing Pittsburgh (8-4, 5-3 Pac-12) in the 2022 Sun Bowl on Friday, with the Bruins looking to win a postseason contest for the first time in eight years.
Stay tuned for injury and personnel updates, highlights and other key events to keep an eye on all day long.
FINAL: Pitt 37, UCLA 35
3:01 p.m.: The Bruins defense turned into a pumpkin and allowed a 47-yard field goal with four seconds left, giving the Panthers the lead in the final moment.
Failed pass breakups and missed tackles helped Pitt march down the field, and when UCLA got the ball back, Garbers' Hail Mary was picked off.
Stay tuned for All Bruins' full story on the loss.
Garbers leads go-ahead drive
2:54 p.m.: With Thompson-Robinson in the locker room dealing with an apparent back injury, it became Ethan Garbers' job to lead the Bruins to a win.
It all started with UCLA's defense forcing a turnover on downs after burning all three timeouts. The backup quarterback drove his team 70 yards in eight plays, and it was Harden who rushed 8 yards for the go-ahead score.
The Bruins lead 35-34 with 34 seconds left.
Another giveaway hands the Panthers the lead
2:14 p.m.: All of a sudden, the Bruins are behind the eight ball.
True freshman Jadyn Marshall – who is the team's starting kick returner in Kazmeir Allen's place – muffed the ball after it got slowed by the wind. Pitt started a second-straight drive inside the 20, and they took the lead as a result.
UCLA's defense held strong in the red zone and forced them to take a 31-yard field goal, which somehow went through the uprights for three points. The Bruins now trail 31-28 with less than 10 minutes to go.
Thompson-Robinson is also getting medical attention on the sideline, meaning Ethan Garbers will have to step in to try and lead UCLA to a win while he's out. It doesn't look like anything serious, since he has his helmet on, but his absence could cost the Bruins dearly.
Thompson-Robinson throws costly interception
2:00 p.m.: The Bruins had already committed two turnovers Friday, but neither were really Thompson-Robinson's fault.
The same cannot be said for his third pick of the game.
Thompson-Robinson missed the outside linebacker who dropped back into coverage, and he tried throwing right through him to Brown. Bangally Kamara came away with the interception this time around, setting the Panthers up in the red zone right away.
A few decent gains got Pitt closer to the goal line, and Hammond rushed 7 yards for the touchdown.
The game is tied at 28 all in the fourth quarter.
Referees gift the Panthers a touchdown drive
1:45 p.m.: This has been a poorly-officiated game throughout, and both sides have benefited. The Bruins were called for running into the kicker on a clear roughing the kicker on a punt earlier in the quarter, but they were on the wrong end of a couple of botched calls not long after.
Patti bombed a ball out of bounds with no one in the area, leading Kelly to plead for an intentional grounding. The refs didn't give him the call, though, and they further buried the Bruins a few plays later.
A long pass at the goal line got cleanly broken up by freshman safety Kamari Ramsey, but the back judge called pass interference to bring Pitt down to the 1-yard line. Running back Rodney Hammond Jr. punched it in for the touchdown, cutting the lead in half.
UCLA is now only up 28-21 with 1:15 left until the fourth quarter.
Jaylin Davies breaks it open with pick-six
1:34 p.m.: After Thompson-Robinson's pick and back-to-back punts, the game had slowed down considerably since the opening few drives.
Davies, the transfer cornerback from Oregon, gave everyone a jolt with the biggest play of his career. On just the second play of the possession, the cornerback took advantage of Patti's overthrow and caught it in stride for the interception.
No one stood in Davies' way, and he took it 52 yards to the house for the touchdown. It was the second interception of the year for the redshirt freshman from Mater Dei (CA).
UCLA leads 28-14 with 8:45 left in the third quarter.
Thompson-Robinson is also 24 yards away from becoming UCLA's all-time passing leader.
Another drop leads to another INT, defense holds strong
1:23 p.m.: Luck was working against the Bruins again, but they didn't let it come back to bite them this time.
UCLA marched downfield to open the second half, mostly on the ground. Jones took one 13 yards, then Harden went down the left sideline for 32 yards. Thompson-Robinson hit Bobo for a 7-yard gain that brought them down to the 17, and then he caught another tough break.
Thompson-Robinson's pass on third down went off of Ezeike's chest and right into the arms of a defender for his second pick of the day. The CBS announcing crew laughably blamed Thompson-Robinson for throwing it too hard, but he was caught on camera laughing as he left the field.
The Panthers went 3-and-out, though, and the Bruins held onto their lead as a result.
HALFTIME: UCLA 21, Pitt 14
12:49 p.m.: The Bruins more than made up for their giveaway in the red zone by stringing together a quick scoring drive that put them up heading into the break.
Thompson-Robinson had a few short passes for decent gains, adjusting nicely to the Panthers' extra pressure. He nearly hit tight end Michael Ezeike for a long touchdown down the right sideline, but his left hand was held by a defender and he was unable to make the catch.
The very next play, Thompson-Robinson found a crossing Mokiao-Atimalala, who made the catch through contact and came away with the 28-yard touchdown.
Patti hit his head on the turf on a scramble, trying to lead a touchdown drive of his own in response. Nate Yarnell came in to replace him while the medical team checked him out, and he immediately tossed a 16-yard dime to the right side that kept the Panthers' hopes alive.
The staff sent Patti back in though, and he took a sack that pushed them back to the other side of midfield. After a delay of game, the Panthers punted and let the clock run out.
UCLA will get the ball to start the second half.
TOTAL YARDS: UCLA 287, Pitt 238
PASS YARDS: UCLA 254, Pitt 138
RUSH YARDS: Pitt 100, UCLA 33
FIRST DOWNS: Pitt 14, UCLA 13
PASSING LEADERS
D. Thompson-Robinson (UCLA): 13-of-17, 254 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
N. Patti (PITT): 12-of-19, 122 yards, 1 TD
RUSHING LEADERS
D. Thompson-Robinson (UCLA): 4 carries, 6 yards, 1 TD
R. Hammond (PITT): 11 carries, 53 yards
RECEIVING LEADERS
K. Brown (UCLA): 4 receptions, 115 yards
B. Means (PITT): 3 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD
Pitt capitalizes, ties up the score
12:24 p.m.: Right after giving the ball away, the Bruins gave up big plays and some more points.
Patti got free in the pocket due to a possible hold, and he launched one deep to Bub Means for 45 yards against cornerback Azizi Hearn. From there, the Panthers continued to move down the field, capping it off with a 15-yard touchdown to Means.
The 2-point conversion attempt was good, and Pitt knotted things up at 14-14 with just 3:49 left until the half.
Loya drop costs UCLA points, leads to turnover
12:11 p.m.: Just as Thompson-Robinson was about to lead the Bruins to another scoring drive, a big miscue cost them big time.
UCLA had marched into the red zone after forcing Pitt to punt, riding gains of 35 and 16 yards to Kam Brown. Jones and Harden added carries that got them down to the 13, and Thompson-Robinson dropped back to pass on first down looking for more.
Thompson-Robinson's pass to Loya short over the middle sailed a little high, and it went right through the leaping receiver's hands. The tipped ball made its way to linebacker Tyler Wiltz, who picked it off and the 6-yard line.
Receiver Matt Sykes, who suffered a head injury early in the game, has been ruled out for the contest, returning from the locker room in street clothes.
More big plays help Bruins extend lead
11:59 a.m.: Dorian Thompson-Robinson continues to add to his career highlight reel.
The veteran hit Jones for a couple of intermediate gains, plus a short first down completion to Loya. He uncorked another long ball with a 49-yard gain to Titus Mokiao-Atimalala that got UCLA inside the five, with the former UCF pinning his catch up against a defender.
Thompson-Robinson nearly ran into the end zone on a keeper to the right, but got hit hard in the helmet and was only able to spin down to the 1. Targeting was called on the field, but got wiped out by a review.
A fumbled snap nearly cost the Bruins big time, but Thompson-Robinson jumped on top of it. The very next play, he stuffed one up the middle and chugged along behind his line for the score.
Thompson-Robinson made sure to tone down his celebration this time, finger-rolling the ball into the air before handing it to a ref and thanking him.
Barr-Mira hit the extra point and put UCLA up 14-6 with 11:57 left until halftime, successfully answering Pitt's second field goal drive.
Thompson-Robinson scores, flagged for celebration
11:34 a.m.: Zach Charbonnet may not be out there, but Dorian Thompson-Robinson is making the most of his last game in blue and gold.
After a big gain to Keegan Jones on the first play of UCLA's drive got wiped out by a Jake Bobo hold, Thompson-Robinson needed to scramble for a first on third down. He did just that, and then delivered a 51-yard strike. The quarterback jawed with a defensive lineman at the end of that play, and that it wouldn't end there.
Thompson-Robinson found a crossing Logan Loya for an 11-yard touchdown one play later. While running to the end zone to celebrate with his teammates, the fifth-year senior ran up to defensive back Marquis Williams and head-butted him before high-stepping away.
That play drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and another would lead to an ejection for Thompson-Robinson. He was retaliating against Williams, who was a key figure in a pregame scrum near midfield which reportedly started as a result of field position disagreements.
Nicholas Barr-Mira's extra point attempt was good, and UCLA went up 7-3 with 5:15 left in the quarter.
Panthers strike first, Patti surprises
11:24 a.m.: UCLA won the opening coin toss and deferred, with edge rusher Bo Calvert, receiver Jake Bobo, safety Stephan Blaylock and Thompson-Robinson making the call at midfield.
Pitt committed a delay of game before taking their first snap of the day, and then got tackled for loss on first down. Quarterback Nick Patti, who was filling in for Kedon Slovis, then fooled everyone with a keeper on 2nd-and-long that got the Panthers all the way to the Bruins' 40-yard line.
That 41-yard gain got Pitt on the edge of field goal range, and a 3rd-and-7 conversion a few players later got them inside he red zone.
Safety Alex Johnson jumped a slant at the 5, but dropped the interception to keep the drive alive. Linebacker Kain Medrano tackled Patti for a loss on second down, then Blaylock forced a field goal attempt by wrapping up Patti in a 1-on-1 scramble to the right.
Pitt ended up settling for a 22-yard field goal with 8:05 left in the first quarter.
Charbonnet not dressed for game, per reports
10:49 a.m.: While the Bruins' All-American running back went through pregame warmups with his team, it looks like he won't be taking the field Friday.
According to the Los Angeles Times' Ben Bolch, Charbonnet is not in his uniform with kickoff less than 15 minutes away. He went through the entire bowl practice schedule without any hint at an opt-out, so his reason for not playing remains undetermined.
Each time Charbonnet missed a game earlier this season – against Alabama State and Arizona State – it was not reported on before the game, and he did not have a serious injury in either case. This could be another cautionary last-second move, or one that was in the works for a month.
Either way, it appears UCLA will have to lean on Keegan Jones, TJ Harden, Colson Yankoff and others for their ground attack. Last time the Bruins were tasked with replacing Charbonnet, they rushed for 402 yards and five touchdowns, so the scheme should help his replacements succeed regardless.
Bruins bowling after extended wait
10:21 a.m.: It looked like UCLA was going to snap its postseason drought a year ago in San Diego. A few hours away from kickoff, that dream was stopped dead in its tracks.
COVID-19 won't stand in the way of the Bruins this time around, though, as they have officially arrived at the Sun Bowl and are on the field for warmups. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and running back Zach Charbonnet, among other longtime veterans and NFL hopefuls, are going through their normal pregame routine.
It's been five years since UCLA appeared in a bowl and eight since they've won, so Thompson-Robinson & co. have a lot at stake. A win Friday would make it 10 on the season, the most since Jim Mora and Brett Hundley were the faces of the program back in 2014.
Pitt, on the other hand, is missing its two best offensive players and its four best defensive players due to an assortment of reasons, including NFL Draft opt-outs, the transfer portal and injuries.
The spread continues to shift in the Bruins' direction, with the line opening at 3.5 points and now climbing all the way up to 8.5 points. As kickoff nears, anticipation of a UCLA drubbing is clearly growing.
Of course, the team hasn't won on this kind of stage in nearly a decade, so it wouldn't be totally out of character for the Bruins to make this one a little more interesting. They were heavily favored earlier in the year against Arizona, but lost that one at home.
Nothing is set in stone until the clock hits zeroes, obviously, but between their personnel advantage and what's at stake for the coaches and veteran players, UCLA coming in as a heavy favorite certainly checks out.
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