CORVALLIS, Ore. — No. 18 UCLA’s bid to stay in the hunt for a trip to the Pac-12 championship game took a big hit Saturday with a 36-24 road loss to 15th-ranked Oregon State.
UCLA (4-2 overall, 1-2 Pac-12) ran the ball effectively, but couldn’t overcome three first-half interceptions by freshman quarterback Dante Moore — the last of which was returned 67 yards for a touchdown by the Beavers’ Ryan Cooper Jr. in the final minute of the second quarter to give Oregon State a double-digit cushion it wouldn’t relinquish.
Moore’s struggles led the Bruins to turn to backup Collin Schlee at times, who sparked two touchdown drives with his legs and racked up 80 yards on six carries. Overall, UCLA ran for 284 yards and averaged 5.7 per carry but the lack of a consistent passing attack — and the ability to stop Oregon State’s offense in the second half — doomed any chance at a comeback victory.
Still, the Bruins twice drove deep into Oregon State territory with a chance to pull within single digits in the fourth quarter, but came up short both times.
Moore finished 15-for-34 for 168 yards, his third straight game of completing 50 percent or fewer of his pass attempts.
UCLA came in with one of the top defenses in the country, allowing 12.2 points and 254 yards per game through their first five games. But Oregon State racked up 415 yards and found success through the air, with quarterback DJ Uiagalelei throwing for 266 yards and touchdowns of 43 and 32 yards in the third quarter as the Beavers led 36-17 entering the final period.
Carson Steele and T.J. Harden ran for touchdowns in the second half for the Bruins. Steele led the Bruins with 110 yards on 22 rushes, his second consecutive 100-yard effort.
Five teams having zero or one loss in Pac-12 play, meaning the Bruins would likely need to win their last six games — and still may need help — to reach the conference title game in Las Vegas in the league’s final season.
Oregon State (6-1, 3-1) led 13-0 after one quarter, thanks to interceptions of Moore by Akili Arnold and Andrew Chatfield. The Beavers sandwiched two field goals around a 10-yard touchdown pass by Aidan Chiles to Jack Velling.
The Bruins got a spark early in the second quarter from Schlee, who ran three times for 44 yards to set up a 10-yard touchdown pass by Moore to Logan Loya to cut the deficit to 13-7.
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UCLA’s John Humphrey then forced a fumble that was recovered by Oluwafemi Oladejo inside Beaver territory, but the Bruins could get no closer than the 18-yard line and settled for a 36-yard R.J. Lopez field goal to pull within 13-10.
After Oregon State added another field goal, the Bruins were driving for the lead when Cooper anticipated Moore’s sideline throw to J. Michael Sturdivant and intercepted the ball in stride and raced untouched to the end zone for a 23-10 Beaver lead at the half.
Oregon State extended the lead when Uiagalelei found a wide-open Silas Bolden, who streaked well past the UCLA secondary to catch a 43-yard touchdown pass. A missed two-point conversion left the score 29-10.
After Harden’s nine-yard scoring run, Uiagalelei hit Velling for a 32-yard touchdown to rebuild the lead to 19. Steele’s seven-yard run in the first minute of the fourth quarter gave the Bruins some hope, but they could get no closer.