Zach Charbonnet ran for 104 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries to power UCLA to a 45-17 victory over host Colorado in the Pac-12 opener Saturday in Boulder, Colo.
Charbonnet averaged 11.6 yards per attempt and didn’t play in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson went 19-of-23 passing for 234 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, in addition to rushing for 56 yards on seven carries.
Jake Bobo had four receptions for 53 yards.
UCLA (4-0, 1-0) jumped out to a 21-3 lead over the Buffaloes (0-4, 0-1) and never looked back en route to outgaining Colorado 515-309 and holding the Buffaloes to 5-for-17 on third-down conversions. Colorado has been outscored 173-47 this season.
The Bruins put the game away by scoring 17 points in the first nine minutes of the third quarter. Charbonnet’s 46-yard touchdown run gave the Bruins a 28-10 advantage before Nicholas Barr-Mira added a 44-yard yard field goal and Thompson-Robinson tossed a 2-yard score to Colson Yankoff with 6:03 left in the quarter for a 38-10 lead.
UCLA backup quarterback Ethan Garbers opened the fourth quarter with a 3-yard scoring strike to Yankoff for a 45-10 advantage.
Colorado quarterback Owen McCown threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jordyn Tyson with 2:59 left to provide the final score.
McCown was 26-for-42 passing for 258 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Charlie Offerdahl rushed for 47 yards on 14 carries, while Daniel Arias had four receptions for 82 yards.
After UCLA took a 7-0 lead on Thompson-Robinson’s 24-yard pass to Matt Sykes with 6:18 left in the first, the Bruins doubled the advantage on Charbonnet’s 35-yard scoring run with 46 left in the opening period.
Colorado cut the lead to 14-3 on Cole Becker’s 35-yard field goal early in the second quarter. UCLA responded when Charbonnet’s 13-yard touchdown run capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive, giving the Bruins a 21-3 lead with 9:00 left before halftime.
The Buffaloes pulled to within 21-10 on McCown’s 2-yard run that capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive with 19 seconds left in the half.
–Field Level Media
