Pasadena, Calif. – A week removed from an embarrassing 35-0 home deficit to USC at the half, ASU put together arguably its best first half of football of the 2015 season against No. 7 UCLA.
However, neither team looked its best for a considerable portion of the half. The two teams combined to go 0 for 12 on third downs before the Bruins and freshman quarterback Josh Rosen snapped the streak.
After a 28-yard gain on a screen pass from Bercovici to senior running back D.J. Foster, Bercovici fumbled a high snap on third and five from the UCLA 15 yard line with nine minutes to go in the first quarter.
Senior kicker Zane Gonzalez subsequently missed a 44-yard field goal attempt, his third straight dating back to last week's loss against USC in which he missed on both attempts.
Junior defensive lineman Villami Latu forced UCLA freshman quarterback Josh Rosen into an intentional grounding penalty with the Bruins backed up at their own 13 yard line, resulting in a safety after being brought down in the end zone just after he released the ball.
Redshirt junior Laiu Moeakiola also was active in pressuring Rosen and came up with an interception that led to a Gonzalez field goal near the end of the half.
Redshirt junior Tim White led all eligible players with 141 all-purpose yards (including a kick return for 63 yards immediately following the safety) and scored a touchdown on a 12-yard screen pass from redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici with 1:21 to go in the first quarter.
UCLA responded with an eight play, 88-yard scoring drive as Rosen connected with Thomas Duarte for a 13-yard touchdown to put the home team on the board.
Kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn closed out the half on a 53-yard field goal as the clock ran out.
The Bruins will receive the second-half kickoff.
Reach the sports editor at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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