TEMPE, Ariz. — A possible desert disaster was looming.
Once ahead by 24 points with six minutes left in the third quarter, No. 10 UCLA saw its lead — and its season — flash before its disbelieving eyes.
Arizona State rolled off 18 consecutive points, closing to within a touchdown of an improbable comeback with six minutes left Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium.
UCLA’s offense, once unstoppable even with star running back Zach Charbonnet unavailable, had run aground.
The Bruins needed one more sustained drive to avert an unthinkable loss. They got it, running back Colson Yankoff powering across the goal line for a one-yard touchdown run with 21/2 minutes left to help his team hold on for a hold-your-breath 50-36 victory.
UCLA’s ground game churned out 402 yards, its most in coach Chip Kelly’s five seasons. No Charbonnet? No problem.
Into the void stepped someone fully capable of generating highlights with his feet: quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Revving his team’s rushing attack into overdrive, Thompson-Robinson unleashed two hurdles in the first half while sprinting and spinning his way around Arizona State defenders as the Bruins (8-1 overall, 5-1 Pac-12) scored 28 unanswered points.
Thompson-Robinson finished with 120 yards rushing and two touchdowns as part of an attack that nearly saw three players reach triple digits on the ground. Living up to his nickname as the “Kazmanian Devil,” Kazmeir Allen ran for 137 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, and Keegan Jones added 98 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Thompson-Robinson also completed 13 of 20 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns in addition to an interception on his first pass of the game.
