Dante Moore leads UCLA football past San Diego State

SAN DIEGO — Quarterback Dante Moore and the UCLA offense produced four of their five touchdown drives in the first half to overcome a slow start and beat San Diego State 35-10 at Snapdragon Stadium Saturday night.

Moore became the first true freshman quarterback to start a road game and lead the Bruins to a victory since Brett Hundley in 2012.

Moore completed 17 of 27 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns in the first three quarters. He tied former quarterbacks Josh Rosen and Cade McNown for the most touchdowns thrown by a UCLA true freshman.

“A win is a win,” Moore said. “It’s always good to have a win with your brothers. … the goal is to always go 1-0 each week.”

Moore’s 24-yard completion to receiver Logan Loya in the end zone with 1:20 left in the second quarter helped the Bruins take a 28-10 lead into the locker room at halftime and eventually put the game out of reach for the Aztecs.

“That’s what we’ve seen for a while from him,” Kelly said about Moore’s effort. “He doesn’t get overwhelmed and he did some really nice things for us today.”

Receiver Josiah Norwood broke the game open with a catch that resulted in an 81-yard touchdown on the first play of a drive in the first quarter.

“Josiah can run and Dante made a good read off what they did and we took advantage of it,” Kelly said. “I’m really happy for Josiah. He’s been here a really long time but he always has a knack for making plays at a real critical time for us.”

One of Moore’s few mishaps of the game came in the third quarter when he was hit from behind while looking downfield to throw the ball. San Diego State recovered and the ball was placed at the 1-yard line after an official’s review reversed a call that took a touchdown off the board for the Aztecs. The UCLA defense then stopped the Aztecs on their goal-line possession.

While Kelly praised Moore for his performance, he wasn’t willing to publicly commit to the true freshman as his full-time starter moving forward but said “it’s comforting to know all three quarterbacks could play for us”

Schlee started the fourth quarter in place of Moore. Kelly mentioned that the Kent State transfer was expected to play after not playing in the season opener against Coastal Carolina.

Kelly indicated for a second straight week that three quarterbacks were expected to play, but Ethan Garbers didn’t get any time.

“We know we will all suppose each other in the quarterback room,” Moore said. “Regardless of who is starting we are always going to uplift each other and if we make a mistake we are going to correct each other.”

Schlee completed just one of two passes for six yards but made his biggest impact on the ground with 35 rushing yards.

“It was good to get Collin in which was good for him,” Kelly said. “He missed some time during camp and you could really see his athleticism and what he can do. We still feel we have three good quarterbacks and we feel good about that situation.”

UCLA running backs TJ Harden and Carson Steele complimented each other in the run game with each scoring a first-half touchdown.

Harden broke free with a run up the middle for a 59-yard touchdown without being touched by a defender to give UCLA a 21-7 lead with 10:21 left in the second quarter. Steele scored on a 13-yard run as the Bruins faced a 4th-and-1 situation.

Receiver J. Michael Sturdivant had two targets for 23 yards for the Bruins but was limited as the Aztecs made an effort to eliminate the vertical threat early.

San Diego State defensive back Dez Malone was called for two pass interference penalties while in coverage against Sturdivant during the same drive.

Oluwafemi Oladejo led the team with 10 tackles, including eight in the first half. Oladejo made his UCLA debut last week but didn’t record a tackle.

San Diego State quarterback Jalen Mayden did have some opportunities in the passing game, targeting cornerback Devin Kirkwood. Mayden completed a pass for a 21-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:33 left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Joshua Nicholson broke free of Kirkwood but was unable to secure the catch in the end zone. The Aztecs settled for a field goal.

The Bruins will host North Carolina Central at the Rose Bowl on Sept. 16.