Joshua Kelley was held mostly in check against Arizona State last season but he announced himself in a big way for their meeting in 2019, powering UCLA to a 28-7 halftime lead over the No. 24 Sun Devils and helping continue positive thoughts that his team has turned the corner under Chip Kelly in recent weeks.
The productive tailback recorded 100 yards before the break at the Rose Bowl and had three of his 17 touches go for touchdowns to pace the Bruins. His ability to run behind an offensive line that got some push up front in the first half also opened things up for his teammate in the backfield too as QB Dorian Thompson Robinson was an efficient 11-of-15 passing for 108 yards and a quick strike to Kyle Phillips with just 25 second left.
That entire offensive combination was a driving force behind the Bruins dominating the clock (over 19 minutes) and running almost double the number of plays as their opponent.
Despite the slow start, ASU is by no means out of this one completely. Freshman QB Jayden Daniels notched a touchdown run of his own and Herm Edwards’ offensive unit averaged just shy of six yards per play. A fumble hampered their efforts early and helped lead to points the other way but there were a few positives to build upon if they can eliminate mistakes like penalties (six of them in the first half) and actually get some stops on defense.
The Sun Devils can’t afford to drop another conference game if they want to keep their slim division hopes alive while UCLA needs every game they can get their hands on if they want to both exceed their win total from last season or make a bowl game. There could be a big second half ahead from the Rose Bowl as a result with the sun setting on the San Gabriel Mountains and #Pac12AfterDark getting fully underway in a key Pac-12 South battle.