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UCLA Bruins Spoil Stanford Homecoming

STANFORD (AP) -- Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and also ran for two short scores to help No. 24 UCLA spoil Stanford's return home with a 35-24 victory over the Cardinal on Saturday.

Stanford (2-2, 1-1 Pac-12) had played its last seven games away from home because of COVID-19 protocols last season and a tough opening schedule. The Cardinal managed to win six of those games but came out flat against the Bruins (3-1, 1-0).

UCLA broke out to a 14-0 lead and then, after letting Stanford battle back to tie it, got the biggest play of the game when Thompson-Robinson found Kyle Phillips open deep over the middle for a 75-yard TD on the next play from scrimmage.

The Bruins sealed the win when Thompson-Robinson threw a 5-yard TD pass to Phillips after briefly leaving the game with an injury.

Stanford started the game with five straight three-and-outs and trailed 14-0 on short TD runs by Thompson-Robinson and Zach Charbonnet before the offense even got going.

Tanner McKee then started to find some open receivers downfield as the Cardinal worked their way back into the game. Elijah Higgins' made a toe-tapping 19-yard TD grab to get Stanford on the board in the second quarter.

Then, after the Bruins went back up by 14 on Thompson-Robinson's second TD run late in the first half, McKee connected on a 56-yard TD pass to Higgins in the third quarter and a 52-yarder to Bryce Farrell early in the fourth to tie the game at 21.

But Thompson-Robinson answered on the next play and UCLA held on for the win, thanks in part to Stanford coach David Shaw settling for a 48-yard field goal on fourth-and-2 with 9:10 to play.

THE TAKEAWAY

UCLA: Thompson-Robinson once again delivered the big plays in a win over the Cardinal and helped the Bruins bounce back from a 40-37 loss to Fresno State last week. UCLA won for just the second time in the past 14 games in this series, with the only wins coming in a 34-16 victory at Stanford Stadium in 2019 and this game. Thompson-Robinson accounted for seven TDs in those games.

Stanford: The Cardinal struggled to move the ball on the ground without injured running backs Austin Jones, Casey Filkins and E.J. Smith. That likely played a role in Shaw's decision to kick the field goal in the fourth quarter and contributed to the loss in Stanford's first home game with fans in 665 days.

UP NEXT

Stanford: Host No. 3 Oregon on Saturday.

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