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Mariota, No. 12 Oregon ease past No. 18 UCLA

Oct 12, 2014 - 5:00 AM Pasadena, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Marcus Mariota threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more as No. 12 Oregon bounced back after its first loss of the season to topple 18th-ranked UCLA, 42-30, at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

Mariota completed 17-of-27 passes for 210 yards while racking up 75 yards on seven carries for Oregon (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12), which avoided losing back-to-back games for the first time since 2007.

"For us we are just going to take it one game at a time," Mariota said. "We play in a very tough conference. It's just another win. We have to keep building on it."

Royce Freeman gained a career-high 121 rushing yards and a pair of scores on 18 attempts and Pharaoh Brown made five catches for 84 yards and a touchdown, as Oregon improved to 6-1 in its last seven games against Top-25 opponents.

UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley accounted for three touchdowns and Paul Perkins ran for 190 yards in the setback. The Bruins (4-2, 1-2) have dropped consecutive games after starting the season 4-0.

Tony Washington got to Hundley and ripped the ball loose. The ball rolled all the way to the UCLA 13, where Tui Talia pounced on it to set up Mariota's touchdown run 10 minutes into the game.

Early in the second, UCLA had an easy opportunity to find the end zone but failed to do so. On 3rd-and-goal from the 4, Hundley passed short to a wide open Devin Fuller, who could have walked into the end zone but instead had to go to the ground to make the completion. Ka'imi Fairbairn kicked a short field goal to put the Bruins on the board.

Oregon wasted no time responding, driving 72 yards in less than three minutes to go up 15-3. On the ninth play of the series, Mariota floated a pass to running back Thomas Tyner, who sprinted into the end zone untouched.

Following the score, UCLA head coach Jim Mora and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich got into a shouting match on the Bruins sideline. Ulbrich appeared to relinquish defensive play-calling responsibilities to Mora following the scrum.

"They caught me and (Ulbrich) on camera there and we are both very passionate and competitive," Mora explained. "We are fighting to win, and we love each other dearly. He's one of my closest friends and he's among the most fierce competitors that I've ever been around in my life. ... We didn't have to 'make up' because that is just our relationship."

Fairbairn, who missed two field goals at the end of regulation last week in UCLA's loss to Arizona State, missed a 41-yarder on the next Bruins possession and Oregon capitalized, with Mariota hitting Brown for a score to make it 21-3.

UCLA finally made some plays late in the half. Perkins opened a 12-play trek with a 15-yard run, but Hundley played a role in every other play. His 25-yard run, coupled with a handful of short completions, set up a 16-yard touchdown run three seconds before intermission.

Mariota and Freeman ran for touchdowns around a Hundley interception early in the second half, and Oregon owned a 35-10 lead at 7:59 of the third.

Freeman added his second rushing score 41 seconds into the fourth quarter.

UCLA made things interesting down the stretch, scoring 20 straight points in the final 10 minutes of the game, but the deficit was too much to overcome.

Hundley threw a pair of touchdown passes to Jordan Payton, and Nate Starks ran it in from nine yards out to get the Bruins within 42-30. Fairbairn tried an on-side kick following the second TD to Payton, but Oregon recovered and ran out the remaining time.

Game Notes

Oregon had allowed 12 sacks over its last two games, but UCLA did not sack Mariota once in this one ... Mariota has 17 touchdown passes and no interceptions on the season ... Oregon has won six straight and 11 of 13 in the matchup ... Hundley completed 27-of-37 for 216 yards.