The UCLA Bruins running back Carson Steele (33) breaks through the Stanford Cardinal defensive line for one of his three touchdowns at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto on Sat Oct 21, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal (2-5, 1-4 Pac-12) hosted their Pacific – 12 Conference foe from southern California for Homecoming after an amazing victory eight days prior in Boulder, CO; however, the #25 UCLA Bruins (5-2, 2-2 Pac-12) did not care and disrupted the annual celebration on the Farm, 42-7.

Stanford got themselves into a familiar hole as they did last week in the Mile High State, being down big at the midway point of the game. This time a little less of a deficit, 21 points, compared to 29 last game. Essentially all the damage was done by one player.

The Cardinal kicked off to the Bruins to open the game. UCLA took full advantage of that gesture and capitalized on it during their first drive. They traversed 75 yards down the field to score the first points of the contest. Junior running back Carson Steele bursted through the defense for a two yard touchdown. UCLA led 7-0 within the first five minutes of the game.

Carson was not finished, as he scored again a little over three minutes later in the quarter. This time he scurried for eight yards before reaching paydirt. Halfway through period number one, UCLA was up 14-0.

Stanford found themselves committing several penalties during the 15-minute timeframe; however, as the Bruins attempted to score for the third time in the quarter, the Cardinal D (Tree) stood tall. As senior kicker R.J. Lopez attempted a 40-yard field goal to put the Bruins up by 17, but the Cardinal’s senior defensive tackle, Anthony Franklin, blocked the kick, forcing it to miss wide left. After one, UCLA managed to keep their 14-0 advantage.

After nearly 2/3 of the second quarter elapsed, you know who was in the endzone again. Yes, Steele scored for the third time in the first half. He bolted in for a three yard touchdown this go around, and the Bruins took a commanding 21-point lead into the locker room. At the end of 30 minutes of play, UCLA 21, Stanford 0.

As the second half got underway, Stanford was in a similar predicament they were in during their game against Colorado; however, the Bruins were not willing participants for a dramatic comeback against them. as the Buffaloes were and did let happen at home.

Late in the third quarter, UCLA managed to score twice again within two minutes of each other, surprisingly, neither by Carson Steele. Redshirt junior QB Ethan Garbers tossed two touchdown passes to redshirt sophomore WR J. Michael Sturdivant (8) and also R-SO TE Moliki Matavao (20) respectively. 35-0, UCLA,

With more than three minutes left in the third, the Cardinal gave the Homecoming crowd of 30,225 – although a great deal were Bruins’ fans – something to really cheer for, with a 20-yard touchdown connection with QB Ashton Daniels and freshman WR Tiger Bachmeier, getting Stanford off of the Goose Egg. 35-7 UCLA, after 45 minutes of action.

The Final quarter had the Bruins scoring in less than a minute into the stanza, as sophomore running back T.J. Harden scampered for a 22-yard “house call.” While UCLA was up 42-7, Lopez attempted to increase the already overwhelming lead by three more, but missed (42) again, salvaging some solace for the Stanford faithful.

Despite the miscues, UCLA scored enough (42-7) to secure their fifth win overall and second inside the conference. The Cardinal lost by 35 points on Homecoming Saturday.

Stanford will stay on the Farm and host the Washington State Cougars, Saturday, October 28 4pm PDT on FS1. The Bruins head back to Los Angeles to host the aforementioned Colorado Buffaloes on the same date, but at 4:30 PDT and on ABC.

Note: QB Ashton Daniels threw for 268 yards, with a touchdown pass and an interception. Wide receivers Elic Ayomanor (90) and Tiger Bachmeier (75 & touchdown) both had eight catches on double-digit targets.

UCLA’s Carson Steele scored three touchdowns on his 21st birthday in the Bay.