College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
UCLA 37, UNLV 3
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, September 12, 2015
Where: Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
Temperature: 97°
Head Official: Kevin Mar
Attendance: 31262

LAS VEGAS -- On a night when star freshman quarterback Josh Rosen put up some pretty pedestrian numbers, 13th-ranked UCLA still found a way to cruise to a 37-3 victory over UNLV on Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Junior running back Paul Perkins rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore linebacker Kenny Young returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown for the Bruins (2-0), who set a school record with their 11th straight victory in games played away from the Rose Bowl, breaking the previous mark of 10 in a row set in 1997-98.

UCLA's last road loss came Oct. 26, 2013, at then-No. 2 Oregon, 42-14.

Rosen, who earned Pac-12 and several national offensive player of the week awards after passing for 351 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-16 victory over Virginia in his college debut last week, completed just 22 of 42 passes for 223 yards, one touchdown and an interception in a little over three quarters of action against the Rebels (0-2).

"It wasn't anything (UNLV) did," UCLA coach Jim Mora said. "He wasn't out of sync. It's going to happen. It's part of the game. I told you to temper expectations. It ain't going to be as pretty every week as it was last week. It's a great learning experience for him and for us."

Rosen was victimized by about a handful of passes that bounced off the hands of receivers. He also misfired on several other throws.

"The impressive thing about our offense and Josh in particular, at no time, even when it wasn't going exactly right and he was missing throws, did he ever show any lack of poise," Mora said. "He was incredibly patient, cognizant of what was going on, never flustered -- just kind of was like he always is -- and that's a really great sign."

Jordan Payton caught a game-high five passes for 70 yards and a touchdown and junior Ka'imi Fairbairn added field goals of 25, 34 and 42 yards for the Bruins, who held spoiled the home coaching debut for UNLV's Tony Sanchez. A crowd of 31,262, the 12th largest in UNLV history, turned out.

"Obviously, any time you don't come away with a win, it's a frustrating deal," Sanchez said. "There are some things we can continue to grow and get better at. I was proud of the way the defense played. They did a great job for the majority of the night."

UCLA, which finished with 526 yards in total offense, led 17-0 at halftime and 34-0 after three quarters and held the Rebels to 237 total yards, including 124 in the first three quarters.

UNLV starting quarterback Blake Decker didn't play the final three quarters after suffering a right hamstring injury on the final play of the first quarter. Backup Kurt Palandech struggled, completing 4 of 15 passes for 4 yards and also throwing the interception that Young returned for a touchdown.

"We'll see," Sanchez said when asked the status of Decker afterward. "It's a high hamstring and we'll find out. It's the nature of football. It's unfortunate, but next man in and we'll move on."

Perkins, the reigning Pac-12 rushing champion, had touchdown runs of 7 and 56 yards and didn't play in the fourth quarter.

UNLV spoiled UCLA's shutout bid with 3:04 remaining when junior Nicolai Bornand kicked a 32-yard field goal four plays after junior linebacker Trent Langham's 65-yard interception return of backup UCLA quarterback Jerry Neuheisel.

Rosen had 151 yards passing at halftime, including a 29-yard touchdown to Payton to give UCLA an early 7-0 lead.

The Bruins made it 10-0 midway through the first quarter on a 35-yard field goal by Fairbairn before UNLV got its offense untracked and drove to the UCLA 18-yard line. But a fake field goal attempt was quickly snuffed out by junior linebacker Deon Hollins, who collared junior holder Troy Hawthorne almost immediately as he tried to roll out and Hawthorne's hurried pass wasn't close to a receiver.

Things went from bad to worse for UNLV on its next possession when Decker, racing around right end on a keeper, collapsed to the ground untouched and grabbed the top of his right leg. Decker had to be he helped off the field and didn't return.

The UNLV defense stiffened after that and held UCLA on four consecutive possessions. But the Bruins still increased their lead to 17-0 late in the half when Palandech, under a heavy pass rush, was intercepted by Young, who raced 23 yards up the right sideline for a touchdown.

NOTES: Despite the campuses being only 283 miles apart and Las Vegas being a major weekend getaway for people who live in southern California, this was the first meeting in football between UCLA and UNLV. The Rebels travel to the Rose Bowl in the return game of the home-and-home on Sept. 20, 2016. ... UCLA next hosts BYU on Saturday while UNLV travels to Michigan.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
UCLA   UNLV
Paul Perkins Player Keith Whitely
18 Attempts 12
151 Yards 73
8.4 Avg Yards 6.1
2 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Receiving
UCLA   UNLV
Jordan Payton Player Devonte Boyd
5 Receptions 3
70 Yards 55
14.0 Avg Yards 18.3
1 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
UCLA 526 273 253 4 3 1 0.0 0
UNLV 237 181 56 0 1 3 0.0 0