Dante Moore threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns in his second college game and T.J. Harden had a 53-yard scoring run for UCLA, which used big plays to overpower the San Diego State Aztecs 35-10 on Saturday night.
Although UCLA coach Chip Kelly won't say it, Moore, an 18-year-old from Detroit who completed 17 of 27 passes, appears to have won the quarterback competition against Ethan Garbers with the Bruins' Pac-12 opener coming up in two weeks against two-time defending champion Utah. The Bruins outgained the Aztecs 550 yards to 259 yards.
Moore and Josiah Norwood connected on an 81-yard catch-and-run on the first play of UCLA's third drive and Moore threw a 24-yard scoring pass to Logan Loya late in the second quarter. Moore sidearmed a 6-yard TD pass to Carsen Ryan late in the third quarter. The three TDs tied the school record by a true freshman set by Cade McNown in 1995 and matched by Josh Rosen in 2015.
With the Bruins starting their third drive on their 19, Norwood was wide open as the inside receiver in a triple set, caught Moore's pass at about the 37 and outraced four defenders to the end zone. The Aztecs could have pulled within a touchdown late in the second quarter, but Joshua Nicholson dropped a pass from Mayden in the end zone and they had to settle for a 44-yard field goal by Jack Browning that made it 21-10.