UCLA’s Thompson-Robinson, Marrazzo injured against Stanford

UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson did a little bit of everything to help ensure the Bruins’ first road trip of the season would be a successful one.

Thompson-Robinson accounted for four touchdowns, including two passing and two rushing, in the 35-24 victory over Stanford to open Pac-12 Conference play. The victory helped move the Bruins (3-1) up four spots on the Associated Press Top 25 and coaches poll to No. 20.

He completed 18 of 29 passes for 251 yards and rushed for 30 yards, but the most impressive part of Thompson-Robinson’s performance cannot be recorded on a stat sheet.

The senior quarterback has shown signs of toughness, playing through an apparent shoulder injury in the second half.

“He took a couple hits and it was great to see him go in and (have that) ‘I’m going to win this game for us’ (mentality),” defensive back Qwuantrezz Knight said. “I think he went down one play and came back in and threw a touchdown. I told him, ‘That’s what we need from you.’”

Thompson-Robinson was tackled out-of-bounds by Stanford safety Alaka’i Gilman on a 3-yard run on first-and-goal in the fourth quarter. The quarterback was slow to get back up and headed for the sideline while backup quarterback Ethan Garbers entered the game.

After a 2-yard run by Garbers, Thompson-Robinson returned to the game and completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kyle Philips to extend the lead to 35-24 and put the game out of reach. Phillips had five catches for 120 receiving yards, his second consecutive performance with at least five catches and 100 yards.

“Over time he was taking hits and it was wearing on him,” Philips said about Thompson-Robinson. “He’s a tough guy and that’ll never hold him down.”

Thompson-Robinson was not made available to speak with the media after the game and the severity of his injury wasn’t disclosed.

He did send out the following tweet after the game: “GOD is good! and so is this TEAM! #GoBruins”

Center Sam Marrazzo made his second consecutive start for the Bruins but went down three plays into the second half. Marrazzo was looked at by the training staff on the field before getting up and jogging off the field under his own power.

Marrazzo made his first start of the season against Fresno State, after missing the first two games of the season. Marrazzo started all seven games in 2020 but left the season finale, a double overtime loss to Stanford due to an injury.

“It was a grind,” Marrazzo said last week about his rehab and missing an early part of the season. “I think it gave me a deeper appreciation for the offense as a whole and an understanding of outside the box stuff.”

Duke Clemens took over at center in place of Marrazzo to finish out the Stanford game. Jon Gaines II started at center for the Bruins’ first two games but has since moved back to right guard upon Marrazzo’s return.

There may be a better indication on the severity of those injuries when the Bruins return to practice on Monday morning.

The Bruins had two key members of the defense injured in the Fresno State game and were questionable throughout the past week.

Defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia and safety Quentin Lake were limited participants throughout practice early last week.

Ogbonnia startedthe Stanford and played throughout most of the game. Lake went throughout pregame warm ups ahead of the Stanford game but did not play.

Kenny Churchwell III replaced Lake in the starting lineup. He recorded just one tackle.

The Bruins will host Pac-12 South rival Arizona State (3-1) at the Rose Bowl on Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m.