SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- Bryson Sumlin came up big in the first and fourth quarters to help Fresno State finally defeat intrastate foe UCLA.
Sumlin scored two first-quarter touchdowns and picked up a pair of key first downs in the final minutes as the Bulldogs beat the Bruins for the first time in seven all-time meetings, a 17-9 triumph in the muddy Silicon Valley Classic.
Sumlin opened the scoring with a one-yard run midway through the first quarter. Six minutes later, he caught a screen pass from Paul Pinegar and scampered 44 yards near the right sideline to make it 14-0 with 1:30 left in the period.
"I caught it and looked down field," Sumlin said. "It was wide open and I just ran. I knew that once I got past the linebacker, I was where nobody could catch me. It was one of my biggest touchdowns, but I plan on having many more."
"The touchdown on the screen pass was just a busted play and missed tackles," Bruins defensive end Dave Ball said. "Other than that, we did pretty well on defense."
The latter score came three plays after UCLA's Maurice Drew was stuffed on a 4th-and-1 run at the Fresno State 43.
With the Bulldogs (9-5) holding a 17-9 lead, linebacker Manuel Sanchez intercepted UCLA's Drew Olson with 2:42 remaining, and Sumlin picked up a pair of first downs to run out the clock.
Rodney Davis had 13 carries for 77 yards for Fresno State on the messy Spartan Stadium turf and was named the game's Offensive MVP.
"I played on fields like this for a long time," Davis said. "We knew that it was going to be sloppy. I just wanted to run hard. I could cut and the defense couldn't plant."
Fresno State, playing in its school-record fifth straight bowl under coach Pat Hill, has won back-to-back bowls after dropping its previous four.
"We felt that athletically, we matched up very well with them," Hill said. "I feel that we can compete with the Pac-10. We can compete very well with the conference. I think that we can make a good run. It is a shame that we cannot play more California, Pac-10 teams."
The Bruins (6-7) ended their campaign on a five-game losing streak.
"I expected us to play a whole lot better than we played," first-year Bruins coach Karl Dorrell said. "But it just shows you where we are at. We are not a very good team and we have a lot of work to do. We need a great offseason and we need to get some players that want to get us back to where it should be at UCLA."
Fresno State appeared on its way to a blowout after taking a 17-0 lead on a 36-yard field goal by Brett Visintainer 2 1/2 minutes into the second quarter.
The Bruins got within 17-9 when Asi Faoa blocked a punt for a safety with 7:11 left in the third quarter, but they never scored again.
Neither quarterback got much going. Olson was just 11-of-31 for 96 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while Pinegar went 12-of-26 for 133 yards - 10 in the second half - one TD and one pick.