LOS ANGELES_Randall Goforth held the ball aloft with one hand as he crossed the 15-yard line, legs churning with only open field ahead.
Finally, after more than a month, there was something to celebrate for the UCLA safety and his teammates.
Goforth's 40-yard interception return for a touchdown with a little more than two minutes left Saturday night at the Rose Bowl secured the Bruins' 38-24 victory over Oregon State, ending a four-game losing streak.
UCLA won largely thanks to four words seldom written this season: another Bruins rushing touchdown.
Freshman tailback Jalen Starks, getting his first carries since mid-September, ran for two of his team's three rushing touchdowns, including a four-yard score midway through the third quarter that gave UCLA a 31-21 advantage.
The Bruins (4-6 overall, 2-5 Pac-12 Conference) finished with 163 yards rushing, their most since they collected 219 against Nevada Las Vegas in the season's second game. They also kept intact their faint bowl hopes heading into the crosstown rivalry game against USC next week.
But UCLA prevailed in a game it surely would have lost against a more stout opponent. Its receivers dropped seven passes, a holding penalty wiped out a lengthy touchdown run, another holding penalty helped Oregon State convert a fourth and four and a pass interference penalty in the fourth quarter sustained an Oregon State drive with the Beavers needing only a touchdown to tie the score.
Goforth ended those hopes when he stepped in front of backup quarterback Marcus McMaryion's pass and returned it for the game's final points.
UCLA couldn't be picky about its first victory since beating Arizona on Oct. 1.
The Bruins were facing a team even more depleted than themselves. Oregon State (2-8, 1-6) was missing both its starting quarterback and first-string tailback on the way to its fifth consecutive defeat.
UCLA didn't have quarterback Josh Rosen? Well, the Beavers one-upped them in the woe-is-me department with both quarterback Darell Garretson and tailback Ryan Nall sidelined by injuries.
There was, predictably, plenty of uneven play and little separation between the teams.
UCLA's Jordan Lasley added to a season of gaffes by Bruins receivers midway through the third quarter when he caught a short pass from quarterback Mike Fafaul and fumbled, the ball scooped up by Oregon State's Manase Hungalu and returned 40 yards for a touchdown that pulled the Beavers to within 24-21.
Hungalu recovered two fumbles and intercepted a Fafaul pass on third and one from the Beavers' one-yard line early in the fourth quarter, returning the ball 36 yards and prompting boos from UCLA fans. Fafaul finished the game completing 25 of 47 passes for 281 yards with one interception.
UCLA's defense was solid, holding Oregon State to 307 total yards and forcing three turnovers, including fumble recoveries by linebackers Jayon Brown and Kenny Young.
"The score is obviously not indicative of how well our defense played," UCLA Coach Jim Mora said.
UCLA shrugged off an early Oregon State touchdown by reeling off 21 unanswered points in the first half. Tailback Bolu Olorunfunmi ran for a four-yard touchdown and Starks spun into the end zone for a three-yard touchdown to give the Bruins a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter.
UCLA's punt coverage team padded the cushion when DeChaun Holiday burst through the middle and blocked Nick Porebski's punt, the ball recovered in the air by Lasley and returned 23 yards for a touchdown.
UCLA diversified its running attack in the first half and achieved some decent results for a team that entered the game ranked next to last among 128 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. The Bruins used their top five tailbacks in a game for the first time all season and gained 46 yards rushing in the first quarter_more yards than they had totaled in any of their previous four games.
Freshmen Brandon Stephens and Starks joined mainstays Olorunfunmi, Soso Jamabo and Nate Starks in the rotation. Olorunfunmi finished with 65 yards in eight carries, averaging 8.1 yards per carry.
Austin Kent's return as the UCLA punter after being benched for two games didn't go well in the second quarter. He punted away from return specialist Victor Bolden Jr. but also the Bruins' coverage, allowing Oregon State's Rahmel Dockery a mostly open field for a 39-yard return to the Bruins' 16-yard line. Pierce ran for a three-yard touchdown shortly thereafter to trim UCLA's lead to 21-14.
Mora had said this week he was recommitting to Kent but yanked him in the fourth quarter in favor of Stefan Flintoft.
