LOS ANGELES_Josh Rosen jogged through the scrum of players before he reached the goal line, where he stopped to pat Jordan Lasley on the helmet in celebration of the go-ahead touchdown.
UCLA was trying to work some dual magic late Saturday night, with its star quarterback returning to lead his team on the field where it had not lost during an otherwise trying season.
Rosen helped the Bruins to a 44-37 win over Arizona State before 53,847 at the Rose Bowl, persevering through a blow to the face that caused blood to gush.
His moment of merriment with Lasley came after zipping a 22-yard touchdown pass to the receiver over the middle on a crossing route that gave the Bruins a 41-34 lead. J.J. Molson added a 20-yard field goal with 9:38 left to extend the Bruins' advantage, and they held on for a much-needed win.
Rosen was back after having sat out most of the previous two games because of a concussion, depriving his team of the most prolific passer in the Pac-12 Conference during back-to-back defeats. Lasley, his top receiver, was back after missing three games for disciplinary reasons.
Rosen passed for 381 yards and a touchdown, while Lasley had seven catches for 162 yards and the go-ahead score.
UCLA (5-5) entered Saturday needing to win two of its final three games to reach the six victories required to become eligible for a lower-tier bowl that might save coach Jim Mora's job.
There didn't seem to be a consensus among UCLA fans about whether that would be a good thing after several dozen paid for airplane banners expressing displeasure with Mora and Bruins athletic director Dan Guerrero to circle the Rose Bowl a few hours before the opening kickoff.
One banner read "UCLA FB 16 YRS 0 ROSE BOWLS 0 CONF TITLES!" and the other said "GUERRERO 9-16 THE LAST 25 GAMES NO MORA!" Several fans held their cellphones aloft to snap pictures, reading the messages aloud, as the planes flew overhead.
Mora appeared to be in an upbeat mood before the game, exchanging high-fives with fans as he walked onto the field. His team would put him through what felt like a season's worth of highs and lows over the hours that followed.
UCLA's defense was extremely pliable in the third quarter until Arizona State backed it up near the goal line. The Sun Devils had first downs at the Bruins' 11- and 10-yard lines on separate drives and got only a field goal each time.
Arizona State finally broke through in a big way late in the third quarter when Malik Lawal blocked a Stefan Flintoft punt and the Sun Devils' Eno Benjamin picked up the ball and ran it into the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown that tied the score at 34-34.
UCLA trailed 21-20 at halftime after giving up 203 yards rushing, which was bad even for a run defense that statistically ranked as the worst in the nation.
Arizona State went exclusively to the run on one 10-play, 75-yard drive, which seemed like a smart move considering that quarterback Manny Wilkins had one tipped pass intercepted and nearly suffered the same fate on another pass in which the ball grazed the ground and was ruled incomplete.
The first quarter was shaping up as a soul-crushing experience for UCLA after the Bruins endured a dropped touchdown pass by Eldridge Massington; a missed field goal by Molson following a botched snap; two penalties on the same punt return, backing UCLA up to its own five-yard line; an offsides penalty on defensive end Marcus Moore that negated a third-down stop; and an interception on a pass that deflected off tight end Austin Roberts' hand.
The succession of blunders contributed mightily to Arizona State's 14-0 lead and the Bruins' defense already was beginning to sag.
Then Moore stuck his meaty arm into the air and everything changed.
Moore deflected a pass from Wilkins, the ball sailing into the air. It landed in the hands of Bruins cornerback Nate Meadors, who ran 27 yards for a touchdown, raising his right arm into the air in celebration as he reached the end zone to halve his team's deficit.
Meadors then broke up a third-down pass on Arizona State's next possession, helping the Bruins get the ball back. Offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch displayed some creativity, calling for a reverse in which receiver Christian Pabico ran for 30 yards. UCLA tailback Bolu Olorunfunmi then took a swing pass from Rosen and made a couple of nice cuts for a 23-yard gain to the Arizona State one-yard line.
Rosen faked a handoff to Olorunfunmi on the next play and ran untouched into the end zone to help the Bruins tie the score at 14-14.
