UCLA and Texas A&M aren’t exactly rivals. They’re in different conferences and have only played each other five times.
Josh Rosen vs. Texas A&M was a fascinating 2-year rivalry
Twice, Rosen led comeback attempts against the Aggies. The second one was absolutely unbelievable.
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Two of those times happened to occur during the eligibility of UCLA QB Josh Rosen. The first was a UCLA near-comeback in College Station; the second was a 34-point UCLA comeback in Los Angeles.
Sunday night, the Bruins pulled off the impossible. Without much of a running game to lean on — we know that part isn’t Rosen’s fault, because it was absolutely horrible last year both before and after his injury — and with issues in protection and at receiver, Rosen struggled early in UCLA’s opener against the Aggies. He didn’t play perfectly by any means, but there’s also not a lot many QBs could do against a situation like this right here:
In 25 attempts, Rosen had averaged 5 yards per throw. With 24 minutes to go, he’d been sacked four times. A&M led, 41-10.
And then his Bruins erupted.
He finished with 491 yards and four touchdowns, including this Dan Marino-style fake spike to win it:
The year before, Rosen was also a huge part of the A&M-UCLA story.
A few days before the trip, Rosen was asked about the anticipated crowd noise at the Aggies’ 100,000-seat stadium. He didn’t talk trash about Aggies fans or anything like that, but he did make a comment that indicated he wasn’t worried about facing anything he hadn’t already faced before.
Trying to head off a bulletin-board backlash, head coach Jim Mora tweeted a little context:
Buuuut, as you can hear, it was a little too late for all that as far as Aggies fans were concerned:
In the first 55 minutes, Rosen threw two interceptions and was sacked four times. Before his third pick, he egged the crowd on, which ... aw.
UCLA would come back to send it to overtime, where the Aggies prevailed.
Rosen’s almost certainly gone to the NFL.
He’s expected to be a first-round pick, and this comeback might’ve just clinched him a spot in the top 10. The most memorable game of his college career will almost certainly have been this 2017 A&M game, and considering his second season was later cut short by injury, there’s a good chance the 2016 A&M game will finish high on that list as well.
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