PASADENA, Calif. -- The UCLA Bruins, manhandled by Nebraska in three previous meetings this decade, were not about to let it happen again.
Striking with equal part power and finesse, the No. 5 Bruins raced to a 28-0 bulge after one quarter Saturday night en route to a 41-28 victory over the second-ranked Cornhuskers. Nebraska had overwhelmed UCLA the last three times, winning 42-10 in 1983, 42-3 in 1984 and 42-33 last year.
'We felt we had something to prove,' UCLA's Troy Aikman said after throwing for three first-half touchdowns. 'So many people in the past said that UCLA is a finesse team and they can't handle the big boys.
'Well, we proved we could. I think we matched up pound for pound with Nebraska tonight.'
Darryl Henley's second punt return for a touchdown in two weeks capped UCLA's runaway first quarter, which stunned the crowd of 84,086 at the Rose Bowl.
'All week the newspapers were talking about last year's game,' said Henley, whose 75-yard TD return followed last week's 89-yarder against San Diego State. 'We wanted to put that behind us. We knew it would be a different game.'
In giving Coach Terry Donahue his 100th career victory, the Bruins, 2-0, scored the most points against Nebraska in the 16-season reign of Coach Tom Osborne. It was the first time an opponent had peppered the Cornhuskers for at least 40 since 1968.
This week, Donahue hinted that Nebraska players beefed up on steroids were the reason the Cornhuskers had outmuscled the Bruins in previous contests.
'If we had an advantage in past years, we're sorry about that,' Osborne said. 'We certainly didn't have an advantage tonight.
'We were hoping we would be a little stronger and take it to them, but we just couldn't do it.'
Aikman, who also threw for three first-half scores last week in a 59-6 thrashing of the Aztecs, had TD passes of 57 and 3 yards to tight end Charles Arbuckle in the first quarter and 11 yards to David Keating in the second.
The Heisman Trophy hopeful completed 13 of 22 passes for 205 yards and one interception. In two games, Aikman has connected on 26 of 39 attempts.
Freshman Shawn Wills added a 50-yard TD run and Alfredo Velasco field goals of 42 and 34 yards for the Bruins, who snapped a four-game losing streak to Nebraska dating to 1972. Eric Ball rushed for 148 yards on 35 carries.
Steve Taylor had TD passes of 8 yards to Morgan Gregory and 1 yard to Todd Millikan and a 1-yard scoring run for the Cornhuskers, 2-1. Mark Blazek also returned an interception 75 yards for a disputed touchdown.
Taylor collected five TD passes in last season's 42-33 victory over UCLA, but Saturday night was just 14 of 29 for 125 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also ran 14 times for 95 yards.
UCLA scored on all three of its previous possessions, collecting 211 total yards to only 52 for Nebraska. The Bruins averaged 12.4 yards per play in the period.
The onslaught began when Arbuckle -- who had 5 catches for 100 yards, all in the first half -- took a short pass from Aikman, eluded a tackle by linebacker Leroy Etienne and raced untouched the rest of the way to complete a startling 57-yard scoring play 3:21 into the game.
After Gregory dropped a pass that would have given Nebraska a first down, the Bruins scored on their second possession with another spectacular effort. Ball's 64-yard TD run was nullified because of a holding penalty, but Wills slipped away at the line of scrimmage and pulled out to his 50-yard scoring run.
The Cornhuskers tried a flanker reverse, but Dana Brinson fumbled and Marcus Turner recovered for the Bruins. Seven plays later, Aikman rolled right and found Arbuckle with his 3-yard TD toss.
Nebraska ran three times and punted to Henley, who fielded the ball at his 25. With his teammates sealing off the left sideline, the cornerback raced downfield, hurdled a group of Cornhuskers at the 20 and trotted home with a minute left in the opening period.
Early in the second quarter, Marcus Patton picked off a deflected Taylor pass to further frustrate the Cornhuskers, but Blazek got Nebraska's first points with his 75-yard interception return.
Blazek caught Aikman's pass and rolled over on the turf, and players from both teams thought he was touched by flanker Mike Farr and tackled. But Blazek got up and kept running, coasting the final 50 yards to make it 28-7.
Unshaken, UCLA marched 74 yards in 10 plays on the next possession, getting the 11-yard TD pass from Aikman to Keating. On the next play, Turner intercepted Taylor, and the Bruins turned that into Velasco's 42-yarder.
Taylor hit Gregory with the 8-yard TD pass with 81 seconds left in the half, cutting the Cornhuskers' deficit to 25 points at halftime, but the Bruins moved to Velasco's 34-yarder on their first second-half possession.
Nebraska used a fake punt to set up Taylor's 1-yard plunge with 6:09 left in the third quarter, making it 41-20. Taylor then threw his 1-yard scoring pass to Millikan to get the Cornhuskers to within 41-28, but by then it was too late.
