PASADENA — The start to the UCLA football team’s season opener Saturday afternoon was bizarre, at times maddening, and raised a few early concerns.

Behind a handful of quick, explosive plays and a revamped defense, though, the Bruins erased an early 10-point deficit and ran away in the second half for a 45-17 victory over Bowling Green at the Rose Bowl.

UCLA scored the game’s final 38 points and the defense posted a second-half shutout.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson accounted for four total touchdowns (two passing, two rushing) for an offense that generated 626 yards.

Through the air, Thompson-Robinson completed 32 of 43 passes for 298 yards to go with an interception. He also added 87 yards rushing on seven carries.

His top target was speedy receiver Kazmeir Allen, who caught a game-high 10 catches for 85 yards and a dazzling second-quarter touchdown.

UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet ran for a game-high 111 yards on 21 carries and his third-quarter touchdown pushed the advantage to 31-17 and created separation.

The Bruins got off to a shaky start—including a blocked punt returned for a Bowling Green touchdown, a muffed punt from Jake Bobo and Thompson-Robinson’s interception. The two turnovers helped the Falcons jump out to a 17-7 lead less than two minutes into the second quarter.

UCLA then had a mental miscue on fourth-and-2 from the Bowling Green 9-yard line at the 8:28 mark. A delay of game penalty forced the Bruins to settle for Nicholas Barr-Mira’s 24-yard field goal, to the crowd’s dismay, cutting the deficit to seven.

The UCLA defense then produced two quality three-and-outs and the Bruins promptly tacked on two more scores. The Bruins rattled off eight plays in less than 3 minutes, capped by Allen’s 20-yard touchdown catch, and needed just one additional play to close the scoring on backup running back Keegan Jones’ 52-yard catch-and-run to take a 24-17 lead into the break.

It was UCLA’s first lead of the game and Bowling Green never made a threat after halftime.

UCLA’s defense carried the effort into the second half and allowed just 162 yards in all. A point of emphasis all week was getting off the field, and the Falcons were just 2 of 16 on third-down conversions.

It was a rough day for UCLA’s special teams. In addition to the miscues on punts, Barr-Mira was just 1 for 3 on field goal attempts.

1st quarter

13:46, Bowling Green: Blocked punt by PaSean Wimberly and recovered by Charles Rosser, 11-yard TD (PAT GOOD, Mason Lawler), 7-0 Bowling Green

12:20, UCLA: QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson TD run (PAT GOOD, Nicholas Barr-Mira), 68 yards, 7-7 tie

4:29, Bowling Green: Mason Lawler FG GOOD, 24 yards, 10-7 Bowling Green

2nd quarter

13:43, Bowling Green: QB Matt McDonald to TE Christian Sims, 22-yard TD (PAT GOOD, Mason Lawler), 17-7

8;28, UCLA: Nicholas Barr-Mira FG GOOD, 24 yards, 17-10 Bowling Green

4:04, UCLA: QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson to WR Kazmeir Allen, 20-yard TD (PAT GOOD, Nicholas Barr-Mira), 17-17 tie

2:18, UCLA: QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson to RB Keegan Jones, 52-yard TD (PAT GOOD, Nicholas Barr-Mira), 24-17 UCLA

3rd quarter

11:03, UCLA: RB Zach Charbonnet TD run (PAT GOOD, Nicholas Barr-Mira), 4 yards, 31-17 UCLA

4th quarter

14:54, UCLA: QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson TD run (PAT GOOD, Nicholas Barr-Mira), 8 yards, 38-17

4:21, UCLA: QB Ethan Garbers to WR Josiah Norwood, 50-yard TD (PAT GOOD, Nicholas Barr-Mira), 45-17 UCLA