UCLA's Josh Rosen: 'The Chosen One' (VIDEO)

The Bruins had a great opening day yesterday.

 At LAT, "Josh Rosen's debut is stellar, UCLA defense staunch in 34-16 win over Virginia," and "UCLA defeats Virginia, 34-16, with Josh Rosen in starring role."

Plus, from Bill Plaschke, "Josh Rosen's debut as UCLA quarterback illuminates why he is the chosen one":

It's only one game. He's only 18. The sample size is small. The season is long. Afterward, his coach understandably attempted to slow the buzz by pushing his outstretched palms downward in a suppressing motion.

"Let's just do this, OK?" pleaded Jim Mora, pushing down, down, down. "OK?"

OK ... not. Forget it. Not gonna work. No amount of rationalizing will pick all those jaws off the Rose Bowl floor. No chunks of common sense will stop the rubbing of eyes, the nudging of neighbors, the emptying of lungs that filled the Arroyo Seco with stunned surprise.

Nothing, it seems, can quiet the roaring hope that freshman quarterback Josh Rosen brought to UCLA football Saturday in his debut, season-opening 34-16 victory over Virginia.

Sorry, coach, but the kid was unbelievable, OK?

Rated as one of the nation's best high school quarterbacks, he exceeded even the wildest dreams of Bruins fans. Everyone figured he would be good. Few had any idea that this quickly, he would be this good.

Rosen completed passes over defenders, around defenders, and occasionally just torched the ball through defenders. He threw while on the run, while falling on his back, and sometimes, splendidly, while just standing 6-feet-4 inches tall in the pocket.

While getting hammered in the stomach, he completed a screen pass that led to the first touchdown. With his team leading by a point, he threw an absolutely perfect 30-yard pass over the middle of the Virginia defense for the second touchdown. Finally, while being thrown to the ground, he found an open 310-pound nose guard on a screen pass for a third touchdown.

"Hit me right between the numbers," chortled Kenny Clark.

He was precise. He was powerful. He was inspirational, slapping hands and backs and telling his teammates, "This game is slower than I thought."

"I heard that and I'm like, 'Oh-kay?"' said receiver Eldridge Massington.

In all, Rosen set the UCLA first-year freshman quarterback record with 28 completions in 35 attempts for 351 yards. He tied the record with three touchdown passes.

His debut was at least equal to the brilliant debut of his predecessor, Brett Hundley, and his aura reminded one of Cade McNown, who led UCLA to 20 consecutive victories in the late 1990s. Rosen might have unkempt blond hair and a scraggly kid mustache, but his swagger is solid.

Sorry, coach, but your own players and coaches couldn't help themselves.

"Sometimes we're looking at each other like, 'OK, how did he do that?' " said Thomas Duarte, who caught that 30-yard touchdown pass in traffic...

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