PASADENA, Calif. -- Given the way Hollywood latches on to a story tighter than a mutt on a unwelcome guest's pants leg, it will be the task of UCLA coach Jim Mora to muffle the hoopla surrounding true

freshman quarterback Josh Rosen.

Mora might have to start in his own locker room. When asked to assess Rosen's impressive college debut, third-year sophomore wide receiver Eldridge Massington said: "I wasn't surprised at all. That's

Chosen Rosen. I knew he was going to come out and ball."

It turned out to be a performance Mora could not have hoped to be any better when he named the 18-year old Rosen to be the Bruins' starting quarterback.

Rosen completed 28-of-35 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns in UCLA's 34-16 victory over Virginia.

"I thought I did pretty well," Rosen said. "I know I need to improve in a few areas. I'm excited about what's to come."

Rosen was all access on his targets, connecting with 11 receivers. Rosen threw passes on a line. He dropped in passes over tight coverage into his receivers' hands.

Rosen was sacked only once and attributed that to himself and not to the Bruins' experienced offensive line.

"The offensive line kept me upright, my receivers caught the ball," Rosen said.

Rosen's receivers have known since he arrived on campus last spring that this freshman was something special. Rosen was the nation's top-rated high school quarterback coming out of St. John Bosco High, not far away in Bellflower.

He won the starting job over redshirt junior Jerry Neuheisel. Saturday's performance was an indication why.

"Some of the throws he made…off the back of his foot, he just finds a way to get the ball to guys," junior wide receiver Thomas Duarte said. "Sometimes we receivers look at each other and say, 'How did he do that?'"

Rosen said he was nervous before the game, a trait that carried over from high school. But Mora did not notice.

"I did not see a deer in the headlights look," the Bruins' coach said. "I didn't know how he'd perform but he was in the moment."

Remarking on how Rosen has performed since he arrived at UCLA, Mora extolled Rosen's pocket presence and his ball placement.

"His potential is what he determines his potential to be through his effort and work ethic," Mora said.

UCLA returned an abundance of experience on defense and it showed. The Bruins held Virginia to three field goals until giving up a late fourth-quarter touchdown long after the verdict had been decided.

"We were more solid and more consistent against the run and I thought we tackled well," Mora said. "We got to play a lot of young guys and they did well."

But the best young guy who played was the freshman quarterback. And Mora has to put a lid on the hype that surely will come.

"Our mantra is don't listen to the noise," Mora said, when asked how he is going to manage it.

NOTES: Josh Rosen became the first Bruins true freshman to start at his position since 2002 when Drew Olson started and won game nine against Washington. One game earlier, UCLA started another true freshman, Matt Moore, who led the Bruins to a victory over Stanford. ... UCLA's honorary captain for the game was former running DeShaun Foster, who finished his college career as the Bruins' third all-time leading rusher and second all-time in touchdowns. Foster

played six seasons in the NFL with Carolina (2003-2007) and San Francisco (2008). ... UCLA has several players listed on the 2015 Football Awards Watch List. Most notable are junior linebacker Myles Jack on the Butkus (linebacker) and Walter Camp (most outstanding defensive player) lists, and junior running back Paul Perkins on the Walker (running back) and Maxwell (most outstanding offensive player) lists. ... Saturday's game marked only the second time in the Virginia's 126 seasons of football that the Cavaliers traveled to California for a game. The first time occurred Sept. 11, 2010, when the Cavaliers played USC at the Coliseum. Virginia lost that one, 17-14. ... There are 13 graduate students on Virginia's 2015 roster, most in the nation. ... On Virginia's 2015 schedule are four opponents (No. 11 Notre Dame, No. 13 UCLA, No. 16 Georgia Tech and No. 23 Boise State) which were ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press preseason top 25 poll.