Offense missing in action during loss UCLA was
missing part of its puzzle. The special teams and defensive pieces
were there, but when the Bruins needed the offense, it was nowhere
to be found. Cal-UCLA was expected to be a high-scoring shootout,
but it turned into a defensive battle. The Bruins’ defense
more than did its job, holding the Pac-10’s top-scoring team
to just 17 points on 173 total yards. However, with third-string
quarterback John Sciarra at the helm, Cal loaded the box and
blitzed on almost every play. UCLA couldn’t muster any yards
on the ground, as defenders swarmed to meet Bruin running back
Tyler Ebell, or through the air, when passes often went awry or off
receivers’ fingertips. UCLA’s four trips into the red
zone resulted in only one score. “Our defense played very
well. I was proud of the effort the team gave right down to the
end,” UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said. The lack of points
hides the fact that the special teams unit got the Bruins great
field position via two blocked punts. The first block occurred when
Marcus Reese broke through and set up UCLA’s offense for a
try at the end zone from the Cal three-yard line. The second block
gave UCLA’s offense the ball on the Cal 20, but the
Bruins’ last-ditch attempt was literally fumbled away. In
both cases, UCLA came away with zero points. “We blocked
punts, but we couldn’t get any points off that,” Toledo
said. “We needed to make a play on defense or in the kicking
game because I knew we’d struggle on offense.”
Sacks allowed The UCLA quarterbacks were often on
the run, which isn’t a good thing considering the dearth of
speed between Cory Paus, Drew Olson and John Sciarra. So when
Cal’s frequent blitzes and speed pass-rushers came at the
line, it often resulted in a UCLA quarterback on the ground. All
told, the Bruin quarterbacks were sacked seven times, against a
team that entered the game with 19 sacks through seven games.
“They twisted a lot and brought one more guy than we could
pick up at times,” Toledo said. Costly
turnovers A huge factor contributing to Cal’s
turnaround has been its ability to force turnovers, as the Golden
Bears entered the game with a +13 turnover margin, fifth-best in
Division I. That ranking figures to get better following the
Bears’ defensive performance, as they snared one interception
and forced four fumbles, two of which they recovered. One of the
fumbles that UCLA did recover turned the ball over anyway because
it was fourth down. The Cal offense was able to convert two of
those turnovers into 14 points. Injury Report This
gives new meaning to the phrase “sympathy pain.” Just a
quarter after UCLA quarterback Drew Olson separated his shoulder,
safety Jibril Raymo separated his shoulder, too. While
Olson’s injury came as a result of being hit, Raymo’s
came by less conventional methods. Following Marcus Reese’s
blocked punt, Raymo flung his arms in the air in celebration,
causing the shoulder separation. “I just threw my arm
out,” Raymo said. “I couldn’t believe
it.”