CHAMPAIGN, Ill. “”mdash; In order to win the war of a college
football game, many smaller battles must be won. And for UCLA, one
battle was of paramount importance heading into Saturday’s
35-17 win over Illinois ““ the one fought over turnovers.
Despite the tremendous shortcomings of the defense in the
season-opening loss to Oklahoma State last week, the UCLA offense
felt that it gave the game away by committing four turnovers. The
goal Saturday was to give nothing away.
“That’s one way to just kill a drive,” said
sophomore tailback Maurice Drew, who fumbled once last Saturday.
“We just didn’t want to kill ourselves, and instead
make the defense try to stop us. We know that if we execute,
that’s going to be pretty hard for a defense to
do.”
The UCLA offense executed well, committing only one turnover
Saturday on a Drew Olson pass that was tipped at the line of
scrimmage and snatched out of the air by an Illini defensive back.
But unlike last Saturday, the turnover didn’t turn into
points for the opposition.
“After last week, that was obviously a goal this week
““ take care of the football,” offensive coordinator and
offensive line coach Tom Cable said.
In the week of practice leading up to the matchup with Illinois,
the Bruin coaches had the scout team trying to strip the offense of
the ball and go for interceptions whenever possible. Whatever
preparations were made, they seemed to work.
“Turnovers really killed us last week,” Drew said.
“This week we had one.
We’re making the climb to try to get to none. If we do
that, it’s going to be just like this today.”
HELP IS ON THE WAY: UCLA’s beleaguered
defense received a personnel boost Saturday, and it should only get
better in the coming weeks.
Most importantly, senior linebacker Justin London, the anchor of
the Bruins’ defense and one of the vocal leaders on the team,
played for a sizable portion of Saturday’s game after sitting
out the opener with an ankle injury.
“I was out there, and that’s all I’ve been
wanting since last year,” said London, adding that he was
only about 70 percent. “That’s what I look forward to,
to play football. I got the opportunity today, and it was
great.”
Defensive coordinator Larry Kerr said that London’s
presence on the field is incredibly important for the defense, and
not just for his physical skills.
“Even though Justin London wasn’t 100 percent, just
having Justin London on the field is huge for us,” Kerr
said.
But the help doesn’t end there. Junior C.J. Niusulu,
UCLA’s most experienced defensive lineman with 18 games
played, got onto the field for several snaps in the first half.
After having knee surgery in the week leading up to the
Bruins’ opener, Niusulu was expected to be out for at least
three weeks. But he has recovered more quickly than expected and
got a chance to play Saturday because he felt good in workouts on
Thursday and Friday.
“It seems like every day I do rehab I keep progressing,
real quick,” Niusulu said, adding that he expects to play a
bigger role next week against Washington. “We’re
starting to come together. It’s just starting to
happen.”
FOR THE GOOD OF THE TEAM: Senior Eyoseph
Efseaff returned to the field Saturday for the Bruins, but at a
different position than he played last year.
Efseaff, who has been hampered by injuries this past month, has
started 36 games at the offensive line in his UCLA career. But the
Bruins need help on the defensive line, so that is what Efseaff is
playing.
“This is my role,” Efseaff said. “I talked to
the coaches about it, and this is what I need to do.”
So Efseaff suited up for the defense Saturday, and he made three
tackles in his defensive debut.
“I was just so excited, I maybe slept 20-30 minutes last
night,” Efseaff said. “Not because I was scared, but
because I was so excited for today. I just couldn’t wait to
play.”
Efseaff will play inside for the Bruins, and his role should
increase as time goes by.
SIDELINE NOTES: Head coach Karl Dorrell said he
was pleased with the Bruins’ special teams play on Saturday.
The best special teams moment came when junior linebacker Spencer
Havner blocked a field goal as time was running down in the second
quarter “¦ UCLA sophomore defensive end Justin Hickman knocked
Illinois senior quarterback Jon Beutjer out of the game in the
second quarter with a shot to the ribs “¦ Jarrad Page, who had
been hampered by a heel injury suffered last week, played Saturday,
making three tackles and forcing two fumbles. He came out late in
the game with a leg cramp but said he’ll be fine for practice
next week.