The first time this season that UCLA coach Karl Dorrell spoke
after a game at the Rose Bowl, the questions turned immediately to
his team’s abysmal defense.
Dorrell didn’t really want to talk about it, and
understandably so. He didn’t want to address how his team
could allow 426 yards rushing, fail to force a turnover, and just
get dominated by the Oklahoma State offense in every facet of the
game.
Now a month has passed since that first Saturday, and things
have most definitely changed. After UCLA’s 33-10 victory over
San Diego State Saturday at the Rose Bowl, defense was the first
thing Dorrell wanted to mention.
“For them to have the performance they had today was very,
very pleasing,” Dorrell said. “Those young players had
some fun today.”
It’s pretty safe to say that the UCLA defense was a
stronger unit than the UCLA offense on Saturday, and that’s
the first time that has happened all season. It was certainly a
welcome sign for the coaching staff, as the Bruins forced two
turnovers, one which was returned for a touchdown, made three
fourth-down stops, and held San Diego State to only 139 yards
rushing, an incredible improvement for the much-maligned defensive
line.
“The defense played great today,” junior quarterback
Drew Olson said.
“It was fun feeding off them because for a while I think
they fed off of us. It’s fun to have that
reversal.”
“This was obviously our best game on defense, start to
finish,” defensive coordinator Larry Kerr added.
Though it was generally agreed that there is still a lot of room
for improvement, it appeared that the Bruins used the bye week to
shore up some problems the defense had been having in the
team’s first three games. Entering Saturday, the UCLA defense
had been allowing 284 rushing yards per game, and there were even
more questions because starting defensive tackle C.J. Niusulu was
suspended for violating athletic department policy.
But there was still optimism.
“Eventually we were going to come around,” junior
defensive end Kyle Morgan said.
The defensive line wasn’t pushed around nearly as much as
it had been prior to Saturday, but the Bruins had some problems in
the second half when the Aztecs went to a two tight-end set.
It’s also difficult to say if the defensive line legitimately
played better, or whether the perceived improvement is owed more to
the inexperience of San Diego State’s offensive line. None of
the Aztecs’ five offensive linemen started last year.
Though Morgan thought the improvement in the Bruins was very
real, he was also honest in assessing the opposition, saying that
the Aztec offensive line was the worst UCLA had faced.
San Diego State was also forthright with its deficiencies.
“That’s football,” Aztec coach Tom Craft said.
“We’re not making any excuses, but we were shorthanded
out there on our (offensive) line. It takes a little bit of time.
It’s not like the defense where you can throw out seven or
eight guys. The offensive line needs to learn together.”
Perhaps the UCLA defensive line is doing that learning, and
Saturday seemed to be an encouraging sign for Bruin fans.
“This is the best we’ve played all year,” said
senior defensive tackle Eyoseph Efseaff, who made his first
defensive start of his UCLA career Saturday. “We are getting
better every single game, and that’s our goal.”
Because UCLA was stronger than usual against the run, it allowed
the team to be strong against the pass as well, forcing starting
San Diego State quarterback Matt Dlugolecki into a frustrating day.
Dlugolecki went 23-for-42 for 215 yards, two interceptions and no
touchdowns.
“If we stop a team’s run, then it’s tougher
for them to pass, and that’s what they wanted to do,”
junior safety Jarrad Page said. “They wanted to establish
that run game, but it just didn’t happen.”
In addition to linebacker Spencer Havner’s interception
return for a touchdown in the second quarter, one of the best
things the UCLA defense did Saturday was make three important
fourth-down stops. Those stops significantly helped the Bruins
maintain momentum.
“It’s big time,” Kerr said. “We made
some big-time plays on fourth down, and you just can’t beat
it. When you’ve got a team that’s going to try to roll
the dice on fourth down, you take advantage of it and make those
plays. That just pumps up your defense.”
Now that the defense has one fairly decent game under its belt,
everyone involved with the team seems to think things are looking
up.
Nevertheless, the Pac-10 season should provide a stiffer test,
especially because the San Diego State offensive line was so
weak.
But if this game proved anything, it’s that the Bruins
aren’t looking past any of their opponents.
“It just shows character,” Page said. “We
didn’t take this game lightly. We played like this was the
No. 1 team in the nation.
“I feel like if we can play like that every week,
we’ll come out with a lot of victories.”