A glimpse.
That was the phrase coach Rick Neuheisel chose to use to describe what the UCLA football team showed in its season opening 33-14 win over San Diego State before 55,761 at the Rose Bowl Saturday.
There were glimpses of what redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince is capable of, evidenced by his stellar first half performance, completing 12 of 16 passes for 140 yards and throwing a touchdown. On the other side, there were reminders that he is still a freshman when he completed just 6 of 13 passes for 36 yards and tossing two interceptions in the second half, finishing the day 18-of-29 for 176 yards.
There were glimpses of a rushing attack with the Bruins’ 144 yards on 38 carries.
And there were glimpses of a defense that was able to overcome a shaky start and live up to the high expectations it holds of itself.
All told, Neuheisel was pleased after a win that extended the Bruins (1-0) dominance over the Aztecs (0-1) to an all-time record of 21-0-1.
“They deserve to enjoy tonight,” Neuheisel said. “It’s been a long camp, a hot camp, and they were excited to be 1-0.”
At the beginning of the game, it seemed to many at the Rose Bowl it would be the start of another long year. San Diego State, a team that went 2-10 last season and was playing its first game under new coach Brady Hoke, drove the ball 69 yards on 14 plays on the first possession of the game, culminating in a 4-yard touchdown pass to fullback Matthew Kawulok from quarterback Ryan Lindley to take an early 7-0 lead. Adding to the Bruins’ frustration were two costly penalties on third down to extend the Aztec drive.
“The first series we had penalties that killed us, kept two drives alive with penalties,” first-year defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough said. “We preach that all the time about how much that hurts.”
As if one shoddy defensive series was not enough, on the Aztecs’ next drive, Lindley found wide receiver Vincent Brown for a 78-yard touchdown, giving the Aztecs a 14-3 lead.
“We’re just shooting ourselves in the foot,” defensive tackle Brian Price said. “We had penalties and mistakes, people weren’t in their gaps. I was one of them. But we looked back and we was like “˜We didn’t work hard for nothing.'”
After allowing 14 points and 149 yards on the first two possessions of the game, the Bruin defense lived up to the the preseason hype, limiting the Aztecs to just 128 yards and zero points the rest of the game.
“All they did was execute,” said safety Rahim Moore, who tied a school-record with three interceptions in the game. “They made good plays, you got to give it to them. They came out ready. Once we figured out what they did, we just capitalized on that. Reggie (Carter) brought us together and told us “˜Don’t let them score.’ He said, “˜Rahim, man, get your head in the game, get the guys pumped up back there.’ That’s what I did today. We came out victorious.”
Aiding the defense was a Bruin offense that displayed an ability to move the ball on a consistent basis, a marked improvement from last year’s unit.
Prince, playing in his first game in two years, completed five of his first six passes, driving the Bruins’ to a 49-yard field goal by Kai Forbath to cut the deficit to 7-3.
The 19-year-old last played in the first game of his senior season at Crespi Carmelite High School. He was sidelined for the rest of the season with a first-quarter knee injury, and had not played since.
Prince said it was the design of offensive coordinator Norm Chow to get him into a rhythm early in the game.
“In some of the scrimmages I had a little slow start, so he’s trying to prevent that slow start from going and just make sure I had a couple completions under my belt,” Prince said. “Kind of got those jitters out and just let me roll.”
Neuheisel admitted that he liked the way Prince played in the first half, but added that he experienced a letdown in his concentration in the second half.
“Both his interceptions were easily avoidable if he just understands what he’s looking at, but it’s a reminder how young these guys are,” Neuheisel said. “We’re just lucky we’ll get that lesson without costing us a game.”
The offensive momentum continued on the second possession, as a 65-yard kickoff return by senior Terrence Austin set up a 12-yard touchdown run by redshirt freshman running back Johnathan Franklin to cut the Aztec lead to 14-10.
“I was nervous, I can’t lie,” said Franklin, who finished the game with 43 yards on 12 carries. “I had butterflies the whole first series, but after a while, after the first carry, after the first block, I got it used to it and it was just like football.”
Franklin’s touchdown was the start of 30 unanswered points by UCLA the rest of the game, highlighted by a 29-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Derrick Coleman, a 6-yard touchdown pass to Austin, and a blocked field goal returned 70 yards for a touchdown by senior cornerback Alterraun Verner.
Coleman finished with a game-high 69 yards rushing on four carries.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, they did not come away unscathed as starting cornerback, redshirt freshman Aaron Hester, suffered a fractured right fibula in the first quarter and was replaced by redshirt sophomore Courtney Viney. Hester, on crutches after the game, will be out 4-6 weeks.
“I ain’t gonna lie, when I found out about what happened (to Hester), I almost started tearing up,” Moore said. “I was mad and I knew how he put in so much work throughout his offseason, and for him to go down like that it was painful for him and me.”