With a 10-yard run near the start of the fourth quarter, redshirt freshman tailback Johnathan Franklin accomplished a feat which no other Bruin since 2007 had: He rushed for at least 100 yards in a game.
That 10-yard gain on first down gave Franklin 101 yards, part of the 119 he would gain in UCLA’s 23-9 victory over Kansas State on Saturday, placing him into what had been uncharted territory as of late.
The last time a Bruin rushed for at least 100 yards in a single game was in the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl against Brigham Young. In that game, Chris Markey rushed for 117 yards on 27 carries in the 17-16 loss to the Cougars.
For the Bruins, it ended a long string of mediocre performances rushing the ball, and possibly signaled just how far the team has developed since last year’s disappointing 4-8 season. And for the young Franklin, it was the beginning of what he hopes will be a productive career.
“First, and hopefully not the last,” Franklin said. “We really had to step it up in practice this week since (redshirt freshman quarterback) Kevin Prince was out. We’re just happy; we’re just happy with today.”
Franklin was effective from the start of the game. On the Bruins’ opening drive, Franklin rushed five times for 22 yards, including a three-yard touchdown run to give UCLA an early 7-0 lead.
At halftime, Franklin had 74 yards rushing on 11 attempts, averaging 6.7 yards per carry.
“Johnathan Franklin’s a wonderful young guy,” coach Rick Neuheisel said. “He’s got some quicks and he’s going to make a lot of good plays before he’s said and done.”
After the game, Franklin credited the offensive line for opening up running lanes and allowing for him to carry the ball as effectively as he did.
“It was just all five guys, all six guys on the same page and executing the technique,” sophomore left guard Jeff Baca said. “We practiced real hard this week and that’s been a focus of ours. To get the run game going, that’s awesome.”
Neuheisel also praised the work of the offensive line in opening up running lanes, which allowed Bruin runners to gain a total of 173 yards on the ground.
“As a starting point, to be able to protect the way we did, and to be able to establish the line of scrimmage that allows our running backs to get going, that’s very, very encouraging as we go forward,” Neuheisel said.
Despite the success Franklin had on the ground, he fumbled the ball late in the fourth quarter, giving the ball back to the Wildcats. This follows Franklin’s fumble late in the fourth quarter of the win over Tennessee on Sept. 12, a play that Franklin recovered.
“Trying to make more things happen when I don’t need to,” Franklin said of the fumble against Kansas State. “Fourth quarter, late in the game, I just need to hold the ball up. It’s something I need to work on individually in practice to help the team.”
But for now, Franklin can take pride in his accomplishment. Yet one 100-yard game is not enough for him.
“I’m happy, but I’m not satisfied,” Franklin said. “I want more, and right now I’m more hungry. Now I have a goal I need to reach. Next game I’m trying to get more yards. I’m just going to step it up and work harder in practice.”
PENALTIES, PENALTIES AND MORE PENALTIES
All throughout the week leading up to the game against Kansas State, both UCLA players and coaches preached the need to start early on defense and to avoid committing costly penalties.
Consider both of those goals still a work in progress.
On the first drive of the game, the Wildcats were able to drive 37 yards on nine plays to UCLA’s 43-yard line, before an interception by senior cornerback Alterraun Verner ended the drive.
The Bruin defense would recover and allow a total of just 268 yards and nine points in the game.
But the penalties were another issue.
The Bruins were flagged eight times for 60 yards, a number of which came at costly times.
There was the illegal-block penalty on wide receiver Taylor Embree which negated a first down.
There was the ineligible receiver downfield penalty on redshirt senior tight end Logan Paulsen, which wiped out a touchdown late in the first quarter that would have put the Bruins up 14-3.
“Tonight, just in the urgency to try to keep things going, we were just lining up wrong, we had a couple guys go inside and try to make plays with blocking and got below the waist,” Neuheisel said. “We just got to fix all that, and this is the perfect time to do it, and we’re lucky to get to do it without having an L on our ledger.”
In the second quarter, sophomore safety Rahim Moore was flagged for a personal-foul penalty for an illegal head butt, the first penalty he recalls ever committing.
“I said, “˜Ref, what do you want me to do, just hit a guy with my back or hit a guy with my elbow or something?'” Moore said. “He told me I can’t use my head and he said it won’t affect him; it will hurt me. I just shook it off; I was shocked.”
In the mind of Baca, there were penalties that can easily be fixed once the team looks at the tape.
“Those are penalties that you fix just by talking them over,” Baca said. “Unfortunately those will happen. People don’t know that some of those penalties exist. It’s a football game; people get carried away a little bit.”
NOTES: With Verner’s two interceptions, the Bruins now have eight interceptions so far this season. Verner has three while Moore has five. “¦ Redshirt junior place kicker Kai Forbath’s three field goals moved him into fourth place all-time in field goals made with 53. “¦ Redshirt senior quarterback Kevin Craft’s 51-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Terrence Austin in the fourth quarter was the longest touchdown since Ben Olson’s 69-yard touchdown to Brandon Breazell against Oregon State in 2007.