Before literally running away with a 58-20 victory, the UCLA football team found itself in a firefight against the Nevada rushing attack.
Armed with the pistol offense, Wolf Pack junior quarterback Cody Fajardo victimized the Bruins on the outside running lanes, registering a touchdown and 77 of his 106 rushing yards before halftime. Fajardo’s biggest gain of the game came on a 27-yard scamper outside of a crashing senior outside linebacker Anthony Barr. A personal foul by sophomore safety Randall Goforth tacked on 15 yards to Fajardo’s run.
UCLA coach Jim Mora cited the likes of defensive players jumping around blocks, losing leverage and getting too far up the field as key factors in a 17-13 score at intermission. Mora said that a few more stops on defense would have allowed the Bruins to be more productive on offense in the first half.
The Bruins’ struggles against the read-option did not seem to be a matter of effort, at least with regard to running backs. UCLA’s defense punished Nevada running backs receiving the fake from Fajardo often, with Wolf Pack runners being tackled to the ground on numerous occasions.
“On certain plays we just make sure we hit, even if the (quarterback) gives it to him or not, we need to hit him,” said freshman outside linebacker Myles Jack.
Jack, who also saw time as an inside linebacker on Saturday, agreed with Mora’s assessment that many defensive players started the game playing anxiously and beyond the scope of their responsibilities. Jack said that, in the first half, he often jumped at plays when Fajardo pulled the ball.
Senior inside linebacker Jordan Zumwalt recognized the dangers presented by misreading the Wolf Pack signal caller.
“If you lost the ball for a second and couldn’t really see what was going on, then that guy just took off. (He was) tough to play against,” Zumwalt said. Zumwalt noted that the wealth of mobile quarterbacks in the Pac-12 made UCLA’s season opener an important learning experience.
Zumwalt himself experienced how little room for error existed against the Wolf Pack. The play just before Nevada’s first touchdown, Fajardo looked to run in a score with only Zumwalt between the quarterback and the end zone. Zumwalt took one inside step, and Fajardo sprinted for the corner of the end zone. Fajardo acrobatically dove for a 14-yard run just short of the right pylon, getting pushed out of bounds by Zumwalt.
Zumwalt’s effort to get the quarterback out of bounds was representative of a staunch first-half red-zone defense that limited the Wolf Pack to field goals on drives reaching the Bruins’ 6 and 2-yard lines.
“When you get down in the red zone, that’s your home. … You’ve got to defend your home. For some reason, you get a little more energy. … I wish that energy would start at the beginning of the drive, but for some reason you get that extra ‘umph,'” Zumwalt said.
Redshirt junior inside linebacker Eric Kendricks proved stout against the Nevada pistol offense, even to open the game. Kendricks often teamed with sophomore cornerback Fabian Moreau in sealing runs to their side. Kendricks registered seven of his 11 tackles in the first quarter alone, and he and Moreau combined for 11 tackles in the first quarter. Zumwalt and sophomore cornerback Ishmael Adams provided UCLA’s other six tackles in the first period.
After making halftime adjustments against the run, UCLA was sparked by a blocked punt for a touchdown that swung the momentum for good. Despite reading Fajardo incorrectly once more, Jack submitted a highlight play in coverage during the third quarter, thanks to a combination of technique and good fortune.
Beaten by Nevada senior tight end Kolby Arendse after peaking at the quarterback, Jack was late to chase his assignment. Arendse ran a wheel route down the field, into open space. Jack made up some ground, but forced an incompletion by attacking Arendse’s hands.
“I just started running … looking at his hands the whole time. And when his hands went up, I said ‘I’m in good position.’ As soon as the ball touched his hands, I just swatted the ball out. I lucked up on it,” Jack said.