EUGENE, Ore.— Brett Hundley has never been a Heisman front-runner in the 2013 football season, but his name has been whispered.
There was the signature play to turn the tide against Nebraska with his team in a tough spot. There were the 410 passing yards – a career high and the third-best performance through the air in UCLA football history – against Cal, in what even the redshirt sophomore considered somewhat of a down game.
But all Heisman hopefuls need that signature win. The shining, take-the-game-over moment to secure a win against a talented, hungry opponent.
In Saturday’s game against No. 2 Oregon, similar to the Bruins’ clunker against then-No. 12 Stanford a week before, that killer instinct never took hold. Trying to match an explosive Oregon offense, the Bruins sputtered, totaling just four first downs in the second half of a 42-14 loss.
Whether it was the play-calling of offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, the play of the Bruins’ quarterback or a combination of factors, the whispers of Radio City Music Hall, of UCLA’s second-ever Heisman Trophy, have extinguished, even in the eyes of coach Jim Mora.
“He needs to shine in these kinds of games before everyone starts talking about the Heisman,” Mora said. “Let’s frickin’ do something first. I’m not talking about Brett, I’m talking about us.”
The No. 12 Bruins found creases at times, including on an 11-yard touchdown strike to freshman Y receiver Thomas Duarte in the second quarter that tied the game at 14, but the team failed to string together effective plays, particularly in the second half. UCLA’s No. 1 wide receiver, redshirt senior Shaquelle Evans, was shut down by Oregon junior cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu all night, but it appeared as though all the Bruin specialists were stranded on an island, the touchdown to Duarte being tied as one of Hundley’s longest passes of the night.
Hundley, who finished with a career-low 64 passing yards on just 13 completions, shouldered the blame for an offense whose last four drives ended in an interception, two punts and the end of the game, while Oregon shut the door with four consecutive touchdowns.
“I think as a quarterback, you’ve got to be able to get the offense going, and you’ve got to lead your team,” Hundley said. “I can’t have this, and we as an offense have to put points on the board. I have a personal responsibility in knowing that 14 points isn’t enough.”
Instead of response touchdowns and clock-eating drives, the Bruins’ second half was highlighted by conservative swing passes, three and outs and misread coverage patterns. The result: The eventual breakdown of a defense with little time to recover.
“It comes to where we’ve got to make some plays in the third quarter to help our defense out and I think we did pretty good on third down conversions in the first half,” said offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. “And then it came to the second half, we had like three three and outs and then we’re just scrambling.”
For the second week in a row, the Bruins head south with a humbling loss, an undesirable offensive performance against a big-time opponent and a frustrated quarterback.
“I don’t like losing,” Hundley said. “I hate losing more than I like winning.”
Holding the Line
The biggest question heading into Saturday’s game was how UCLA’s young offensive line – which featured three true freshmen – would stack up against a fast defense in one of the nation’s loudest stadiums.
Even after a sound beating, all parties involved, from offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone to redshirt sophomore center Jake Brendel, were moderately pleased. The Bruins didn’t commit a single false start penalty and drove a run game that amassed 219 yards and moved effectively against a defense for the first time in three games.
Brendel, who was heavily criticized for his low snaps in the Bruins’ last three games, was cured of his yips ailment, providing Hundley with crisp snaps all evening long.
“I just worked on it and I just made sure that I was thinking about that every single play, that I didn’t overlook the simplest thing: The snap,” Brendel said.
Of the eight true freshmen who started for UCLA on Saturday, the three on the offensive line – right tackle Caleb Benenoch, right guard Alex Redmond and left guard Scott Quessenberry, who made his debut against the Ducks – more or less held their ground. But after a loss that highlighted all the Bruins’ deficiencies against green and neon yellow, Mora said identifying silver linings can be lethal.
“If we take this as a moral victory, we will go right down the hill,” Mora said.
Is this story someone’s idea of a joke? He quit being a Heisman candidate with Utah, all offense went to sleep and slept through Standford game and most of Oregon game. What rating is there for defense giving you the ball in good field position and quarterback squanders it? Better to bench him till he remembers what color our team wears and can throw to OUR guys. Bench him, let him mature and maybe next year he won’t read his press but play a better game.