This post was updated on Sept. 7 at 8:30 p.m.
PASADENA — After coming into the season shouldering the highest of expectations, UCLA delivered a clunker of a performance offensively last week at Virginia. What followed was a week’s worth of criticism and scrutiny over whether the team was ready for the big stage on which it found itself.
Coming home to the Rose Bowl for their Week 2 matchup against the Memphis Tigers, the Bruins were prepared to put an end to the questions.
Instead, they just created more.
UCLA flipped the script from its first performance, but perhaps a little too literally. The win over Virginia was categorized as a poor offensive performance but a fairly dominant defensive showing. Saturday’s 42-35 win over Memphis was the complete opposite in all but the result.
The Bruins quickly showcased an improved offense, looking much more fluid while moving at a quicker, no-huddle pace. Behind redshirt junior center Jake Brendel, who returned to the starting lineup after missing nearly three weeks with an MCL injury, No. 11 UCLA was able to establish a more consistent running game and give redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley enough time to make throws.
After stalling in Memphis territory on the first drive, the Bruins followed up with touchdowns on each of their next four possessions, scoring twice on runs from redshirt sophomore running back Paul Perkins – once on a perfectly thrown 62-yard pass from Hundley to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Kenny Walker and once on a 14-yard Hundley pass to sophomore Y receiver Thomas Duarte.
It took UCLA (2-0) about 70 minutes into the season, but the offense finally found its rhythm.
“Last week, I think we came out a little tight,” Hundley said of the improved offensive play. “This week, we said, ‘Screw it,’ and we went out there and played football.”
Hundley finished the day with 396 passing yards and three touchdowns, with Duarte and junior wide receiver Jordan Payton his favorite targets, notching 110 yards and 104 yards respectively, with Duarte scoring twice. The offense as a whole tallied 540 yards on the night – 182 more than last week.
But when the defense took the field, things took a turn for the weird.
The same group that looked like a fearsome and unforgiving group a week ago was gone, replaced with a defense that struggled to apply pressure, cover receivers and tackle. In short, what seemed like UCLA’s biggest strength in Week 1 looked like a major liability against Memphis (1-1).
“I thought tackling was the thing that jumped out at me. It’s not like us,” said defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. “That surprised me.”
The surprises continued for the crowd of 72,098 at the Rose Bowl, which watched as nearly every UCLA offensive touchdown was quickly countered by a score from Memphis’ offensive unit.
Memphis responded within minutes of UCLA’s first two scores – shredding apart the Bruins’ sieve-like defense through the air and on the ground – briefly taking the lead twice. Coach Jim Mora attributed the Tigers’ offensive success to their misdirection plays, which routinely caught the Bruins off guard.
Ulbrich said Memphis added some wrinkles to its offense that UCLA didn’t see on film and that the Bruins weren’t quick enough to adjust, placing some blame on himself for not scheming better.
With the defensive struggles, UCLA’s tenuous lead never felt safe, and the offense had little room for error.
Clinging to a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter, Hundley took a snap deep in his own territory and slung the ball to his right, only for it to be intercepted and easily taken back for a touchdown.
Tie game, 13:44 remaining.
Hundley walked to the sideline, took responsibility and didn’t panic. Then, he went back on the field and led a 75-yard UCLA drive that ended with him throwing the go-ahead touchdown.
The Bruins survived the final 10:52 to earn their second victory of the year, but as with last week, the postgame mood was anything but celebratory.
“Guys aren’t satisfied, which is the best thing you could ever see from someone,” Payton said. “With all these mistakes and all the people talking, we’re still winning.”
Among the team, there’s still this feeling of optimism that once it gets back to playing like itself and puts the pieces together, it could meet the expectations.
But after two conflicting performances, the Bruins still haven’t shown who they really are.