Every postgame Monday, Daily Bruin Sports breaks down the Bruins’ most recent game, outlining the good, the bad and the verdict of their performance. This week, we take a closer look at No. 7 UCLA’s 38-23 loss to unranked Arizona State Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
The good: Josh Rosen in the red zone
While Saturday was far from freshman quarterback Josh Rosen’s best game, the rookie executed in the red zone, particularly on throws to junior receiver Thomas Duarte. Rosen was just 22-for-40 against the Sun Devils, but managed to find Duarte twice in the end zone. His second touchdown throw brought UCLA within six points with less than 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, energizing a struggling Bruin offense and making a game out of a matchup that Arizona State had dominated.
The bad: The running game
Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone appeared stubborn in his reluctance to part from the running game scheme, even when Arizona State read UCLA well and stacked the box. The Bruins averaged only 2.2 yards per rushing play and scored just one rushing touchdown. UCLA’s 93 rushing yards paled in comparison to Arizona State’s 221, a disparity that cost the Bruins the game.
The verdict: UCLA still has a lot to prove
Pundits were placing the Bruins in the College Football Playoff last week, long before the team had truly been tested. In many ways, this loss felt inevitable as UCLA was similarly shocked by Utah at home last season. The Bruins have yet to prove their ability to be a consistent, composed team when they find themselves in unexpected situations and that is what it takes to be a championship-caliber program.
Player of the game: Junior linebacker Isaako Savaiinaea
After a knee injury sidelined junior linebacker Myles Jack for the season and junior Jayon Brown suffered a back injury against Arizona, an opportunity arose for another linebacker to make a name for himself. Savaiinaea did just that Saturday, registering 15 tackles and making a momentum-shifting interception late in the fourth quarter. While his effort was not enough to save the Bruins or shore up their defensive holes, his promise at the position gives some hope that there can be a future after Jack.
Quote of the game: Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone
“If you go three-and-15 on third downs, it’s hard to win football games.”
Compiled by Claire Fahy, Bruin Sports senior staff.
This loss is the result of Noel Mazzone’s inability to coach. His stubbornness during the past 3 seasons has resulted in similar losses for our team. ITS TIME FOR MORA TO CAN Mazzone and his son from this team. WE NEED AN STRONG offensive coordinator that has the ability to make adjustments during the game, not on Monday morning.
The second move should be to FIRE Taylor Mazzone, the young and inexperienced QB coach and to hire an experienced coach to develop Josh Rosen. Mora did not recruit a solid back up to Rosen and Jerry is not ready for prime time. This leaves us in a bad situation IF Rosen gets injured or leaves the team…… MORA may be a good recruiter, but he has not demonstrated the same ability in hiring the right coaching staff. We keep losing to the teams that get killed by SC