LINCOLN, Neb.—In two weeks of preparation for a road test at Nebraska, UCLA covered just about everything, from how to contain a running quarterback to how to exploit the Cornhuskers’ talented secondary.
Of all the things UCLA could have forgotten on game day, the respiratory process didn’t figure to be one. Yet, for the first quarter and a half of Saturday’s game, offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said it felt like his offense was holding its breath.
When the team trailed by 18 toward the end of the first half and realized how bad of a beating it was taking, Mazzone said it was a few calming words from coach Jim Mora that led to a momentum shift that had the Nebraska defenses huffing and puffing for the rest of the game.
“Coach Mora walked in there in the last drive or last two drives we had there in the first half, and he came in there smiling and said, ‘Hey guys, everybody just breathe,’” Mazzone said. “He lightened things up for the kids and said, ‘Hey, just go out and play and have some fun.’”
Just a game after the No. 16 Bruins (2-0) amassed 345 yards on the ground, UCLA appeared to press too hard in the first half, gaining just 53 rushing yards on 22 carries.
Mazzone’s solution at the half, rather than giving his team more to think about, was to simplify his offense and rely more on individual players’ athleticism rather than running with more complicated schemes.
On the Bruins’ first play of the second half, that plan worked to perfection, as redshirt junior running back Jordon James scorched the Cornhusker defense for 38 yards on a draw play, one that Mazzone admitted wasn’t even in the game plan this week.
Despite rushing for just 18 yards in the first half, James finished the game with 105 rushing yards and a touchdown and led the Bruins to a 157-yard ground attack in the second half, starting with that initial long gain.
“That’s what actually propelled us to running the ball as great as we could in the second half,” James said. “It was just a confidence thing. Once you do something like that, you just say, ‘OK, we’ve got this.’”
Containing Martinez
Defensively, there was little confidence to be had early on for UCLA, which was sent rocking back on its heels in the first quarter with a 17-play, 92-yard Nebraska touchdown drive. Taking 6:34 from the clock and significant momentum away from an already struggling Bruins squad, the drive exposed UCLA’s weaknesses against the passing game of Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez.
“Nebraska’s a great team, and we just felt like we didn’t play up to our par in the first half,” said redshirt senior defensive end Keenan Graham. “I think we came out in the second half and regrouped and played how we knew we could play.”
Paramount to a second-half shutout of No. 23 Nebraska (2-1) was the explosive backfield play of Graham, who sacked Martinez midway through the third quarter to force a fourth down, eventually leading to a go-ahead UCLA touchdown.
Graham, who has three of UCLA’s four sacks so far this season, said the biggest key to the late-game success was recovering and turning the page from play-to-play, especially against a talented runner and passer like Martinez.
“We wanted to make sure we contained Taylor Martinez,” Graham said. “He made his plays, but what we wanted to do was just line up and say, ‘Line up, let’s play again.’ He’s an athletic quarterback and I felt like we did a good job with him in the second half.”
Following their 41-21 victory, the Bruins will line up against the New Mexico State Aggies next Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.