Every UCLA football Saturday, whether at the Rose Bowl or on the road, has so much more to it than a win or a loss. That’s why each postgame Monday, the Daily Bruin will break down the Bruins’ most recent game, outlining the good, the bad and the verdict for their performance.
This week, we take a closer look at UCLA’s 37-10 win over Cal on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
The Good: Dominant Second-Half Defense Continues to Assert Itself
Utah supplied the goal-line stop heard around the Pac-12 on Saturday night, with the Utes fending off a late drive by then-No. 5 Stanford to shake up the Top 25. No. 9 UCLA turned in its own goal-line stand, albeit against a less heralded opponent, in the fourth quarter against Cal.
The Bruins found their only University of California rival knocking on the door from the 3-yard line for a chance at a two-possession game. Three straight rushing plays by Richard Rodgers produced no net gain, forcing Cal into going for six on fourth down.
Freshman defensive end Eddie Vanderdoes forced a fumble on a quarterback keep, and senior outside linebacker Anthony Barr claimed the loose ball to end Cal’s best shot – a 21-play, 81-yard drive – for meaningful points in the second half. Berkeley had previously punched in a six-yard rushing touchdown in the first half, after also traveling 81 yards down the field.
UCLA’s defense wound up playing shutout second-half ball in a performance that extended a string of dominant post-intermission performances to start the year.
Five games into the season, the Bruins’ defense has only allowed three second-half offensive touchdowns and 23 total points, holding leads of 45 against New Mexico State and 24 against Nevada before allowing those scores. Utah’s lone second-half touchdown last week came on an interception return.
The Bad: Paper Tigers on Third Down
UCLA produced a respectable third-down performance on paper: The Bruins finished 7-of-15 in that situation. As it turns out, the Bruins simply padded their stats toward the end of a blowout win.
UCLA went just 4-of-12 on third downs through three quarters of play. Noel Mazzone called the conversion rate “ridiculously low,” and shouldered a significant amount of blame on third and short, a situation in which the offensive coordinator felt he lost rhythm.
UCLA faced third and two five times, failing to convert on its first three of such attempts, gaining a single yard total. The three-play sequence for failed third and twos consisted of a short pass to wide receiver Jordan Payton, in which the sophomore collided with freshman wide receiver Logan Sweet; a one-yard Brett Hundley run; and a null run by senior running back Malcolm Jones.
Sophomore wide receiver Devin Fuller and redshirt senior running back Damien Thigpen went on to redeem UCLA with catches of 13 and 6 yards respectively, to convert on third downs later in the game. UCLA’s showdown with Stanford figures to demand more out of the Bruins on third down.
Allowing a 34 percent third-down conversion to its opponents, Stanford will be the second-stingiest third-down defense UCLA has faced this year, with the Cardinal only ranking behind the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
The Verdict: An imperfect 27-point win
The score read 37-10 at the end of Saturday night’s game, but the Bruins could have easily lit up the scoreboard for three more touchdowns.
Yes, Hundley completed over 75 percent of his passes, but most were short completions that became big plays because of eye-popping runs after the catch.
The defense played well enough to shut out the Bears in three of four quarters, but would have allowed even fewer points if senior defensive lineman Cassius Marsh didn’t commit three consecutive penalties in an eventual Cal touchdown drive in the second quarter.
In place of a stagnant run game, which averaged just 2.3 yards per carry, UCLA’s receivers had a statistically powerful night, with four different Bruins finishing the night with 60 yards or more through the air.
Hundley finished the night with 410 yards, 103 yards shy of a school single-game passing record in a 49-45 loss to Miami.
Player of the Game: LB Myles Jack (Fr.)
Five games into the season, Football Monday is finally crowning a defensive player. Jack raked in twelve tackles, a career high, and even recorded a tackle for loss.
UCLA’s defensive effort as a whole effectively eliminated the threat of one of the most prolific offenses in the nation, passing yards-wise, by consistently getting in the face of Cal freshman quarterback Jared Goff.
Jack proved particularly effective covering intermediate passing routes, and rarely allowing the Golden Bears to do much with the out route.
While noting the less-than-exceptional performance of his offense, coach Jim Mora had nothing but good things to say about UCLA’s defense, which did its part to raise UCLA’s third-quarter scoring differential to 71-0.
“Our defense played outstanding against an explosive offense,” Mora said. “That was fantastic.”
Quote of the Week: Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone on Hundley’s missed throw to RS Sr. RB Damien Thigpen being a “microcosm” of the whole game:
“It’s like ‘Get Smart.’ Missed it by that much!”
Compiled by Andrew Erickson and Emilio Ronquillo, Bruin Sports senior staffers.