A day after the smoke cleared from UCLA’s near blowup against Virginia – a 28-20 road win for the Bruins – offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone awoke to a startling realization.
“We got home Saturday night, I woke up the next morning, and the sun actually came out,” Mazzone said. “It was shocking. I didn’t think it was going to.”
Yes, as poor as No. 11 UCLA’s offensive performance was and as much as the critics rescinded all their bold predictions about the Bruins, the world did indeed keep spinning.
Undoubtedly, it was an inauspicious start for a much-hyped UCLA (1-0) team, which had to rely on three defensive touchdowns to squeak past a Virginia squad that went 2-10 last season. Yet, the Bruins have been quick to keep things in perspective. It’s just the first game and not the end of the season after all.
“We’re not going to panic. We just got to do a little better,” Mazzone said.
The Bruins will test out just how much better a week has made them Saturday night when they face the Memphis Tigers (1-0) at the Rose Bowl. And after its miscue-riddled season opener, UCLA may as well consider its home opener a mulligan.
For the Bruins, the do-over will start with the offensive line, which, against Virginia, had what offensive line coach Adrian Klemm described as one of the worst performances he’d ever seen – though in more colorful language. But whether the line’s leader – redshirt junior center Jake Brendel – is part of the unit that takes the field Saturday remains to be seen. Coach Jim Mora classified Brendel as a game-time decision, as he is still recovering from an MCL injury that he sustained in fall training camp.
Regardless of whether Brendel is able to play, Mazzone said he’s seen more fire out of not just the offensive line but the entire offense during practice this week, considering it was outscored 21-7 by the defense in Week 1.
And given Memphis’ adept reputation on defense, UCLA may need to make use of that extra energy.
The Tigers returned most of their starting defense from a year ago, when they finished 16th nationally in yards allowed.
For the Bruins, establishing the run against a veteran defense could be key to helping open up the passing game for redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley, who struggled at times against Virginia. But doing so just got harder for the Bruins, as they lost redshirt junior running back Steven Manfro for the season after he tore his ACL in practice Tuesday. Mazzone indicated that Manfro – one of the running backs in the three-back playing rotation – could be replaced by freshman Nate Starks Saturday.
On the other side of the ball, UCLA’s defense could also have its hands full against a run-centered yet diverse Memphis offense, which deploys anything from a spread offense similar to UCLA’s to multiple variations of the option offense. Given UCLA’s inexperience in defending the option, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said he’s been spending a lot of time this week working on that with his defense, knowing how dangerous the option offense can be.
“That’s kind of the equalizer in college football,” Ulbrich said. “A team that (may) not necessarily (have) equal talent can definitely give you some fits with the option.”
Memphis certainly gave Austin Peay problems with its ground game in Week 1, rushing for 303 yards and seven touchdowns in a 63-0 win. But a run-heavy offense such as Memphis’ seems to play right into UCLA’s strength as a defense: its front seven.
Three of those seven – sophomore linebacker Myles Jack, redshirt senior inside linebacker Eric Kendricks and sophomore nose tackle Kenny Clark – combined for 37 tackles against Virginia. And after a three-touchdown performance against Virginia, the Bruin defensive unit as a whole is starting to earn a reputation of its own.
“Going into this year, we wanted to really earn the respect in the eyes of others as a defense,” said sophomore defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes. “Some people thought we had some big holes in the defense, so we really had a chip on our shoulder to come out and prove that we’re just as strong or better than last year.”
The Bruins have shown throughout the week that they are eager to prove, even if only to themselves, that last week was no indication of their talent.
Facing a Memphis team that finished just 3-9 last season, UCLA is quick not to expect its American Athletic Conference opponent to just roll over.
Why judge a team based on its past? That’s how UCLA feels, at least.