Washington State wanted to sack Kevin Craft.
On a third-and-10 play late in the second quarter, several defenders rushed to the Bruins’ quarterback, and it looked for an instant like he would fall.
But just as a sack seemed certain, Craft gunned the ball straight to wide receiver Terrence Austin for a 14-yard gain and a crucial first down. UCLA scored two plays later to take a 14-0 lead.
Craft’s instinct ““ his sense of where defenders are and when he needs to throw the football ““ was most impressive in UCLA’s 28-3 win over Washington State on Saturday.
It’s not that Craft is the fastest or strongest of quarterbacks.
He just knows when he must make a decision.
Washington State never sacked the UCLA quarterback.
For his own part, Craft was nearly flawless. He completed 23 of his 36 passing attempts (64 percent) and threw two touchdowns to tight end Ryan Moya.
Before Saturday, Craft had thrown at least one interception and been sacked at least once in each of the Bruins’ four games.
Craft didn’t throw an interception to Washington State, either.
“This is two weeks in a row where I thought he was really good,” UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. “I thought he made some really big plays, especially standing in the pocket as it was collapsing and keeping his eyes downfield. Instead of getting claustrophobic and putting his eyes down, he kept looking downfield.”
Craft’s wide recievers have perhaps the best understanding of his improving pocket presence. Craft’s three favorite targets ““ Austin, Moya and wide out Taylor Embree ““ all had big nights Saturday. Austin caught seven passes for 77 yards, Moya caught six and finished with 57 yards, and Embree received five passes and gained 63 yards.
“He has good pocket presence and awareness,” Embree said. “He’s able to keep his eyes downfield while he avoids people, which is big. A lot of people would be looking around. I think a lot of it is that he’s just really starting to get comfortable.”
Craft has now started five games for UCLA and practiced as the team’s starter for more than a month. He said his familiarity with the offense, with all the routes his receivers run and the reads he makes, allows him to stay on his feet and avoid a sack.
“Every rep you get you get more comfortable,” he said. “Every time you run a play you get more familiar with it. You know what you can and can’t do.”
Craft said he thought the biggest improvement in the offense was its play on third down.
The Bruins converted 9 of their 18 tries on third down. They had just two third-down conversions last week against Fresno State.
Craft also praised his offensive line, as he has throughout the season.
The line managed to protect Craft well, but it wasn’t always able to open holes for the Bruin runners because of Washington State’s defensive strategy.
“They were stacking the box, and in the first half it was hard for us to rush,” left tackle Jeff Baca said.
Washington State’s defense played with an aggressive approach; stop the Bruin run game first and then hope that Craft falters.
At least part of that plan worked; UCLA averaged just 2.7 yards per carry and never found a way to run the ball effectively on third-and-short situations.
But the Bruins’ quarterback wasn’t so cooperative.
Take Craft’s first touchdown pass, for example.
On that play Washington State loaded the line of scrimmage. The Cougars’ safety went to double cover the Bruins’ inside receiver, and Moya streaked to the endzone covered by corner Chima Nwachukwu. Craft lofted a perfect fade pass, over Nwachukwu’s head and into the arms of Moya, who stands four inches taller.
“We anticipated them being in man-to-man coverage,” Craft said. “And we took advantage.”
It seemed like Craft saw every opening Washington State chose to give and then found a way to deliver.