Upon Further Review: UCLA Football vs Memphis

One way or another, the story will change for 2014 UCLA Football. Either these Bruins are building a strong season brick by brick against tougher than expected opponents and circumstance, or the team will wilt under expectations and be exposed in the face of tougher competition.

For now, the Bruins are 2-0 and I choose optimism. After a rough offensive outing on the road against Virginia, the Bruins follow up versus the Memphis Tigers at the Rose Bowl last Saturday left most reviewers cold. The local and national media have jumped off the bandwagon in droves causing the Bruins to drop from #7 to #11 and then to #12 after the first two games of the season (I have been waiting in vain since Sunday for a real reporter to figure out the last time a team started 2-0 but dropped in the polls both weeks, so I’ll just say its a first!).

“… that pick 6 sure did leave the game tied . . . in the 4th quarter . . . TO FREAKING MEMPHIS!?! “

I have to admit, I had a bad feeling about the Bruins on my way out of the Rose Bowl Saturday night. How could the defense gives up 28 points to Memphis? The offense put up plenty of points, but they sure decided to suck at running out the clock! Brett Hundley had a great statistical day, but that pick 6 sure did leave the game tied . . . in the 4th quarter . . . TO FREAKING MEMPHIS!?!

However, I always feel it is unfair to judge a performance based on a single viewing from row 60, and upon further review the Bruins effort against Memphis was not as troubling as I first thought it was.

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• UCLA Football: An analysis and more of the defense
• UCLA vs. North Carolina Central: Location, time, prediction, and more
• UCLA Football: Three first half takeaways against SDSU

Defensive Struggles

Certainly, it was not the best of times for the Bruin defense. They played their worst half since giving up 35 points in a nightmare 1st half against Arizona State last year at the Rose Bowl. The Memphis Tigers racked up 21 points and 300 yards of offense and didn’t skip a beat from its dominant performance against Austin Peay in week 1. Bruin fans showed up to the home opener expecting to see the defense that outscored both the Virginia and UCLA offenses in week one, but were instead treated to 8 missed first half tackles, numerous coverage mistakes and missed assignments by Bruins defenders. Below was a typical 1st half play for the Bruins defense, in which a Memphis run that should have been tackled for a loss turns into a positive play for the Tigers.

In the pic below, the Tigers show the Bruins their own Myles Jack formation (minus Myles Jack) . . .

screen cap from Pac12 Network Broadcast

and the pistol RB gets the hand off . . .

screen cap from Pac12 Network Broadcast

. . . the RB should be tackled in this mass of humanity …

screen cap from Pac12 Network Broadcast

but instead he escapes and bounces outside for a 1 on 1 with a DB

screen cap from Pac12 Network Broadcast

… who misses a tackle that leads to more yardage.

screen cap from Pac12 Network Broadcast

The Bruin defense could not get out of its own way in the first half, and even when  Memphis did not score it was more about a Tiger mistake (penalty or dropped ball) than any resistance offered by the Bruins. How could there be such a switch from the dominance shown in Virginia to the shocking start at the Rose Bowl? It seems the Bruin defenders were a little too happy with themselves after a great game versus a struggling offense which led to them taking a talented offense from a small conference lightly. Also, Memphis should get credit for playing with confidence and making some great plays.

However, there was some good to be salvaged from the game as the Bruins played much better defensively in the 2nd half. I only counted 1 missed tackle, and the Bruins allowed only 170 yards and 7 points in the second half. They also held Memphis scoreless on 3 drives in the final 10 minutes to end the game.

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Offensive Breakout

The Rose Bowl was much friendlier to the Bruin offense on Saturday, as Brett Hundley and his helpful helpers mostly had their way with the Memphis defense. Hundley passed for 396 yards and 3 TD’s while throwing to 10 different receivers. Two of those receivers had over 100 yards (Thomas Duarte and Jordan Payton), and the Bruins reintroduced fans to deep threat Kenny SKY-Walker, who caught a 62 yard bomb to end the 1st quarter. The Bruins also had some success on the ground with Paul Perkins coming up just short of 100 yards and this season’s unveiling of Myles Jack in the short yardage game.  The return of Jake Brendel was huge for the Bruins, and while the offensive line was not perfect, it looked a lot better than it did against Virginia. Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone did a great job keeping the Memphis defense off balance for most of the night with a mix of horizontal and vertical attacks and using short gains to set up the deeper attempts. The Bruins scored on sustained drives of 11 plays but were also able to strike quickly with a couple of touchdown drives of 4 plays or less.

Areas of concern

Not everything was perfect for the Bruins offensively however, as they had a couple of near disastrous plays at pivotal moments. The Tigers put the screws to the Bruins early in the 4th quarter by scoring 14 points in less than a minute and tying the game up. The second TD was courtesy of the Bruin offense as Hundley threw a Pick 6 to Memphis DB Fritz Etienne. With the real pressure of an upset firmly on their shoulders, the Bruins responded with a 9 play, 75 yard drive to take the lead.

The Bruins still have some big concerns after two games:

• The offensive lines again struggled to pick up the delayed middle blitz and twisting defensive line stunts. Hundley was sacked 4 times, 3 of which were due to these blitzes and stunts
• The running game looks OK when it is going straight ahead, but Bruin running backs are still being tackled in the backfield when there is any lateral movement or hesitation. The backs need to get upfield, and the line also has to be more consistent in reestablishing the line of scrimmage upfield and not downfield.
• The kicking game. . . Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a long extra point after a penalty. If he does not gain some accuracy (and confidence) in a hurry, his foot may make a dubious difference for the Bruins this year.

“… these Bruins are either building a strong season brick by brick, or the team will wilt under expectations and be exposed in the face of tougher competition.”

Bottom Line

Despite two relatively lackluster games that have caused confidence in the Bruins to plummet, UCLA has made it to 2-0 and has another national stage to perform on this week against the Texas Longhorns. Believe it or not, the Longhorns may be the easiest game the Bruins have played yet. Texas is breaking in a new QB and new Head Coach Charlie Strong has suspended or dismissed 11 players since taking over. However, the Bruins can’t be concerned with whats wrong with Texas; UCLA has the opportunity to put together its 1st complete game of the season and get ready for its conferences opener against ASU on September 25. Here’s to not dropping in the polls again!