Sep 15, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins running back Jordon James (6) carries the ball against the Houston Cougars at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE
An other win, an other 567 yards of offense racked up. I’m a little shocked it wasn’t 700, but I’ll for sure take it.
Wow, the offense has come a long way compared to last year. We finally have a QB who can throw AND run, we have a multitude of RBs who can get the job running and receiving. Last year QB play wasn’t even in our vocabulary, Mayor “Jetski” Franklin was our lone bright spot and rightfully so. To think that we are getting production from all angles this year is certainly a relief, I get chills watching this team play. They play with so much heart and toughness.
Let’s get down to business
QB: C-
This game you definitely could see that Hundley was a RS freshman, he made some pretty bad reads and uncharacteristic throws. He did finish 27/42, 320 yards, 2TDs and 2INTs, I thought his ankle might have nagged him during parts of the game. Yes, Brett Hundley is a freshman so these turnovers are bad reads are just gonna give him an excellent opportunity to look at film and better them. Something that I’ve noticed, is when things get flustered or things break down, he still is able to make a play with his feet or with his cannon arm.
The year is young, but I love what I’m seeing from “the savior.” He does have better numbers than Mr. Pretty Boy Barkley, I’m not surprised, it’s just the price of being overrated.
Why did I give Hundley a fairly low grade? Solely because he got picked off in the red-zone twice, threw a backwards pass that resulted in a fumble and because he missed wide open receivers multiple times. That being said, he will correct his mistakes and he’ll have a solid game next week against Oregon State.
RBs: C+
A little disappointed in the run game on Saturday, they averaged a modest 4.4 ypc and racked up 247 total rushing yards. Franklin lead the way with 110 yards on 25 carries and an average of 4.4 yards a carrie and no touchdowns. This might hurt Franklin’s Heisman position, but I don’t really care so long as we’re winning games (which we are). Houston did a fairly good job at stuffing him at the LOS, but other RBs broke loose. Manfro and Damian Thigpen broke off some decent sized runs.
This wasn’t the running game that we hoped for, but we won 37-6, yes, a 31 point victory. Some of the rushing numbers fall on the lap of the O-Line, but I’ll get in to that later.
WRs: C
Whoa, two fumbles by UCLA receivers. First, “Big Joe” Fauria caught a first down pass, then they went immediately back to him, and he fumbled the ball. Pretty uncharacteristic if you ask me. Secondly, Devin Lucien caught a pass over the middle, bursted down field and fumbled in the RZ. Lastly, Steven Manfro dropped yet an other open TD pass. I did see some miscommunication between Hundley and the receivers, but that is to be expected.
I really like what I’m seeing from senior wide-out Jerry Johnson and junior wide-out Shaq Evans. Jerry’s career has been injury plagued, so I’m glad that he’s getting the opportunity to show off his skills. Shaq Evans has done a great job at getting tough yards after the catch, he’s coming back to get the ball and he’s fighting for yardage. Great stuff, great stuff. Last year, the receivers showed no effort to catch the ball, they’d catch it and wouldn’t even fight for yardage. Not this year, receivers have been very dependable and they have a legit QB who can throw the ball.
Also, the wide-outs have done a great job blocking downfield.
O-Line: B
They have been terrific this year. Goines, Torian White, Xavier Sua’filo and Jake Brendel have done a great job protecting Hundley and giving holes to Franklin.
Last night however, “Jetski” didn’t have much room to maneuver. They did give our QB tons of time to throw and throughout the season, though.