UCLA Vs ASU: Position Group Report Card

The UCLA Bruins did better than good against the Arizona State Sun Devils, as they picked them apart on all fronts with a 62-27 win. Here is the position group report card for UCLA vs ASU.

Quarterbacks: A+

The last time Brett Hundley was on the field, he had just hyperextended his elbow, so having a mediocre, injury-free return would have unfortunately been acceptable. But Hundley did way better than that. Tere was a slow start, but once the entire team started to gel, Hundley was finding open Bruins everywhere on the field. Even with a large brace on his arm, Hundley dared to run in the open field, risking another inury, but instead ran for 72 yards and a touchdown. He also finished the night with 355 yards and 34 touchdowns. That is a passing grade if I ever saw one.

Running Backs: A-

Paul Perkins, as the kids say, is “The Man”. He has slowly been getting the UCLA ground game up and running and continued against ASU. Not only did he rush for 137 yards, but he averaged 9.8 yards per carry. As mentioned above, Hundley also helped in the run game, but so did Jordan James with 20 yards of his own. To top it off, Nate Starks got a carry for 1 yard… into the end zone! Starks got his first collegiate score on the Bruins third touchdown of the third quarter.

Receivers: B+

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The early pains of the receiving corps were quickly mended as Bruins were catching nearly everything on the field and getting plenty of yards after catch. Once things got going for the blue and gold, mainly from the second quarter on, UCLA was on fire. They were getting excellent blocking, especially on the swing passes, which Jordan Payton took advantage of at one point. Eldridge Massington joined in on the fun when he had disregarded the defense as he danced through them for an 80-yard touchdown catch. There were more spectacular feats, but I think you get the picture.

Offensive Line: A

Sure they allowed another sack, but they also allowed Hundley to do whatever he wanted whilst they held back the Sun Devil D. They even gave the running game some wiggle room as they ran up 225 yards on the porous Arizona State defense. The most important part, is that they kept the offense moving forward. When this unit is in sync, they will allow the offense to do what ever they want.

Defensive Line: A

These guys were so good, they were like ghosts. The ASU offensive line had no idea where the Bruins were during parts of the game. Mostly they were getting into the back field and taking it to ASU back-up QB Mike Bercovici. They caused fumbles, claimed fumbles, pressured the line and generally disrupted the ASU offense. They even got in Bercovici’s face on several occasions. Despite getting rid of the ball, the Bruins let him know they were there. Eddie Vanderdoes and Owamagbe Odighizuwa were two of the most unruly Bruins that kept pestering the ASU O-line all night as they were part of two crucial fumbles.

Linebackers: A

UCLA had locked in on D.J. Foster, who is one of the best running backs in the nation. With a combined effort from the D-line, this Bruin unit shut down a guy that was averaging 9.4 yards per carry in his first three games. The linebackers returned the favor as they broke up several screens when the defensive line would bite on the protection. Unfortunately, the Sun Devils did not account for the UCLA LBs to be so fierce on the take. Eric Kendricks alone broke up several screens that kept the Sun Devils from moving the ball forward through short yardage. That then forced ASU to go out longer and what that did was test the Bruins, specifically, the secondary.

Defensive Backs: B

This was a tough one to score because they Bruins gave up a lot of yards through the air, specifically going to the sides and on slants. There were even large pockets in the middle of the field that gave the Sun Devil receivers all day to decide what to do. But then when they did things right, they really came together. Anthony Jefferson and Ishmael Adams did a huge service for the Bruins with two big interceptions. One of them came when ASU was knocking on the door of the end zone. A bad read by Bercovici sailed the ball into Adams’ hands at the 5-yard line as he went 95 yards for the score.

Special Teams: A

All you need to know is the name Ishmael Adams. He is a devil on defense and heavenly blessed on special teams. Adams nearly had a kick returned for a touchdown against Virginia and returned a punt to the 33-yard line that set-up that beautiful Jerry Neuheisel to Jordan Payton touchdown pass against Texas, so he has some moves. He added another reel to his mix tape as he took a kick return 100 yards for the score. For the game, he added a little more as he ended up with 201 total kick return yards. Wow. It is a good thing he is on the Bruins side.

UCLA VS ASU OVERALL GRADE: A-