So did you see Utah Vs UCLA? It was not pretty… for the Bruins. After smacking the Arizona State Sun Devils, the UCLA Bruins laid an egg against the Utah Utes. Do you want to know why? Please continue reading…
Quarterbacks: D+
Oct 4, 2014; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley (17) is tackled by Utah Utes defensive end Nate Orchard (8) during the second half at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Did Brett Hunley re-injure his arm? Was he told not to run? What happened to the Hundley that flew the ball around at ASU? Needless to say it was a very shoddy performance by a player that was lauded as a Heisman candidate as early as the end of last season. It’s not like he had some help from the offensive line, which we will get into soon enough, but the fact that he could not move around to avoid 10 sacks is beyond acceptable. Not only that, the Bruins have been able to connect with up to 10 receivers in the majority of their games with him under center, but in this one, only five Bruins caught passes. Additionally, his pick six in the first period did not help.
Running backs: C
Despite the fact that they could barely move the ball as they were called to do so over and over, they did an admirable job. Not great, but admirable. The O-line was once again did not help, but as stated above, we will get into them soon enough. Still, there was no push up front, no movement to the side, blockers were no where to be found. Utah’s front seven was able to not only get at Hundley but get at the running backs and stop them short. Needless to say, it was just average. The Bruins attempted 50 runs for 137 yards, averaging 2.7 per carry for the game.
Wide Receivers: B
Betsided
The wide receivers seemed to be left out of this game as it was a 2 to 1 ratio in favor of running plays for UCLA. When a team has weapon in the shape of Hundley’s arm, you use it. Every single player on this team has the ability to catch a ball (we are giving Kenneth Walker a pass on this) so why would they put the ball through the air for only a third of the time? Fortunately, since the receivers didn’t have much to do in this game they come up with the best grade on the team.
Offensive Line: F
10 sacks. That is very unacceptable for a top 10 team, which is why hey are now #18 in the AP Poll. The line has had some injuries, but it is hard to believe that there they could be that bad after helping the offense put up 62 points at Arizona State last week. There was no consistency, no push and Malcolm Bunche, to be nice, did not look good. UCLA needs to fix this and fix it fast because every team remaining on the Bruin’s schedule now knows how to bring them down and that is by attacking the offensive line.
Defensive line C-
This grade was higher at the beginning of the game, but when Utah replaced QB Travis Wilson for the back up Kendall Thompson, UCLA could do very little. It was open season on the Bruins front seven as Utah kept getting rush after rush through UCLA’s defense. The Utes average 4.5 yards on every single run. Unacceptable.
Linebackers: C
Oct 4, 2014; Pasadena, CA, USA; Utah Utes quarterback Travis Wilson (7) runs away from UCLA Bruins linebacker Myles Jack (30) and defensive back Fabian Moreau and defensive lineman Owamagbe Odighizuwa (94) during first quarter action at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
The Bruins had blitzed a lot more in this game, but on several of those attempts, they hit the wrong side (thanks for that information Jake Merrifield). When they were aggressive, it worked, but unfortunately the defense could not consistently stop Utah. For the most part, it seemed as if the linebackers were doing most of the work trying to halt the Utes which wore them down. All Utah had to do was be patient and keep attacking where the Bruins were not defending, which was a lot of places.
Defensive Backs: B-
The DBs may not have had a lot of work to do, seeing as Utah only threw the ball 18 times, but UCLA’s secondary was able to limit whatever air attack they had. The Utes only averaged 5.6 yards per reception, which any team would take. The unfortunate thing about the position these guys were put is that there were too many DBs on the field. Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich constantly went to the nickel and dime formation which Utah saw and utilized the run and there were no adjustments on Ublrich’s part. Sure they prevented the air attack, but when he battle is on the ground, there is not a whole lot to defend.
Special Teams: D
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We will attack this on two fronts…
It is hard to perform on returns when the team does not kick to the oppositions best playmaker. Ishmael Adams only had one punt return for a yard and a kick return for 18 yards. Total, all three returners averaged only 12.0 yards. 12! On kick returns! So that happened, but the most disappointing thing was when a player that has one job does not do that job…
Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn twice had a chance to win the game for the Bruins. He barely managed to get air under a 47-yard FG attempt that landed in the end zone. Luckily, Utah ran into him and gave the Bruins a second chance to win. The Bruins and Fairbairn did not capitalize on that chance as the kick was no good, again.
Ultimately though, it was not Fairbairn’s fault despite being very inconsistent. UCLA should have never put him in that position. A complete breakdown on all fronts lead to this loss. One week before Oregon. This is not good.