UCLA O-Line: Better Than Ever

It has become a weekly occurrence on whatever broadcast network the Bruins happen to be playing on. The play by play man or the analyst will start a the conversation by saying something like:

Jake Brendel (54) leading the offense for the 3rd straight year (literally, the Center’s hand is way out in front): Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

“You know, this UCLA O-line has struggled all year . . . ”

and his partner will finish with:

“Yep, they gave up 10 sacks in that one game against Utah . . . ”

and then as the game proceeds, the Bruins rack up somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 yards on the ground and 300 in the air, Brett Hundley and Paul Perkins look good and the Bruins come away with a big win. Since bottoming out against Utah when they gave up 10 sacks (and actually less than half of those were really given up by the line),  the  UCLA offensive line is playing as well as any line in the Pac-12 by any statistical measure.

Take a look at the chart below and you will see how well the Bruins have been compared to the rest of the Pac-12 in sacks allowed, rushing, passing, total offense and  Sack per Pass Attempts in the past 5 games (going into UCLA’s bye week):

[table id=30 /]

CB74 doesn’t care who the QB is for the Bruins. He’s got their back, regardless. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

As you can see the Bruins have given up the least sacks in the Pac-12 since the Utah game and they have the 2nd best Sack per Pass Attempt Ratio. They also have the #1 rushing attack in the Pac-12, and have produced the 2nd most yards of Total Offense over that span.

The Bruin offense has been humming for a couple weeks now, and even through the rough October stretch in which the Bruins lost to Oregon and then had close wins against Cal and Colorado, the UCLA O-line was the least of their worries.

Najee Toran has come off the bench to help the Bruins all year. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Turnovers and failures on 3rd down by the skill position players are what got the Bruins in trouble in October, and since Hundley, Perkins and and the rest of the skinny guys got it together against Arizona the Bruins are playing their best football of the season.

In no particular order, Jake Brendel, Scott Quessenberry, Alex Redmond, Malcolm Bunche, Caleb Benenoch, Connor McDermott, Najee Toran, Ben Wysocki, and Carl Hulick have all gelled into a formidable unit for the Bruins as the season has worn on.

Bunche has played multiple spots across the O-line this year and Redmond has been a stalwart at guard for the Bruins. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

So can the narrative finally shift with the Bruins offensive line? Instead of a group that has “struggled all year” on the rare occasion that the Bruins produce a negative play, can these big boys get some love for how well they have been playing?

Now if only those Sun Devils could lose. . .