Jim Mora Named Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week and Other UCLA Football News
UCLA Football coach Jim Mora was named Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week. Mora also thinks Utah is the top team in the Pac-12. And how about how about Paul Perkins getting some love? All of this and more Bruin football news.
Mora “The Man” Is Coach of the Week
UCLA Football Head Coach Jim Mora was named the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week today. The Bobby Dodd Trophy is given annually to the top coach in Division I college football. Throughout the season, the Dodd Trophy honors the top coach every week that exemplifies the characteristics of their award.
Congrats to @UCLAFootball Coach Jim Mora on being named The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week! http://t.co/IJ2z4ZVE1L pic.twitter.com/UHkgoRtOVF
— The Dodd Trophy (@thedoddtrophy) September 30, 2015
"The Dodd Coach of the Week Award honors the football coach whose program embodies the awards three pillars of scholarship, leadership, and integrity, while also having success in the playing field during the previous week."
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Mora was honored in light of the UCLA Football team’s overpowering performance against division rival Arizona as the Bruins blew out the Wildcats, 56-30. Both the offense and defense had solid games, though the defense has been criticized by Mora after they gave up 353 rushing yards.
Still, the Bruins pulled out a solid performance which has got them a lot of attention since. ESPN had stated that they underestimated them while college football analysts Kirk Herbstreit had the Bruins in his top 4 for the week.
Mora Thinks Utah is Better Than UCLA Football?
In other Mora news, the Bruin boss went on the Rich Eisen Show and was asked about Utah, who is currently the darlings of college football after smashing Oregon up in Eugene, 62-20.
When asked if he thought the balance of power in the Pac-12 has changed, Mora stated, “No, I think Utah has been good enough for a few years. If I was doing the rankings, which I do because I am a part of that coaches poll, I’d put Utah ahead of us based on the fact they beat us last year.”
Check out the entire conversation here…
Paul Perkins, Popular Guy
So it looks like the top rusher in the Pac-12 from last season, junior running back Paul Perkins, is finally getting the attention he deserves. Here are several outlets gushing over the Bruin work horse.
- ESPN wrote that Perkins deserves national attention.
- NCAA.com has Perkins on their Heisman Watch.
- A week earlier, Bleacher Report put Perkins in the Heiseman conversation.
- The LA Daily News has stated that Perkins runs under the radar.
Injured or Not?
Unless there is a season-ending injury (which gets out to the press no matter what), it seems that a lesser injury occurring to the UCLA Football team is kept under wraps. Jayon Brown and Bolu Olorunfunmi had left the game against Arizona with injuries, but when asked about it, Mora did not elaborate and kept it simple.
Jim Mora declined to provide an update on injured LB Jayon Brown after practice this morning. Brown left Saturday's game with a back injury.
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) September 29, 2015
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