UCLA lost to Stanford (again) and it was just as expected. Sure, many of us here at GJB thought the Bruins would win, but were we f****** wrong.
So much hope. So much optimism. So much crying. UCLA lost to Stanford for the eighth straight time in a 56-35 rout. Needless to say, this hurt.
This was a typical UCLA vs Stanford/Jim Mora vs David Shaw match-up. The Bruins had tried to start fast and did a noble job, but a combination of very bad things halted the Bruin’s chances of staying in this game.
It all started when Josh Rosen threw the ball right into the hands of the Stanford defense on the first drive of the game and went back for a pick six. A bad start, but UCLA was still in this game. But that did not take long to alter.
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For some reason, Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone took his conservatism in the last game against Arizona State too far and went a little too pass happy in this one (WHO PASSES ON 3RD AND 1???) and went away from his main weapon Paul Perkins.
Perkins only had 9 carries in the first half for 89 yards and 1 touchdown. Guess how many yards per carry he had by the half? 9.9 yards per carry. Thanks Mazzone.
As for Stanford, well they did very Stanford things in a very Stanford way and ran it down the Bruins throat, and then, as if it was a complete mystery to UCLA, allowed receiver after receiver to get open and make big plays. It was an endless cycle. And that was just the first half. Stanford lead 35-17 by halftime.
With UCLA scoring just before the half, things were looking up as the Bruins were to receive the kick off to start the second half. Yeah, they went three and out.
The second half was more of the same as Stanford busted through UCLA’s defense to rack up 310 rushing yards. Christian McCaffrey was a beast for the Cardinal as he had 243 rushing yards (and 4 TDs) en route to 369 all-purpose yards.
Says it all pic.twitter.com/pKhZxZgWL7 https://t.co/OiNwifuEms
— Pacific Talks (@PacificTalks) October 16, 2015
UCLA did manage to fight back and collect 21 points in the second half of the game, but by then all was lost. This game had the same feeling as Oregon in 2014. The Ducks smashed the Bruins in the first half with UCLA trying to mount a comeback in the second, only to come up very, very, very, very short.
UCLA Bruins
UCLA Football, as a team, came up very short against Stanford.
Here is one interesting tidbit about this game… the Bruins actually gained more yards than the Cardinal, as UCLA had 506 to Stanford’s 441. Sure it is a painful stat, but at least the heartache was deep.
Though there are a lot of things to complain about in this game (refs, penalties, Stanford consistently holding, bad Bruin play calling, bad UCLA rushing defense, horrible special teams, a crappy targeting call, etc.) the bottom line is that UCLA Football lost their eighth straight game against Stanford and have really put their Pac-12 hopes in jeopardy.
If Jim Mora and Co. do not figure out how to right this ship, things could go South for the Bruins quickly, and not in a good way (Get it? South? Division? Nevermind.).
Expect a lot more reaction of this game in the coming days from Go Joe Bruin.
Next: What's Bruin 2 - UCLA vs Stanford, The Angry Podcast