UCLA Football vs Texas A&M: Position Group Report Card

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Sep 3, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies running back James White (20) is tackled by defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes (47) and defensive lineman Takkarist McKinley (98) and linebacker Jayon Brown (12) during the first quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports /

Defensive Line: C+

If the Bruins could throw out the 3rd quarter in which they gave up 14 points and 40% of their total yards, then these grades would be much higher (and the Bruins would have won). Alas, that is not the case.

Specifically for the defensive line, they gave up a few too many yards on the ground (203) and they had a couple horribly ill-timed penalties to extend drives. The big uglies made a bunch of tackles, but negatives were costly.

Linebackers: C+

UCLA spent almost the entire day in a nickel formation (just like last year), so Kenny Young and Jayon Brown saw most of the action. The duo made a bunch of tackles (and Young recovered a fumble), but the aforementioned 3rd quarter cost the team as a whole.

Defensive Backs: B-

All of the DBs looked fast and aggressive against the Aggies. Tahaan Goodman forced a fumble, Jaleel Wadood had a nice TFL and they held Christian Kirk in check. They did give up a couple big plays, and some missed tackles hurt.

Special Teams: B

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With a freshman kicker and punter playing, this could have been a huge negative for the Bruins. This was not the case, and the argument could be made that special teams was the best unit for UCLA.

New kicker JJ Molson hit 3 out of 4, and new punter Austin Kent averaged a sold 43 yards per punt. Ishmael Adams didn’t do anything spectacular in the return game, but he didn’t screw anything up, and the coverage teams held Christian Kirk in check.

Coaching: D

Mora and his assistants had to expect some miscues in the first outing after so much transition, but confusion at keys moments tipped this game towards the Aggies.

On the plus side, the offense was able to get lined up and get plays called for most of the game without issue. The Bruins also were able to avoid penalties (only 4 for 17 yards).

However, when it came to crunch time, UCLA had to waste a timeout at the end of both halves in order to get a play called. The offense was only 5/18 on 3rd down, which suggests the play-calling isn’t quite right.

Finally, the decision to kick a field goal with 7 seconds left at the end of the first half (instead of running one more play) could very well have cost the Bruins points and cost them the game in the end.

Next: Podcast: WB2 - UCLA vs Texas A&M Review