UCLA Football: It Is Time To Rule The 3rd Quarter!
The UCLA Football team has been blanked in the 3rd quarter in their first two games of the 2016 season which has put them in awkward situations. If this trend does not change, it could lead to some unsatisfiying results.
A problem has already been identified. The UCLA Football team is having trouble getting points on the board in the 3rd quarter of games.
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With the Bruins starting games strong, they just cannot seem to execute just after the half.
In both of their first two games against Texas A&M and UNLV, the Bruins put themselves in situations that they have either needed to come back from or have to fend off their opponent.
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In those two games, the Bruins have been completely shut out in the 3rd quarter.
This will be a problem going forward if UCLA cannot make the proper halftime adjustments, especially with the Bruins heading into a tough two-game stretch.
Today, UCLA will play a stout BYU team in Provo, UT, a place they lost 59-0 the last time they played there.
Next week, the Bruins start Pac-12 play against a team they have not lost to in eight tries. Stanford.
Needless to say, the time is now to try and figure out how to play some proper football in the 3rd quarter.
Let us quickly take a look at the scores by quarter for UCLA and their opponents through their first two games:
UCLA vs Their Opponents Score By Quarter
| Score by Qtr | 1st Qtr | 2nd Qtr | 3rd Qtr | 4th Qtr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 10 | 27 | 0 | 29 |
| Opponent | 7 | 17 | 21 | 0 |
The Bruins are definitely finding their groove before halftime, but as you can see, they have been outplayed when coming out of halftime. The good thing is, they are reacting to their post-half lull by shutting out their opponents 29-0 in the final frame.
Good, but the Bruins do not want to rely on that, especially in their next two games. The Bruins need to find a way to be the more dominant team in al four quarters starting tonight.
If UCLA cannot execute, then their opponents are going to take that opportunity to capitalize and UCLA does not want teams like BYU and Stanford capitalizing on their 3rd quarter deficiencies.
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Hopefully the Bruins can change the script tonight and come out with fists flying. Go Bruins!