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UCLA Football vs. Stanford: 5 Things We Learned From the Stanford Game

By Mike Regalado

Sep 24, 2016; Pasadena, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey (center) runs the ball during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. The Stanford Cardinal won 22-13. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2016; Pasadena, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey (center) runs the ball during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. The Stanford Cardinal won 22-13. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 24, 2016; Pasadena, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey (5) runs the ball while being tackled by UCLA Bruins running back Bolu Olorunfunmi (4) and linebacker Kenny Young (42) during the first half against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2016; Pasadena, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey (5) runs the ball while being tackled by UCLA Bruins running back Bolu Olorunfunmi (4) and linebacker Kenny Young (42) during the first half against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /

The UCLA Football team lost to Stanford for the ninth time in a row. Though this game was a heartbreaker, there were a few things that stood out as positives. But let us be real, there were also a few negatives.

The UCLA Football team has failed to find a way to beat Stanford. Again. But it was not all bad.

Aside from the last six minutes, the Bruin defense held the Cardinal in check. The offense had a few good drives, but unfortunately they could not see the end zone.

So let us dive into the five things we learned about UCLA’s battle with Stanford:

1. The Defense Is Good

UCLA had prevented Stanford from scoring a touchdown in this game until 24 seconds remained. The Bruin defense continued their wrath which emerged like a bat out of hell last weekend against BYU.

They pressured quarterback Ryan Burns, they swarmed the ball carriers, limited Christian McCaffrey (sort of) and shut down most of the passing game.

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Up until Stanford’s last drive, in which they marched downfield 70 yards (which came about as Marcus Rios was called for kick-catch interference), the Bruins looked very good against Stanford.

The fact that the mighty Cardinal, the #7 team in the nation, was shut down on several occasions shows that the Bruins have are serious contenders. But the need to find a way to end games.

I’m sure the last thing Bruin fans want to read how well the defense was after they allowed a late Stanford touchdown. But the truth is the defense did everything they can to limit Stanford scoring opportunities and to shut down McCaffrey.

The offense didn’t help  by not getting into the end zone. The Bruins lost a time of possession battle, which was better than last season, which means a defense was once again on the field more than the offense. This is the first time this is happened this season.

Despite the loss, the defense is very good. But with that being said…