The UCLA Football team defeated the Oregon Ducks in a much needed win where the Bruin defense stepped up, Josh Rosen retuned to form and Bolu Olorunfunmi leapt into the top plays of the day.
Breathe UCLA Football fans. The Bruins (4-3, 2-2) got a much needed win as they took out the similarly-struggling Oregon Ducks (4-4, 1-4), 31-14 at the Rose Bowl.
This was the most complete game that UCLA has played all season long. Aside from the 2nd quarter when the Ducks scored their only points of the game, the Bruins used an improved defensive effort, a fairly balanced offensive performance and a few flashy plays to shut down Oregon in the other three quarters.
UCLA had the upper hand early as they limited the Ducks to 48 yards (37 rushing, 11 passing). It was impressive for the Bruins considering they have had a tough time containing the run this season. For the game, UCLA only allowed 320 total yards (246 rushing, 74 passing). Considering UCLA has allowed 523 total yards per game, this is a major improvement.
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The Bruins, who have had a tendency to make back up QBs into superstars, held Braxton Burmeister to 8-of-15 passing for 74 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT. UCLA also sacked him 5 times.
The Bruins defense also did a bang up job limiting the shifty RB Royce Freeman to only 160 yards (trust us, that is a good thing for UCLA).
As for the offense, Josh Rosen indeed bounced back on 21-of-36 passing for 266 yards and 2 TDs. Rosen had an amazing cast to work with, which included a few surprise performances.
WR Christian Pabico, who made headlines as a walk-on running with the first team in fall, finally made an impact as he led all receivers with 99 yards on 4 catches with 1 touchdown that went for 49 yards.
Bolu Olorunfunmi had the play of the game as he literally leapt and stood on the shoulders of an Oregon defender to make the acrobatic score. He led all rushers with 76 yards and 1 TD. Soso Jamabo had the majority of snaps (15) for 66 yards and a touchdown of his own.
HOLY BOLU 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/HyzIAulkRr
— The Den (@uclatheden) October 21, 2017
UCLA scored 17 unanswered points in the second half whilst blanking the Ducks as they returned to form putting a total of 408 yards on Oregon. UCLA now has a bit of momentum heading into he toughest part of their schedule which includes road games at Washington, Utah and USC. UCLA is 0-3 on the road at 4-0 at home.