The UCLA football team was expected to get blown out against the Oklahoma Sooners (which they did), but the Bruins showed signs of life in the 49-21 defeat to the #6 team in the country.
Despite the fact that the UCLA football team is 0-2 on the season, their loss to Oklahoma (2-0) seems to hurt a little bit less than their season-opening defeat to Cincinnati.
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Sure, UCLA lost to the Bearcats,26-17 (a 9-point loss) and their defeat at the hands of Oklahoma was by 28 points, but the Bruins looked like they had taken a step forward in the second game of the Kelly era.
UCLA were 30-point underdogs in this game, so beating the spread, even by a few points, was big, especially when you look at how the first half played out. Surprisingly, the Bruins were the ones that took control to begin the game. They did nothing on their first drive of the contest but forced OU to punt on the next series. After that, the Bruins scored first when a Dorian Thompson-Robinson pass to TE Caleb Wilson went 65 yards and led to a Bolu Olorunfunmi 3-yard touchdown.
So right there, if someone would have told me the Bruins scored first in the manner that they did, I would not have believed it.
Unfortunately, the Sooners are the #6 team in the nation for a reason. Oklahoma had the next three scores going up 21-7 by halftime. Bad in most situations, but considering were UCLA and Oklahoma were last week, holding OU to 21 points and 250 yards at the break was not bad.
UCLA-OKLAHOMA TEAM STATS
Oklahoma Yards: Total – 485 | Passing – 306 | Rushing – 179
UCLA Yards: Total – 383 | Passing – 254 | Rushing – 129
The defense was the difference as they hounded the Sooners offensive players. Though they were not able to get pressure on QB Kyler Murray, the Bruins limited the Sooners’ other offensive players (as much as they could). The Bruins had several key mistakes in the second half which allowed Oklahoma to put 28 extra points, but for the most part, they showed progress.
Last week, UCLA gave up 193 rushing yards to Cincinnati. They only allowed Oklahoma 179.
The passing defense was a different story. Murray put up 306 yards and 3 touchdowns on the Bruins, but UCLA had some bright spots. Keisean Lucier-South, Darnay Holmes, Nate Meadors, and Krys Barnes had key pass breakups. Holmes even had an incredible interception in the second half which caught Oklahoma by surprise. It was the only turnover in the game.
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Speaking of turnovers, the Bruins did not have a single one despite the pressure put on them by the OU defense. The Sooners might have been able to get into the backfield and sack DTR several times, but the true freshman did not give up a single ball.
Thompson-Robinson played the entire game (sans one play where he had to come out because he had his helmet knocked off). DTR improved on his 117 passing yard performance against Cincinnati with 254 yards on 16/26 passing. He even collected the first touchdown of his college career as he connected with WR Michael Ezeike in the second half. Wilson had the most receiving yards with a 92-yard performance, averaging 23 yards per catch.
The running game was a different story. UCLA only collected 129 yards, but it was on the ground where they got their first two touchdowns, both by Olorunfunmi. When the Bruins were able to march downfield, they did a nice job setting up their red zone offense and crossing the goal line.
In the end, it is about progress and UCLA showed just that, especially against one of the best teams in the country. Though they are 0-2, there is a lot of good that came from this game and a good sign as the Bruins head into next week’s game against Fresno State at the Rose Bowl.