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UCLA Football’s win over Arizona keeps them in the hunt for the South

By Mike Regalado

PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 20: Demetric Felton #10 of the UCLA Bruins celebrates with teammates Joshua Kelley #27 and Devin Asiasi #86 after Felton scored a touchdown in the second half of the NCAA college football at the Rose Bowl on October 20, 2018 in Pasadena, California. The Bruins defeated the Wildcats 31-30. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 20: Demetric Felton #10 of the UCLA Bruins celebrates with teammates Joshua Kelley #27 and Devin Asiasi #86 after Felton scored a touchdown in the second half of the NCAA college football at the Rose Bowl on October 20, 2018 in Pasadena, California. The Bruins defeated the Wildcats 31-30. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /
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Despite the roller coaster contest with Arizona that saw the Bruins get their second win of the season, the UCLA football team is still in the hunt for the Pac-12 South Division.

If you like heart-attack inducing games then the UCLA football team’s 31-30 win over Arizona was for you. In a game that saw the Bruins do an about-face from their dominating performance against Cal last week, UCLA was able to squeak out a win that just happens to keep them on contention for the division.

Everyone expected the Bruins to come into this game against the Wildcats and dominate the way they did against California when the brutalized the Bears, 37-7. Was it a fluke? No, but the way teams are completing this season in the Pac-12, anything can happen. Unfortunately, there were other factors in play.

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UCLA started the game by playing with a certain flair that was consistent with their efforts against Cal. The Bruins played with tempo and only needed about four minutes to go 62 yards for their first touchdown. But let us remember that this team is still working out the kinks to their offense, which explains why they punted on their next two possessions and could only score off a field goal before Arizona retaliated.

Yet, the Bruins’ problems ran deeper than not being able to move the ball down the field. Despite Arizona carrying around the label that their defense was horrid, at best, the Wildcats made a statement as they continually kept the Bruins in check, especially with their rejuvenated pass rush, one that took freshman QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson out of the game early in the second quarter. That was unfortunate as the newbie had 103 passing yards on 3/8 attempts and one touchdown in just over one quarter.

DTR had left the game after taking a sack after apparently injuring his shoulder. That brought in grad transfer Wilton Speight who had an up and down performance. Speight finished the game with 204 yards on 17/27 passes, though they were hard fought yards.

When Speight was on, he used his experience to pull the Bruins through its rough spots, but it was not consistent. In the 11 possessions he commanded the offense, Speight was only able to get the Bruins to score on three. The offense was thrown for a loop and even RB Joshua Kelley could not carry the Bruins on his back alone despite his 4th consecutive 100-yard rushing game. He finished the contest with136 yards on 31 attempts.

UCLA’s problems ran deeper than that. On one hand, they reverted back to Mora era penalties with  12 for 103 yards. The Bruins have been averaging 53 penalty yards per game this season, so this was one step back.

Another step back occurred when the defense forgot how to stop the run. This season, UCLA has improved their run defense, allowing only 176.7 yards per game. Against Arizona, they gave up an unprecedented 289 yards. The Bruins also allowed Arizona’s backup QB Rhett Rodriguez to throw for 231 yards, adding up to a total of 520 yards.

Despite all that, the Bruins came away with the win, their second of the season. It was rough, but what matters, in the end, is the “W” and that is even more important considering the fact that UCLA is 2-2 in conference play. That is crucial because it puts the Bruns only a half a game out of first place in the South Division. Utah defeated USC earlier in the day and with Colorado losing to Washington, the standings in the South have become very tight.

Though this seems like a positive in terms of deciding the South, when taking a closer look, UCLA has taken a step back, especially if DTR is unable to continue in the next few games.

UCLA’s next game is against Utah who just pummeled USC, 41-28. UCLA could take a commanding lead in the division if they beat the Utes, but right now they seem to have bigger problems on their hands.

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This next week in practice, especially with Kelly’s cryptic media sessions, will be very important to UCLA’s apparent progress through the season. Is UCLA hitting a wall, or are they continuing to progress? We will soon find out.