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UCLA Football: The good, the bad and the Bruins vs. Arizona

By Mike Regalado

PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 20: Tight end Caleb Wilson #81 of the UCLA Bruins is brought down by Arizona Wildcats defenders as teammate Theo Howard #14 helps with a block after Wilson caught a pass to get the first down late during the second half of the NCAA college football game 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: Tight end Caleb Wilson #81 of the UCLA Bruins is brought down by Arizona Wildcats defenders as teammate Theo Howard #14 helps with a block after Wilson caught a pass to get the first down late during the second half of the NCAA college football game 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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The UCLA football team got their second win of the season, but it came at a cost. The Bruins had some improvements, but they also took a few steps back. Here is The Good, The Bad and The Top Bruins against Arizona.

In this edition of “The Good, The Bad and The Bruins”, the UCLA football team struggled to get their second win of the season, but there were several good things that came from this 31-30 win over Arizona, despite the many bad.

RELATED: UCLA’s Win Over Arizona Keeps them in the Hunt for the South Division

This game made it clear that the Bruins still have a long way to go, but it also showed that they have some fight, fight, fight in them. Here is what we saw in the game against the Wildcats…

Related Story. Bruins continue to show they have some fight, fight, fight. light

The Good

Offense: It was unfortunate that Dorian Thompson-Robinson had to leave the game with an apparent shoulder injury, but luckily grad transfer Wilton Speight was able to hold things together with a more pass-heavy scheme. It was a hard-fought battle, but in the end, UCLA got the “W’ and that is always good.

Defense: The defense was on a roller coaster this past weekend, but they had the players to make solid plays and keep Arizona at bay. The Bruins had two key takeaways in the end zone, which could have been daggers in the heart of the Bruins, instead, it was a dagger in the Wildcats.

The Bad

Offense: It all started with the sack on Thompson-Robinson. The Bruins have been rolling with him behind center and despite a slow start against Arizona, they had a very impressive tempo-based opening drive. Once DTR went out, the offense hit some turbulence and was only able to score on three of their eleven possessions to finish the game.

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Defense: The run defense. What is this, 2016-17? The Bruins reverted back to their Mora-era run defense as they allowed the Wildcats to run for 289 yards. On top of that, the Bruins, who average 5 tackles for a loss and 1.7 sacks per game, collectively had one TFL and zero sacks. ONE TACKLE FOR A LOSS.

The Bruins

Offense: Despite things going awry with the quarterback situation, the running game held strong, even though they had a few hiccups. Thank god for Joshua Kelley who had his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game as he loaded up with 136 yards.

Defense: This was another part of the game that was up and down. The up had to go to one player that made the defensive play of the season, thus far. Arizona’s JJ Taylor would have had a sure 56-yard touchdown if it wasn’t for the uber-athletic play of Darnay Holmes who punched the ball out of Taylor’s hands right before he crossed the plane of the goal line and followed it up with recovering the fumble, giving the ball back to UCLA.

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UCLA’s next game is Saturday, October 26 at 7:30  p.m. at the Rose Bowl as the Bruins take on the Utah Utes.