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UCLA Football: Where does the defense go from here? Recap and outlook

By Mike Regalado

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 7: Defensive line/assistant head coach Jerry Azzinaro of the Philadelphia Eagles watches his team warm up prior to the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 7, 2014 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 7: Defensive line/assistant head coach Jerry Azzinaro of the Philadelphia Eagles watches his team warm up prior to the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 7, 2014 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

More Violence

UCLA football fans had something to be excited for entering 2019. During the Spring Game and in fall, the defense looked very active and very aggressive. They looked like they would be the strength of this team.

There was also a new mantra. The phrase that was being thrown around was “more violence”.

Though we saw some of that violence manifest throughout the season, for the most part, UCLA did not look that impressive. But that is a bit of an illusion. Once again, take into consideration how many key players there were without. Also, add in the fact that this defense faced some of the top offenses all season long.

Related Story. UCLA Football: Potential offensive two-deep depth chart for 2019. light

To show how difficult the defense had it, let us look at a few rankings. We will start with the College Football Playoff rankings. To properly assess who the top teams in the nation are after a given time, the CFB Playoff rankings began in Week 9 of the season. Since then, five polls have been released. In those five polls, five of UCLA’s 2018 opponents have made appearances in the rankings (Oklahoma, Washington, Utah, Fresno State, and Cincinnati).

In regards to total offense, the Bruins went up against six teams that are currently in the Top 50 (Oklahoma, Cincinnati, Arizona, Oregon, Fresno State, and Arizona State). With rushing offense, the Bruins faced five in the Top 50 (Oklahoma, Cincinnati, Arizona, Utah, and Oregon. With passing, UCLA faced seven (Oklahoma, Stanford, Fresno State, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, and USC).

The point is, the Bruins’ defense had their work cut out for them.