The Eye Test: Shine Comes Off as UCLA Wins a Slog Over Maryland 20-17

The defense continues to look resurgent, but there were warts all over the place.

(Photo credit: uclabruins.com)

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You can’t say I didn’t warn you this thing would turn.

In the last Eye Test, I spent a lot of time laying out my questions about how much of that two-game winning streak was sustainable over the course of the season. I had my doubts about the offense and (especially) defense continuing that level of play as the schedule ramped up in difficulty, and while I felt they had done a ton of things right since taking over, I questioned how much was also the result of some poor opponents.

So far, I think I've gotten some answers.

Maryland came into this game as a clear step up over Michigan State, though not a significant one like the Bruins face next week. They have an excellent defense, ranking inside the top 20 in SP+, and an offense that can be extremely volatile thanks to a true freshman at quarterback. While UCLA had similar or even better talent than its opponent, Maryland was definitely motivated coming into the game, looking to shake off the “October Maryland” moniker that has hung over them for years now. Given all that, I think it’s important to state up front that I am not only happy with the victory, but that UCLA showed that the positive culture shift under Tim Skipper was legitimate in this game. There were many times when UCLA could have rolled over, like after the pick-six that gave Maryland the lead or after Nico went down with an injury late, but each time the Bruins showed off their newfound belief in themselves, dug down, and pushed through towards an eventual victory. That’s not nothing, and it is something to be acknowledged and applauded.

But on the flip side, this was a game UCLA should have won comfortably had it played to the level it had shown the previous two weeks, and the drop in quality of play did not feel surprising in the slightest. Maybe some of that was overconfidence, but it could also be water finding its level after a brief high. UCLA struggled throughout the game on offense and made a bevy of cautious decisions that stood in stark contrast to the aggressiveness on display over the last two weeks. Had the defense not continued its dominant run, this likely would have resulted in a loss.

In any case, let’s get to the grades.

Offense

Quarterback: C+

During the game, I was convinced that Nico was having the worst game of his UCLA career, looking tentative in the pocket and missing on way too many throws. On rewatch, I’m leaning towards Nico’s poor play being a result of a weird offensive game plan and an offensive line that struggled to block all night. Which is not to say Nico did not struggle to make his throws - he absolutely did - but he was not given much help from the line when he was asked to pass, and the playcalling was suspect for much of the night. The pick-six was a failure of playcalling rather than anything Nico did; Maryland had already started sitting on the flat routes by the 2nd quarter, so throwing one in that spot was always going to be a recipe for disaster because Maryland was able to take a calculated risk knowing they could still stop the play before it even got to the 20-yard line.

You have to give it to Nico for the toughness and resilience he displayed on that last drive. A lesser quarterback (or a quarterback already eyeing his next payday at a different school) would have stayed out of the game, but Nico gutted through what I assume was a considerable stinger and hit some of his best throws of the night. Nico gave his best performance of the night right when he needed it, and UCLA got the win as a result.

Running Backs: A-

On the one hand, UCLA ran for 193 yards, and only 25 of those came from Iamaleava, meaning the running backs were pretty productive. On the flip side, 90 of those yards came on two different runs from Anthony Frias, one a 55-yarder for a touchdown (featuring a magnificent open-field block by one of the officials) and the other a 35-yard scamper that put UCLA in chip-shot field goal range at the end of the game. UCLA only gained 3.12 yards per carry outside of that, which isn’t ideal, but with Jaivian Thomas and Anthony Woods Jr. limited due to injuries, you’ll take it.

Frias had the big runs, but it was Jalen Berger who really carried the load here, and he continues to look improved as the season progresses. He’s hitting holes harder and running with more impact. When you can combine him with the faster, shiftier runners like Thomas and Woods, it creates an exciting tandem.

Receivers: B

Nico’s lack of consistency definitely hurt this group as far as their production, but for the most part they caught the passes they were able to. Titus Mokiao-Atimalala did a good job getting open a number of times on the final drive, while Kwazi Gilmer had some solid catches (when he wasn’t getting targeted, which good lord he is averaging like one targeting hit a game during this winning streak). I’m not going to hold the phantom block in the back that was called on Gilmer against him; that’s one of the wildest calls I’ve seen from an official, but it was equally funny when she called a pass interference against Maryland on the touchdown drive to make up for it.

Offensive Line: D+

Courtland Ford is a terrorist, and the fact that he continues to play is a huge demerit on this program from both a development and acquisition standpoint. I don’t know who looked at the entirety of Ford’s career and said, “Yes, this is the man we should trust to protect our million-dollar quarterback’s blindside”, but at some point, I’d like to see literally any other combination of linemen as long as it keeps him off the field. Ford had two holding penalties, but he should have tried for more, considering how often he was getting beaten; the fumble by Nico was a direct result of him getting beaten on a pass rush.

Outside of Ford, the line was unspectacular. Sam Yoon and Garrett DiGiorgio both picked up false starts, and non-Ford pass protection was iffy for the most part. Run blocking was a bit better. In general, this line needs to take a significant step forward if UCLA wants to compete with Indiana.

Overall: C+

UCLA only had 218 yards through three quarters of this game before exploding for 196 yards and 13 points in the 4th. The offensive line really made it hard to find any sort of consistency, and that led to an erratic quarterback and a lot of stalled drives. Not ideal when facing a good defense.

Defense

Run Defense: A

Pass Defense: A-

Overall: A

UCLA held Maryland to 337 total yards and 10 points on offense. That’s pretty dominant, no matter how you slice it.

I was really impressed with the run defense in this one. On conventional run plays, the Bruins did a great job of bottling things up immediately. The biggest non-QB scramble the team gave up came on a 4th and one, where the defense guessed on an inside handoff and left the outside completely open. Everything else big came via QB scrambles, which speaks more to UCLA’s lackluster pass rush than anything else (which, if UCLA isn’t generating pressure in this game, does not bode well for future games as more teams get time to scout the defensive changes).

UCLA’s pass defense, outside the anemic pass rush, was outstanding. The secondary has turned into a clear strength of the team. Roderick Pleasant was great as usual, but guys like Key Lawrence and Scooter Jackson have really turned things around on the season, and guys like Cole Martin and Andre Jordan are starting to emerge as key contributors as well. As a team, UCLA had 13 pass breakups, which is an absurd number, and the only reason it was that high was because the team failed to come down with a few interceptions. If the secondary can get better turnover luck, that would help out tremendously.

Special Teams

Overall: A-

I can’t blame Mateen Bhaghani for missing from 56 yards out, and he hit the closer ones, so it’s fine. Will Karoll had a really good game punting, averaging 48.1 yards on his seven punts and either pinning Maryland deep or pushing them back on every one of them. Titus Molkiao-Atimalala got a chance to return some kicks and looked good doing so, so hopefully we see more of him in that role going forward.

Coaching

Offensive Gameplan: C

Look, it was bound to happen eventually.

Give credit to Maryland for doing some great scouting in this one, recognizing that they had an advantage on the lines and pressing their corners to take away the quick game, but UCLA did not have much of a Plan B in this one. I thought UCLA was trying to establish the pass to a detrimental degree and should have run the ball more, especially early on. I also wanted to see way more screens to take advantage of the aggressive front seven from Maryland. The pick-six thrown by Iamaleava was also a failure of playcalling; given the situation and game-state at that moment, Maryland was always going to play up on UCLA’s receivers because it was an easy gamble to take.

You could make a reasonable case that the offensive playcalling issues stemmed from bad line play, which has some merit, but the first few games of Neuheisel’s tenure as offensive coordinator featured better accounting for that fact. I’m wondering if we got a touch of hubris in this game, where the offensive staff saw the Michigan State film and thought they’d turned the corner instead of doing the self-scouting to recognize that the Spartans are a bad football team and that Maryland’s defense would provide a stiffer challenge. Hopefully the lesson got learned, and in a hurry.

Defensive Gameplan: A-

Hey, remember what I said up there for the defense? Yeah, it still applies here.

The one blemish against this grade is that I think Kevin Coyle was maybe too aggressive at times. Every big play Maryland got outside of the final drive (where Maryland finally made smart plays for the first time all game) came when the Bruins sent extra pressure, leaving an open spot to exploit on the field. When UCLA sat back and played coverage, Maryland’s true freshman quarterback Malik Washington struggled to diagnose it and make throws into tight windows. I know it goes against what I’ve been saying the past few weeks, but a more conservative approach might have led to even more success.

Overall: B

Tim Skipper had made every right call in the previous two games, so you can forgive him for the questionable choices he made in this game. In particular, I felt Skipper was way too conservative in his choices in this game. In the first half, UCLA lined up for a potential 54-yard field goal on a 4th and four from the Maryland 36 yard-line. The Bruins took a delay of game and sent the punt team out, but that should have been a go situation (and had been in previous weeks). The same thing could be said about the missed 56-yard field goal on a 4th and two from the Maryland 38. And the clock management at the end of the game left a lot to be desired. Throw out that UCLA should have spiked the ball to stop the clock, run a kneel-down to center the ball before calling the final timeout; UCLA should have called a timeout with two seconds and not four to guarantee that the kick would be the final play of the game. It didn’t come back to bite the Bruins, but these are the fine margins that made this game closer than it should have been.

But like I said in the intro, UCLA won this game in large part because Skipper changed the culture. That does count for a lot, so I can’t in good conscious lower the grade too much.

Trend

Trending: Down, but only on a technicality

You could make the case that UCLA is still trending in an upward direction, and I would not argue with you. But for me, UCLA would have had to win this game comfortably for me to feel that was still the case. It’s not that UCLA was bad in this game - again, the defense was transcendent for most of this - but after how well the team played in the previous two weeks, this was a step back.

Final Composite

Offense grade: C+ (3.7)

Defense grade: A (4.0)

Special Teams grade: A- (3.3)

Coaching grade: B (3.0)

Trending: Down

Final grade for Maryland Terrapins: A- (3.46)

And here is how the grades have looked this season:

Utah Utes: D- (0.6)

UNLV Rebels: D- (0.6)

New Mexico Lobos: F (0.0)

Northwestern Wildcats: F (0.0)

Penn State Nittany Lions: A- (3.54)

Michigan State Spartans: A (3.84)

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UCLA’s winning streak has been one of the feel-good stories of the year, but now the Bruins will face one of the best stories of the past few years in Indiana. The Hoosiers have been one of the worst P4 programs in history, but they are a testament to what can happen when you nail your coaching hire and get everyone on board. Indiana just handed out one of the richest contracts in the country to Curt Cignetti as a deterrent to other, bigger programs like Penn State, and you can’t say that move wasn’t warranted.

The thing to know about Cignetti and his Hoosiers is that they are absolutely not looking past UCLA. Cignetti is a football sicko who prides himself on his relentless preparation, so the Bruins will need to show the same level of intensity and focus just to try and match. I am personally not confident in that, but even if the Bruins get blown out by the current #2 team in the country, that does not mean they’re dead in the water. If UCLA can show some fight, that would be reason enough to believe that bowl eligibility is not out of the question yet.

Go Bruins!

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