The Eye Test: UCLA Wins Their Scrimmage Against North Carolina Central

This game was over after five minutes, and you have to respect that.

J.Michael Sturdivant is an absolute stud. (Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports via uclabruins.com)

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Are you guys ready to see the quickest Eye Test of the year?

Here’s the thing to know about this week’s edition of the Eye Test: it’s going to be quick because there was not much to really analyze just due to the quality of the opponent. I’m of the opinion that UCLA should continue to schedule FCS teams each year (bonus if it is an HBCU) especially as we get into the Big Ten for multiple reasons, but the one downside is UCLA will usually have a huge talent advantage in any of these games. That’s how you end up with a situation where the Bruins have scored 35 points in a quarter and have already cycled out the starters after a few series.

You should know off the bat that the grade here will be a Pass, plain and simple. I don’t feel especially comfortable trying to do an intricate grade for any of these sections just due to the opponent and the amount of different bodies that UCLA played. For example, would it really be fair to penalize the defense because the third-string walk-ons started giving up more yards when they were in? So in light of that, I’m going to tackle this bullet-point style and discuss some highlights in different sections. Hopefully, everyone is ok with that.

Let’s get going.

Offense

Overall: Pass

• Chip Kelly continued the funniest running gag of the season after the game by stating the quarterback competition is still open, but anyone with eyes can see that Dante Moore has clearly won the job. He again got the start in this game, and continues to show off an arm talent and ability to make the correct decision that puts him head-and-shoulders above the other options, and the coaching staff was able to get him one last bit of experience working with the first team before the first major test of his career this week in Salt Lake City.

• On another level, I would guess that Ethan Garbers is going to remain the main backup quarterback, but Collin Schlee will see the field more often. Schlee may not have the best arm and can make some questionable decisions (see: his lone offensive possession in the second half, where he skipped a pass to the sideline and followed it up by throwing into traffic for an interception) but he also showed off his athleticism and running ability, and I think the coaching staff will work to get that on the field as much as they can without throwing off the rhythm of the rest of the offense.

• For the running backs, TJ Harden and Carson Steele were both impressive as expected against an outmatched opponent, so not much here, but I was impressed with Anthony Adkins in an extended role, and think he should probably leapfrog into the third running back spot over Colson Yankoff. Adkins provides a real bruising alternative to Harden and Steele, and can really put the hurt on opposing defenses late in games.

• The Bruins only caught 10 passes in total, but they also had 404 rushing yards so, you know, not a whole lot to see here. I do appreciate that Kyle Ford was targeted more often in the early going, as the coaching staff clearly wanted to build more chemistry between himself and Moore similar to the chemistry that already exists for Moore with J.Michael Sturdivant. That’s a move that should pay off down the line.

• The offensive line had some interesting faces! Specifically, redshirt senior Siale Taupaki played a lot of snaps in his first meaningful game as an offensive lineman, which was an intriguing development the last few years before injuries derailed his transition. I thought he looked good in his snaps and definitely looks like someone who could factor into the offensive line rotation, especially if Spencer Holstege continues to look merely passable as a starter. A bunch of the second string got extended playtime as well, so this was at least a good game for building that depth.

Defense

Overall: Pass

• The big scuttlebutt last week was UCLA sending out a depth chart to the media that featured John Humphries and Jaylin Davies as the starting corners with Devin Kirkwood as the second string. UCLA quickly sent out a revised depth chart that had Kirkwood back as a starter, but the proof was in the pudding on Saturday when Humphries and Davies were the first corners on the field. Kirkwood still played a good amount of snaps, but it feels as though the coaching staff has quickly identified that the pass-defense issues were personnel-based. I’ll mention that Humphries, after a disastrous first game against Coastal Carolina, has played much better next to Davies.

• The rest of the starters were good, clearly overmatching their North Carolina Central opponents in the limited snaps they got. It’s exactly what you want in this situation, and the coaching staff wisely limited the number of snaps these guys saw just to protect them from unnecessary injury.

• There really isn’t much more to say here. Much like with the offense, it was good to get a lot of the second and third string as much playing time as possible to build future depth, and some guys like true freshman Donavyn Pellot really shined when on the field, but it also felt like North Carolina Central was completely overmatched in all facets.

Special Teams

Overall: Pass

• The only real noteworthy thing in this section is that Keegan Jones got to return the opening kickoff, which feels noteworthy if only because it just made me annoyed that he’s not the primary returner instead of Colson Yankoff. This still feels like a situation where Chip Kelly is trying to zag while the rest of college football zigs, but there’s a reason you have the fast twitchy guy be your kick returner instead of the tall lumbering one.

Coaching

Overall: A Classy Pass

• I do respect the UCLA coaching staff for going aggressive right out of the gate in this game. There’s always a fine line that has to be ridden in games like this where you don’t want to embarrass your opponent but also don’t want to take it too seriously. By coming out aggressive early and building a big lead with the starters, it allowed UCLA to quickly pull them and switch to a more vanilla scheme with the backups, thus preventing the game from getting too out of hand.

• Offensively, the Bruins did not try and get too cute in this one, and I really liked how the coaching staff used the game to build depth, especially on the offensive line. Yes, there was still a talent difference between the backups and NCCU, but having actual game film to study is really helpful for long-term development.

• Same thing with the defense. Nothing fancy, but there seems to be more playable depth at linebacker and defensive line than it initially looked like at the start of the season. Cornerback play will likely continue to be an adventure, but I have to respect the coaching staff on this side for how they’ve made adjustments so far.

• Finally, penalties. UCLA only had three of them! None were by the defense, and only one was made by a starter on offense! I think that makes it two weeks now where the defensive line has managed to avoid a stupid offside penalty so, you know, progress!

Vibes

Vibe Check: The NFL-ification of the Rose Bowl Sucks

• If I had one major problem with this game, it had nothing to do with the actual football itself, but off-the-field stuff. Specifically, the in-stadium atmosphere stuff was brutal, and really highlighted a negative trend I’d been feeling about the Rose Bowl the last few years where they’ve overstuffed the in-game experience with noise. And that’s really what it is: noise. There’s no rhyme or reason to it; it feels as though the people in charge are determined to prevent any silence from existing in the stadium. Theoretically, this should all appeal to me, a millennial who requires constant stimulation in the same way that a toddler loves to have keys jangled in front of them. But the current situation in the Rose Bowl is too much. (I’ve heard from my Southern Cal friends that the Colesium is having the same issues, while the game at San Diego State was much more enjoyable, so this is clearly an LA problem and I will not be doing more research).

• The biggest crime here is that all this noise is coming at the expense of the many traditions that make college football great. The pageantry of the game is going by the wayside, replaced by a more sterile viewing experience. I miss having whole sections of the stadium doing an 8-Clap or Bruin Spellout just because they felt like it. Worse, the band barely gets to play anymore. And before someone chimes in about school not being in session and the full band not being there, yes I know that, but that’s why YOU BROUGHT IN AN HBCU BAND! The poor NCCU band eventually gave up on trying to play something during media timeouts, which was a shame because they were really good and the crowd really enjoyed them. This was just tremendously disappointing from the UCLA administration.

• I don’t want to come off too negative here. I do think UCLA has improved the game-day atmosphere in many ways, from finally allowing alcohol sales to some quality improvements to things like the Bruin Fan Zone (I particularly like moving the Bruin Bash big tent to the grassy area in front of the Rose Bowl, providing a nice backdrop for the people who pay and giving them the old Bruin Walk experience as best as possible). I do recognize they are trying to do new things as well, like bringing in live bands to play outside the North and South entrances prior to the game, even if the execution is a bit lacking (those stages are so far away from where people actually go that they are essentially in Narnia). And I do think the California Love 4th Quarter Light Show has become a solid new tradition that people enjoy. So kudos here.

• But the “Get Your Mind Right” chant may be the dumbest thing I have ever seen UCLA try to get off the ground. It’s hokey, not catchy in the slightest, and the gameday production team just throws it out there all over the place as a bit of sound filler. I can’t wait for the other Pac-12 schools to find out about this stupid thing so they can laugh at us.

Final Composite

Offense grade: Pass

Defense grade: Pass

Special Teams grade: Pass

Coaching grade: A Classy Pass

Vibe Check: The NFL-ification of the Rose Bowl Sucks

Final grade for North Carolina Central Eagles: Pass

For reference, here are the past grades from the season:

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers: B- (2.66)

San Diego State Aztecs: A- (3.6)

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Preseason over. Time for the real games to begin, and boy do these Bruins get a test right out of the gate. I think this Utah team is vulnerable, especially if Cam Rising and other key players for the Utes remain injured, but it’s a tall task to ask your true freshman quarterback to win on the road in Salt Lake City. I think this team could be capable of it, but we’ll see.

Go Bruins!

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