In hindsight, we should have expected this outcome.
Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty to like in UCLA’s 28-10 victory over San Diego State, but I think we built this game up way too much to be satisfied with the outcome. Following the cathartic beatdown of UC Berkeley to open the season, the UCLA Bruins had all sorts of momentum, with the focus turning to Bob Chesney’s first game at the Rose Bowl in front of the Bruin faithful. It was going to be a celebration of a program finally back on the right track. Throw in some intrigue from San Diego State’s head coach Sean Lewis, who took some shots at UCLA and the coaching staff during the week, and you had the makings of what could be a fiery contest.
And then the day came, and everyone came out flat.
Again, this shouldn’t have been surprising. There was always going to be some sort of come-down from the high of the first game. San Diego State is a solid team that should be competitive in the new Pac-12 (I would even rate them higher than UC Berkeley at this point), with plenty of continuity in their team and coaching staff. This had always shaped up as a good measuring stick for the program, and it ultimately passed with room to spare. That’s not a bad thing.
But there were flaws in this game, starting with…
Offense
Quarterback: C-
I am being a little generous here only because UCLA’s top three receiving options were out for most of this game, but boy howdy did Nico Iamaleava look bad.
UCLA’s offensive struggles in this game can almost solely be laid at the feet of Iamaleava, who struggled with finding receivers and making the right play throughout the first half. UCLA’s coaching staff clearly thought that attacking San Diego State through the air was the correct course of action (which, given Portland State was able to throw for 280 yards the week prior, was probably the correct call) and thus went to a healthy amount of pass plays early in this game. Iamaleava had 14 passing attempts in the first half, and while he hit on 8 of those, it is hard to say that was effective; take away a 45-yard scamper by Brian Rowe, and Nico threw for only 43 yards in the half.
Nico was better in the second half - he went 5-of-8 for 63 yards in the half - but what helped him out more was a recommitment to the run game. You could actually see this from the first to the second quarter, when UCLA went from five rushing attempts to 14, but the second half featured more designed runs for both the running backs and Nico, and that seemed to settle the junior quarterback down some.
The problem, as you can plainly see, is that this offense currently has a governor on it in the form of their quarterback. If Iamaleava can’t be more efficient in the passing game, taking what the defense gives him and making more connections in the intermediate area of the field, then opposing defenses are going to start teeing off on the UCLA rushing attack. Right now the Bruins have been able to take advantage of their rotations to keep everyone fresh and blitz opponents in the 4th quarter, but there will be a few matchups in the future where they won’t be able to pull off that trick.
Receivers: B-
Really just mentioning them first to shout out Semaj Morgan for stepping up with Rowe, Mikey Matthews, and Landon Ellis all out at various points of this game. Second, where on earth has Leland Smith gone to? The San Jose State transfer was a highly coveted add this offseason, but now he can’t even see the field with the Bruin receiving core decimated. Not ideal.
Running Backs: A-
Offensive Line: B+
Overall: B
The running game and offensive line have been carrying things for the offense through two games, and surprisingly, the heavy rotations have played a factor. UCLA has been rotating all three of their running backs and saw 10 linemen get playing time in this game, which allowed the starters to be fresher late into the game. 42 of UCLA’s 73 points have been scored in the 4th quarter, which is nice, but you’d also like to see this group figure things out quicker.
Defense
Run Defense: A-
Pass Defense: Incomplete
Overall: A-
I don’t actually have much to say here, simply because San Diego State did not have much of a plan on offense. Or rather, they knew they did not have a quarterback who could reasonably threaten UCLA’s defense enough to get them not to focus on stopping the run, at which point the game became a math problem. The Aztecs only ran for 3.8 YPC, which is solid if unspectacular, but they only threw for 45 yards total, which is never going to get it done unless you’re one of the service academies running their triple option offense. Jayden Denegal was just not a serious threat, and the Aztec passing attack seemed to largely consist of go routes thrown down the sideline with the hope that the wide receiver would be able to make a play or UCLA would commit a pass interference. Which is why the passing defense gets an incomplete grade here, because I think a better quarterback could have done some damage against this secondary.
Special Teams
Overall: A
Everyone did their job, of what little there was. Shout-out to Morgan for filling in at punt returner as well when Matthews got hurt, taking his one punt back 25 yards and setting the Bruins up for their first score of the night.
The one blemish was Mateen Bhaghani sending two kicks out of bounds, but one of them seemed to be a tactical choice after the referees went full Pac-12 Ref and ordered a rekick after allowing the prior kickoff to start and stop repeatedly, tiring out the coverage team. Still, given that Bhaghani first touched the ball on the kickoff to start the second half, you can maybe forgive him for the error.
Coaching
Offensive Gameplan: C+
I understand the idea behind the offensive game plan to start this game, with San Diego State’s secondary looking like the more vulnerable position to attack, but I’m still baffled that UCLA stuck to that plan for as long as they did. I’m not sure if this is a failure to self-scout regarding Iamaleava, or if he’s doing things in practices that make the staff think it can translate to games, but there should have been a faster pivot to establishing the run than we got here. In general, I am of the opinion that UCLA should establish the run game early and often, then use that to build the passing game off of play action and rollouts for Iamaleava.
The second half was better, and you have to appreciate all the different ways Kennedy can scheme up a rushing attack, especially mixing in quarterback runs to mess with the defense and throw things out of alignment.
Defensive Gameplan: A (with a caveat)
UCLA’s defense was excellent in this one, limiting the Aztecs to only 189 yards in total, which made this an easy A to give. But, much like with the pass defense, I’m going to state that I don’t know how much we can take from this game given how poorly San Diego State’s quarterback played. If Jayden Denegal could throw a good pass downfield, things might have gone differently, or at the very least Colin Hitschler might have had to go into his bag more.
Overall: A-
Sure, you’d have liked more fireworks for Bob Chesney’s first home game at the Rose Bowl, but I think UCLA fans in general will appreciate having a team that looks well-coached and can put teams away late. I’m sure many people (myself included) had some PTSD after that San Diego State field goal drive to cut things to 7-3, recognizing that the Bruins had let the Aztecs hang around, but that was the exact moment UCLA turned things on and put the game out of reach.
The nice thing so far is that there isn’t a trend to latch on to for this team. UCLA did much better in the third quarter compared to the game against UC Berkeley; conversely, UCLA’s offense struggled in the first half compared to the week prior. The only real trend so far is how strong the team comes out in the 4th quarter, and while that’s a really nice trend to have, I think I’d like to see the Bruins put together a more complete game earlier.
Trend
Trending: Up
I don’t even know if a loss here would have stopped this from trending up, but securing a win (and getting the cover!) in the first home game can only help this team’s momentum. If UCLA can grab another win this week against an improving but still poor Purdue team and then find a way to handle September Maryland, then we’d really be cooking with gasoline.
Final Composite
Offense grade: B (3.0)
Defense grade: A- (3.7)
Special Teams grade: A (4.0)
Coaching grade: A- (3.7)
Trending: Up
Final grade for San Diego State Aztecs: A- (3.54)
For reference, here are the grades from past games this year:
UC Berkeley Golden Bears: B+ (3.42)
We’re on to the first Big Ten game of the Bob Chesney era as the Bruins host Purdue. The late start should ultimately help attendance, and this will be the first game with students back on campus (and, as announced today, getting free admission to all sporting events going forward!) so expect a pretty good crowd for this one.
We’ll see if the Bruins can continue building on this momentum.
Go Bruins!
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