The Eye Test: A Meaningful Scrimmage Against Alabama State

A lot of Bruins got their first game experience here. That's not a bad thing.

The Murphy Twins and Laiatu Latu combined for an attempted touchdown. (Photo credit: Greg Turk/uclabruins.com)

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Welcome to the second week of “UCLA plays a glorified scrimmage and somehow expects me to make content out of it”. Just like last week, there was never much of a threat of UCLA losing this game to Alabama State, though this game was a bit different in that the Bruins actually put the game away early instead of letting the Hornets hang around for a half. All of which to say: this will again be a more abbreviated Eye Test as I continue to wait for a game of substence. Maybe that happens this week when UCLA plays one of the better Sun Belt teams in South Alabama.

One thing I will note: it was still an important game for UCLA. Yes, the Bruins are now 1-0 against the FCS, but this game allowed the coaching staff to rotate in a lot of players and give them an opportunity in live situations against a real opponent. This is not a situation UCLA has found itself in often under Chip Kelly, and should theoretically allow for a better understanding of where the roster is at and what needs to happen going forward regarding player acquisition and talent development, as you can only learn so much from practices that only feature the team you have. There’s a reason most NFL franchises hold joint practices during the preseason, after all.

Am I optimistic this will lead to any changes? Nope!

Still, you have to feel good for a lot of these players who are seeing the field for the first time. You think of someone like Sitiveni Havili-Kaufusi or Christian Grubb, players who have struggled with injuries, finally getting a chance to play and you get a warm feeling. This was the opportunity many of these athletes have dreamed of for years; it may not have been against the dream opponent, but now they’re in the history books, having taken the field wearing the Blue and Gold. That has to count for something, right?

Let’s get into the review.

Offense

Grade: B+

That said, the large amount of rotations combined with UCLA’s vanilla game plan on both sides of the ball to make it hard to grade the players. Dorian Thompson-Robinson played all of one quarter before being taken out as an injury precaution. Zach Charbonnet suited up but did not play at all. Kazmeir Allen, who saw 13 targets a week ago, only saw five here. Five players recorded at least six carries.

With the gameplan as vanilla as it was and the rotations as constant as they were, it did leave a lot to execution, and in general UCLA was able to execute on a consistent basis throughout the game. Credit to Ethan Garbers, who played an exceptional game and was willing to practice some tougher throws, which should pay off down the line.

Keegan Jones was the main running back, and he was fine, though it was a big drop from where he was last week. TJ Harden, by comparison, looked very sharp and should be in line for increased reps even when Charbonnet comes back, as he would offer a nice complement to Charbonnet with his bruising style. We also saw Colson Yankoff at running back, a nice payoff for the long journey of the former Washington transfer QB-turned-WR-turned-RB.

Receivers were fine. UCLA didn’t try to test Alabama State deep, which meant there was more focus on underneath route-running, and the guys tended to hold their own. It was good to see Logan Loya get an increased workload after sitting out the Bowling Green game, and Carsen Ryan (who the coaching staff is still pretending is a running back despite lining up exclusively as a tight end) had a nice day in extended action.

Offensive line played better. Hard to say whether that was improved play or just the result of facing a less-talented defensive front than the week prior, but Garbers typically had plenty of time to throw. South Alabama should, in general, provide a bigger challenge.

Defense

Grade: B+

Same thing as with the offense, but with the additional caveat that UCLA’s defensive scheme was extremely vanilla, lacking any of the blitz packages that the Bruins ran against Bowling Green. They weren’t necessary by any stretch, but it did mean some guys maybe didn’t pop as much as they might have otherwise.

The cool thing here is that 34 players recorded a stat this week (compared to 22 a week prior). UCLA’s second-leading tackler was Jalen Woods, a freshman who got extended time and did not look out of place on the field. DJ Justice, a redshirt freshman who converted from wide receiver this offseason, got an interception. This is the stuff that builds the program up going forward.

Special Teams

Grade: B

Things felt better this week. The biggest change was having Logan Loya take over punt returns from Jake Bobo. Loya did not play last week, so it’s hard to know if this was a permanent change rather than just a tryout, but I would not be shocked to see it stick.

Chase Berry, the punter UCLA brought in this offseason, saw some action late. Hopefully he figures things out and can take some off the plate of Nicholas Barr-Mira going forward.

Coaching

Offensive Playcalling: A-

Defensive Playcalling: A-

Overall: A

Credit where credit is due: the UCLA coaching staff clearly recognized they would not need to expand beyond a vanilla gameplan to win this game handily, and proceeded to do just that. The Bruins did not really test Alabama State over the top on offense, choosing instead to focus on running clean routes and solid blocking schemes. Similarly, the Bruins rarely blitzed, instead going man-on-man and playing more zone coverage to keep everything in front. The coaches knew they had a talent advantage, and relied on that to be enough, which it clearly was.

More importantly, the staff recognized that the game was over early, and used this as an opportunity to get a lot of the backups and scout team players live reps. Those will be huge for the program going forward, as those players now have actual film of themselves against actual competition from which to study and get better from.

Vibes

Vibe Check: An immaculate day for the vibes

What a tremendous day for the vibe check category. The weather was pleasant, Alabama State’s band brought the heat, and the Bruins were in control from the word go. I also have decided on the take I am willing to defend following this game:

UCLA should play an HBCU every year.

Is this a take mostly to get a new HBCU band in the stadium every year? Sure, but this gives a lot more benefit beyond that. Consider:

• This would make UCLA’s schedule more manageable. With the impending move to the Big Ten increasing the level of competition (and travel miles in general), UCLA needs to adjust their non-conference scheduling plans. Home and homes with Power Five teams are still fine, but there should only be one of those a year. The other two games should be at home, and should be against teams that the Bruins should beat. Making one of these an HBCU each year gives a built-in win that would allow UCLA to get the backups extended playing time.

• Strength-of-schedule does not actually matter. In the new era of the 12-team College Football Playoffs, if you can win games and are a member of one of the two biggest conferences, then you’re going to have access to the playoffs even if your non-conference featured an FCS team. Besides, the loudest voices that decry strength-of-schedule tend to be those that are outside the club. UCLA just guaranteed VIP access with its move to the Big Ten, so they should act like a big deal and ignore the whining from those being held back by the bouncer.

• This would be a boon to early-season ticket sales. There was an increase of 6,000 fans from the previous week for this game. Obviously the weather was a factor, but considering how full the stands remained for halftime, it was clear people were engaged for the show they got. Word of mouth was extremely positive following the game, to the point where I imagine next year’s contest against North Carolina Central will see an increase in attendance as well. If you make this a yearly event, the athletic department should be able to sell tickets to it.

• (Just to further the point, there were a lot of school groups at this game, and with students not getting back to campus until this week, combining an HBCU with giveaways to local schools seems like a great way to fill up the Rose Bowl similar to what UCLA did for LSU last year.)

In any case, amazing vibes game.

Final Composite

Offense grade: B+ (3.3)

Defense grade: B+ (3.3)

Special Teams grade: B (3.0)

Coaching grade: A (4.0)

Vibe check: An immaculate day for the vibes

Final grade for Alabama State Hornets: B+ (3.47)

A reminder of the previous grades:

Bowling Green Falcons: B- (2.76)

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South Alabama is up next. I’m……very intrigued by this game, if I am honest. South Alabama has talent and is closer in level to a San Diego State than they are Bowling Green. On top of that, they play in the Sun Belt, which has spent the first few weeks of the season claiming pelts from various Power Five teams (Appalachin State, Marshall, Georgia Southern, and Old Dominion have all beaten a P5 team this year) and with South Alabama being considered a darkhorse contender in the conference this year, you can bet they’re chomping at the bit to add their name to that list. I think if UCLA plays up to their ability, they should be able to win, but the margin for error is much lower than it has been the previous two weeks, and the Bruins could get caught sleeping if they’re not careful.

In many ways, this is a good measuring stick for Chip Kelly’s program in Year Five, so at least I’ll have something to write about next week.

Go Bruins!

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