Slow Start Costs UCLA Again as Bruins Lose to Northwestern, 17-14
The Bruin offense continued to struggle running the ball while the defense struggled to get off the field, too.
Like the UNLV game, it was a tale of two halves today in Evanston, Illinois.
The first half was all Northwestern as the Bruins dug themselves into hole during the first 30 minutes. UCLA got the ball to start the game and, while the Bruins moved the ball decently on the first drive, the drive stalled on UCLA’s 46 yard line and they punted it away.
The Wildcats took over on their own 11 and drove the ball 78 yards down to the UCLA 11. On 3rd and 10, Anthony Jones and AJ Fuimaono managed to sack Northwestern quarterback Preston Stone for a loss of four. Northwestern head coachh David Braun opted for the field goal, rather than going for it on fourth down, and Jack Olsen delivered with the points to put the Wildcats up, 3-0.
That drive ate up more than nine minutes of the first quarter. When your defense can’t get off the field, it can prove costly even if they only give up a field goal.
UCLA began their next drive from their own 14 yard line. Nico Iamaleava completed a pass to Rico Flores for a three-yard gain on first down before throwing consecutive incomplete passes and the Bruins punted again.
Northwestern’s second drive began on their own 31. Six plays later, Caleb Komolafe ran the ball in from the UCLA nine-yard line and the Wildcats were now up 10-0.
The Bruins’ next drive started from their own 17. Iamaleava picked up eight on first down, but Javian Thomas lost a yard on second down. Third down saw Iamaleava pickup two yards and it looked like, on fourth and 1, UCLA would be punting again, this time from their own 26.
But Tim Skipper called a fake punt with a direct snap to Thomas who rumbled for a 12-yard gain and the drive continued. The team eventually drove down to the Northwestern 34. Facing a fourth and three, rather than sending Mateen Bhaghani out for a makeable field goal, Skipper chose to go for it, but Iamaleava was sacked for a two-yard loss and the ball was turned over on downs.
Meanwhile, the next Wildcats’ drive took only five plays to move 64 yards as Preston Stone found Griffin Wilde for a 10-yard touchdown pass, giving Northwestern a 17-0 lead with 3:33 left in the half.
The Bruins used ten plays to move from their own 17 to the Wildcat 17 following a seven-yard pass from Iamaleava to Anthony Woods. Iamaleava clocked the ball with two seconds left on the clock, giving UCLA time to send out Bhaghani for a field goal to end the first half and the Bruins trailed 17-3 at the break.
On the opening drive of the second half, Northwestern moved 38 yards on ten plays, down to the Bruin 37. Rather than kicking a field goal, Braun opted to punt the ball away and the Bruins took over on their own 20 after a touchback.
UCLA’s first drive of the second half saw the Bruins finally get into the Red Zone. On 3rd and seven from the Wildcat 18, Iamaleava found Kwazi Gilmer for nine yards to give UCLA a first-and-goal from the Northwestern nine. Nico then ran for a two-yard gain, but Woods couldn’t gain anything on second down. A third down pass intended for Gilmer was broken up by Ore Adeyi to bring up fourth-and-goal. Skipper opted for a 25-yard field goal from Bhaghani, cutting the Wildcat lead to 11 and making it 17-6.
Due to a post-field goal unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Bhaghani kicked off from the UCLA 20 and the Wildcats returned it to their 31 to start the drive. They started the drive with five consecutive runs. Following a incomplete pass, Northwestern ran it nine out of the next ten plays as they pushed the ball down to the Bruin two. On fourth-and-goal, Braun opted for a field goal attempt by Olsen, but Rodrick Pleasant had other ideas. The redshirt sophomore transfer managed to block Olsen’s kick and the Bruins got the ball on their own 20.
Like the Wildcats’ first drive of the game, this drive ate up a lot of clock. Northwestern used almost 10 minutes on this drive. So, while the Bruin defense ultimately didn’t give up any points, their inability to get off the field cost the Bruins a lot of time.
Three plays after the blocked field goal, UCLA was already down to the Northwestern 29-yard line. That’s when Iamaleava found Gilmer in the end zone for a 29-yard Bruin touchdown. The Bruins lined for the two-point conversion and Iamaleava found Woods for the two points to close the gap to 17-14 with 6:19 to go.
The Bruin defense managed to hold the Wildcats’ next drive to just 24 yards before forcing a punt. Former Bruin Luke Akers’ punt resulted in a fair catch by Mikey Matthews at the UCLA seven with 3:16 left.
UCLA couldn’t move the ball on the drive, burning 1:21 off the clock in the process, before punting it back to Northwestern at their own 47.
The Bruins used their three time outs on the Wildcats’ next drive and forced a three-and-out to give UCLA the ball one more time from their own 20. While they were able to move the ball to their own 33 on two plays, they gained no yards on their next play. On second and 10, Iamaleava was sacked for a seven-yard loss with 18 seconds left. That’s when the most UCLA play of the game occurred. Prior to the next snap, Courtland Ford was called for a false start which resulted in a five-yard loss and a ten-second runoff, leaving just eight seconds left.
That set up a 3rd and 22 from their own 22. While Iamaleava completed a pass to Hudson Habermehl for 11 yards, the ball was caught near the middle of the field which left no time on the clock to run another play and another Bruin comeback attempt had fallen short.
The bottom line in this game was that, while the defense played decently and even shutout the Wildcats in the second half, their inability to get off the field ultimately resulted in the offense not having enough time to complete their comeback.
That doesn’t absolve the offense, though. The inability of the Bruin offense to put up points in the first 29:58 was just as costly.
The good news here is that, while UCLA was still called for six penalties, none of them were real drive killers with the possible exception of the false start on the final drive which caused a ten-second run-off.
But the story is that another slow start cost these Bruins another winnable game.
Another story line here is that UCLA continues to be unable to run the ball effectively. Iamaleava led the Bruins with 65 yards rushing on 14 carries while Javian Thomas had 43 yards on seven carries.
In the passing game, Iamaleava was 19 for 27 for 180 yards with a touchdown and Rico Flores was the leading receiver with four receptions for 43 yards. Gilmer made three receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown.
UCLA returns home next Saturday to face Penn State. Kickoff will be at 12:30 pm and the game will be broadcast on CBS.
Go Bruins.
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