I don't think it's that they were one-sided, more that LSU was more familiar with them and knew what they could and could not get away with during the game. In general, I find the SEC refs to be better than their Pac-12 counterparts, so there's more of a chance UCLA would have been able to get away with more in that scenario, but realistically the refs did not affect the outcome of this game.
(Also I know everyone points to the screen by the midfield ref on that one touchdown, but that is more credit to Boutte for the veteran move of running the route to the ref and using him as part of the field).
Great work, D. When was the last time the Bruins were a solid A after 2 games? (that's more rhetorical, don't go look it up). Gotta give a lot of credit to the coaching staff for that. I trust the players to execute well enough when the design is successful, and that's the biggest upset of the season to me so far. I do think LSU wasn't as good as the world expected and were inflated by the whole BS ess ayy say narrative, but that's a program just 2 years removed from a championship and full of top tier athletes, so beating them in a dominant fashion like that bodes well for this Bruins team.
Now, coming back after that win and a bye and then losing to Fresno would be the most U.C.L.A. thing ever, so I'm counting zero eggs so far.
This was a really fun game to watch. Strength and conditioning really looks good this year. That may be in part due to so many players being Seniors. By the fourth quarter it really showed as the Bruins were pushing LSU around.
Being a long suffering Bruin fan, I’m hoping that we’re building for longer success, not just riding on experience. I think the announcers mentioned that all of the defensive starters are Seniors. My big concern for next year is we regress, but that’s a problem for another day.
It’s too early to say whether UCLA has turned the corner or just faced a bad Hawaii team and a struggling LSU squad. I think we’re a few weeks from knowing. I worry that opposing Offences work out to throw short passes underneath, and opposing defences stack the box and focus on stopping the run, forcing DTR to pass for the Bruins to win, especially if we fall a couple of TDs behind at some point. (I think the Dulcich TD was huge in this regard, as we never trailed for long and the emotional shift was massive)
Fresno State looks to be a proper test, so we’ll need to be dialled in this weekend, and my sense of Stanford has changed massively after USC. No easy wins, but at this point I’d also say there’s no game that UCLA couldn’t win if they play as well as last time.
I think this Ian as optimistic as I’ve been since early in 2015 before injuries killed that season.
Great analysis, Jeffro, and I totally agree with you. We still have some real vulnerabilities that you noted and opponents will start game planning for those. How we respond will determine if this was just one great win or the emergence of a great team.
I don't think it's that they were one-sided, more that LSU was more familiar with them and knew what they could and could not get away with during the game. In general, I find the SEC refs to be better than their Pac-12 counterparts, so there's more of a chance UCLA would have been able to get away with more in that scenario, but realistically the refs did not affect the outcome of this game.
(Also I know everyone points to the screen by the midfield ref on that one touchdown, but that is more credit to Boutte for the veteran move of running the route to the ref and using him as part of the field).
SEC refs (biased or not) are still better than the SPTRs
O line baby!
Great work, D. When was the last time the Bruins were a solid A after 2 games? (that's more rhetorical, don't go look it up). Gotta give a lot of credit to the coaching staff for that. I trust the players to execute well enough when the design is successful, and that's the biggest upset of the season to me so far. I do think LSU wasn't as good as the world expected and were inflated by the whole BS ess ayy say narrative, but that's a program just 2 years removed from a championship and full of top tier athletes, so beating them in a dominant fashion like that bodes well for this Bruins team.
Now, coming back after that win and a bye and then losing to Fresno would be the most U.C.L.A. thing ever, so I'm counting zero eggs so far.
No easy games... Fresno is essentially ranked #26.
This was a really fun game to watch. Strength and conditioning really looks good this year. That may be in part due to so many players being Seniors. By the fourth quarter it really showed as the Bruins were pushing LSU around.
Being a long suffering Bruin fan, I’m hoping that we’re building for longer success, not just riding on experience. I think the announcers mentioned that all of the defensive starters are Seniors. My big concern for next year is we regress, but that’s a problem for another day.
It’s too early to say whether UCLA has turned the corner or just faced a bad Hawaii team and a struggling LSU squad. I think we’re a few weeks from knowing. I worry that opposing Offences work out to throw short passes underneath, and opposing defences stack the box and focus on stopping the run, forcing DTR to pass for the Bruins to win, especially if we fall a couple of TDs behind at some point. (I think the Dulcich TD was huge in this regard, as we never trailed for long and the emotional shift was massive)
Fresno State looks to be a proper test, so we’ll need to be dialled in this weekend, and my sense of Stanford has changed massively after USC. No easy wins, but at this point I’d also say there’s no game that UCLA couldn’t win if they play as well as last time.
I think this Ian as optimistic as I’ve been since early in 2015 before injuries killed that season.
Great analysis, Jeffro, and I totally agree with you. We still have some real vulnerabilities that you noted and opponents will start game planning for those. How we respond will determine if this was just one great win or the emergence of a great team.