UCLA Bruins Conquer SDSU Aztecs, 35-10
Dante Moore and the defense led the Bruins past the Aztecs.
For anyone who was still in doubt after last week’s game against Coastal Carolina, it seems that UCLA has found its starting quarterback. For the rest of us, Dante Moore’s performance tonight against San Diego State solidified his status as the Bruins’ starter moving forward.
Coming off an impressive debut against the Chanticleers, Moore earned the start this week against the Aztecs. He started a little bit slow. On the Bruins’ first drive, after Carson Steele ran the ball for seven yards on first down, Moore threw an incomplete pass intended for Carsen Ryan and followed that with a quarterback keeper which gained no yards, resulting in a UCLA punt.
On the Bruins’ second drive, an incomplete pass intended for Logan Loya on third and eight ended that one with another punt.
The third UCLA drive is the one which saw Moore and the Bruins find their footing. Actually, it was really the first play of the third drive that did that, only because it was the only play of the drive as Moore found Josiah Norwood for an 81-yard touchdown pass to give the Bruins a 7-0 lead.
San Diego State responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive of their own, but that turned out to be the Aztecs’ only touchdown drive of the game. Interestingly, the Aztecs moved 69 of those 75 yards through the air as the UCLA defense only allowed seven yards on three rushing attempts. It was an uncharacteristic drive for SDSU which has relied on a run-heavy attack. On the final play of the drive, Aztec quarterback Jalen Mayden found Mekhi Shaw for a 21-yard touchdown to tie the game.
When UCLA took over again, the Bruins were aided by two defensive pass interference calls which moved the ball 30 yards closer to the end zone. Eventually, UCLA drove down to the SDSU 13-yard line where they faced a fourth and one. Moore gave the ball to Carson Steele who willed his way into the end zone for what would prove to be the game-winning touchdown and the Bruins had a 14-7 lead.
Following another SDSU punt, it was time for the TJ Harden show. Harden single-handedly moved UCLA 68 yards on three plays including a 59-yard touchdown run and the rout was on.
San Diego State’s next drive stalled on the Bruin 27 and head coach Brady Hoke sent in kicker Jack Browning for a 44-yard field goal to cut it to 21-10. The Bruin defense went on to hold the Aztecs scoreless for the final 35 minutes.
The Bruins’ final touchdown of the first half came on a 56-second drive which saw Moore slice and dice his way through the Aztec defense like a Ginsu knife. First, he found Kam Brown on consecutive plays, gaining 16 and 6 yards, respectively. After an pair of incomplete passes sandwiched a four-yard run by Moore, he found Moliki Matavo for 35 yards. Then, on first and 10 from the 24, Logan Loya ran a route which left him wide open in the end zone and, after a bit of gymnastics by Loya, the Bruins took a 28-10 lead into the locker room at the break.
After the teams exchanged punts to start the second half, SDSU’s second drive of the third quarter ended when Alex Johnson picked off a pass from Mayden and a personal foul by Grayson Murphy gave the Bruins the ball on their own 29. A one-yard loss by Harden made it second-and-25 from their own 15. After play a near-perfect first half, it made sense that Moore was due to make a freshman mistake. Sure enough, he fumbled the ball on a sack by Zyrus Fiaseu which the Aztecs recovered on the Bruin 1.
As if Bruin fans really needed some proof that the defense under D’Anton Lynn is for real, they delivered. First, they stopped Jaylon Armstead for no gain on first down. Then, they stopped Martin Blake for no gain on second down. Finally, Darius Muasau grabbed a tipped ball for an interception and a touchback halting San Diego State’s best scoring threat of the second half.
Moore proceeded to make amends for his fumble by leading UCLA on a 12-play, 80-yard drive which saw him find Carsen Ryan for a 6-yard touchdown pass.
At this point, Chip Kelly gave Moore the rest of the night off and sent in Collin Schlee to mop up. Schlee showed off his mobility with two runs for 35 yards, making him the Bruins’ third best rusher of the night behind Harden and Steele.
But at this point, not even Chip Kelly should be able to say, “We’re going to play all three quarterbacks” with straight face. Sure, you are, Chip! Just as long as the first guy you play moving forward is named Dante Moore.
Go Bruins!!!
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I love how great our offense looked, but sadly, I'm still not sold on the defense, all due to our shitty secondary. While SDSU QB ended up with about 200 passing yards, he threw a beautiful 40 yd pass in the end zone to a wide-open receiver, hit him in the hands, and watched it bounce out. Our corners, of course, were nowhere near the receiver. We keep giving up huge cushions which drives me crazy! (For the record, SDSU QB actually threw for less yards against Ohio two weeks ago; gonna ignore Idaho St. since the game plan was to run the ball).
Now #24 AP (one of 8(!) Pac teams ranked) & #25 Coaches