UCLA defense looks to regain reputation against elite Oregon QB

Come Saturday afternoon, every eye in the Rose Bowl will – as usual – be focused on a dynamic, mobile quarterback. It just won’t be the one most attendees are used to.

Two of college football’s premier signal callers – UCLA’s Brett Hundley and Oregon’s Marcus Mariota – will share the field this weekend when the No. 18 Bruins square off against the No. 12 Ducks in a matchup of two teams caught in the deluge of upsets last Saturday.

However, the field and fanfare aren’t the only things the two redshirt junior signal callers have in common.

“We have similar traits,” Hundley said. “He’s a fast quarterback. He’s very efficient in his offense, and he can throw the ball around and run when he needs to.”

Much of UCLA’s effort in avoiding a second consecutive home loss will concern limiting Mariota. But before turning its attention completely to the Oregon offensive captain, UCLA’s defense is still trying to figure out what went wrong against a much less-heralded quarterback last Saturday.

The verdict, days removed from Bruin’s 30-28 upset to Kendal Thompson and Utah, is a variety of errors that coach Jim Mora said were “self-imposed.” UCLA’s defense struggled to maintain gap integrity and couldn’t contain Thompson or Utah running back Devontae Booker as the Utes racked up 242 yards on the ground.

If UCLA fails to correct its errors from a week ago, that number could be far worse come Saturday against a potent Oregon offense that runs a similar zone-read scheme, led by Mariota.

“The key to (containing Mariota) is just playing our game. We can’t try to figure out what he’s about to do,” said sophomore linebacker Myles Jack. “We really just have to do what we’re supposed to do: stay in the gaps we’re supposed to, cover the guys we’re supposed to and play team defense.”

Containing Mariota would be quite the feat. As arguably the nation’s top dual-threat quarterback, the Honolulu native has completed over 70 percent of his passes en route to throwing for 1,411 yards and 15 touchdowns and no interceptions this season. He enters Saturday with more than 1,500 career rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns.

Those are the type of numbers that earn a trip to the Heisman Trophy Presentation in December, the NFL Draft in May and legions of fans in October. Count Mora among them.

“This kid, he is so special – I have so much admiration for him. I love the way he plays the game, love his mindset on the field, his toughness and his character,” Mora said. “He’s just so dynamic. He can make the throws (and) keep his eyes down the field; he can run with the ball. There’s a reason he’s recognized as maybe the greatest college football player of this year.”

To take down what might be the game’s greatest player, the Bruins will almost certainly need to play their greatest game thus far. After doing far from that a week ago, Jack said that he and the rest of the UCLA defense welcome the opportunity to flip the script.

“We were hurt after the (Utah) game. The offense went down and put up points and we didn’t answer,” Jack said. “We’re excited to go out and change that role, and Oregon is the perfect challenge for us to do that.”

Two new recruits commit to UCLA

The nature of college football demands coaches to think about both the present and the future, helping their team win now while also recruiting players for the coming years. So while UCLA is in the midst of preparing for its toughest opponent yet in Oregon while getting over a heartbreaking defeat to Utah, it doesn’t stop the Bruins from building for the future.

Over the past few days, UCLA secured commitments from a pair of 2016 recruits – five-star athlete Breland Brandt and receiver Michael Pittman, who hasn’t yet been given a star rating by the major recruiting websites.

Brandt, a 6-foot-4-inch, 215-pounder out of Windward School in Los Angeles, could play a variety of positions at the college level, including tight end, defensive end or outside linebacker, but his best fit with the Bruins will likely be as a pass rusher at outside linebacker.

Joining Brandt in picking UCLA is Pittman, a 6-foot-4-inch, 205-pound receiver out of Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village. Pittman’s build is similar to that of an Oaks Christian alumnus currently playing for the Bruins: junior receiver Jordan Payton. Given the success of Payton and other big receivers for UCLA, such as redshirt freshman Eldridge Massington and sophomore Thomas Duarte, Pittman could be a contributor for the Bruins as soon as he arrives.

But with about a year and a half until the 2016 National Signing Day, the challenge for UCLA is to keep Brandt and Pittman committed.

Contributing reports from Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff.