UCLA football keeps Pac-12 hopes alive with pivotal win against Arizona
Sophomore linebacker Myles Jack didn’t put up the standout rushing performance that he did last year against Arizona, but still helped the UCLA defense stifle the Wildcats in the Bruins’ 17-7 win on Saturday. (Katie Meyers/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Jordan Lee
Nov. 2, 2014 1:21 a.m.
PASADENA — It was ugly. It was a struggle. And it was exactly what the Bruins needed.
No. 22 UCLA overcame another penalty-ridden affair and rode its best defensive performance of the season, stifling a flat No. 12 Arizona squad 17-7, to keep itself right in the thick of things in a tight Pac-12 South.
For the second straight week, UCLA was plagued with penalties, committing nine in the first half for 98 yards, including a taunting call by sophomore linebacker Myles Jack that extended Arizona’s opening touchdown drive.
“The one thing that we have to do, as everyone knows, is to channel our energy and exuberance into a positive direction and play smarter so that we do not hurt ourselves,” said coach Jim Mora. “ We have to own it. It’s really the thing that’s holding us back right now.”
It certainly did in the first half. Despite outgaining Arizona (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12) in offense 224 to 103 through the initial two quarters, UCLA (7-2, 4-2) managed just a field goal, often failing to get out of its own way with critical penalties and missed opportunities.
But then the Bruins finally did.
The UCLA offense came alive in the second half – or as alive as an offense can be in a game that produced just 24 combined points – and put forth a dominant defensive effort to defeat the Wildcats.
After weeks of harping on players to maintain gap control and defenders to stick to their assignments, the Bruins finally translated X’s and O’s from the chalkboard to the game field, executing defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s defense better than they had all year.
“This is really what we’ve been looking for this entire season, that’s the performance we’ve been yearning for and practicing for,” Jack said. “That’s pretty much what we need to to do week in and week out. We finally put it together and that’s what it looks like.”
After drawing rave reviews before the season began in the fall, UCLA’s defense turned in a performance that was better late than never, holding an Arizona offense that was No. 1 in the conference in yards per game and came in averaging 40.6 points per contest.
On Saturday the Wildcats managed just 255 yards – 93 below their season average – and were held scoreless over the final 57 minutes with redshirt freshman quarterback Anu Solomon turning in one of his worst efforts of the year, throwing for 175 yards on 18-48 passing.
And while almost everything was rosy for the Bruins defense, the offense turned in a performance that was decidedly blue-collar.
The two squads traded punts on their opening possessions of the second half, before redshirt sophomore running back Paul Perkins capped a 12-play 58-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run to put the Bruins ahead 10-7 with 5:34 to go in the third quarter.
UCLA kept things up on the ensuing drive, as redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley found junior receiver Jordan Payton open down field, who beat his man with a double-move for a 70-yard touchdown to give the Bruins a 17-7 lead.
“Me and (Hundley) checked into something that we saw … and went vertical and got them,” Payton said. “We felt that I landed enough short things that it would turn into a big play. Brett made a great throw.”
The play was something albatross for a UCLA passing game that struggled to find anything downfield, as Arizona routinely dropped eight defenders into coverage.
But, as he had did against Oregon and Colorado earlier in the season, Hundley took what the defense gave him, often checking down to passes in the flat or taking off and running.
“When they drop eight you can sort of sit back in the pocket and you have to hold it longer to try and make things open up,” Hundley said. “But you always give up the quarterback run when you drop that many in coverage.”
The result: just 189 yards on 19-26 passing but a season-high 131 yards on 24 carries as a part of a 59 carry, 271-yard team rushing effort.
The bigger picture: UCLA’s Pac-12 hopes are still alive after a pivotal win over one of the top teams in the conference.
“If we had not won this one tonight, it would have taken a lot of things to happen … it would have been impossible.” Mora said. “It was a big win for us, and it keeps us alive and that is what we are after.”
