Football Monday: UCLA v. Stanford
Every UCLA football weekend has so much more to it than a win or a loss. That’s why each postgame Monday, the Daily Bruin will break down the Bruins’ most recent game, outlining the good, the bad and the verdict for their performance.
This week, we take a closer look at UCLA’s 31-10 loss to Stanford on Friday at the Rose Bowl.
The Good: Paul Perkins running the ball
To write that UCLA did anything well on Friday is a bit of a stretch, but if something has to fill this space, it might as well be running back Paul Perkins’ 116-yard rushing effort on 17 carries. He also added three yards receiving and accounted for more than 45 percent of the Bruins’ offense. The redshirt sophomore’s performance against the Cardinal marked the fifth time that Perkins has topped the 100-yard plateau this season and the ninth time that he has surpassed 90 yards rushing on the year. In doing so, Perkins finished the regular season as the Pac-12’s leading rusher with 1,378 yards.
The Bad: Everything else
In a game UCLA absolutely had to have, the Bruins had little to offer. After both teams’ initial series, in which the Cardinal went three-and-out while the Bruins made their only touchdown drive, Stanford dominated both sides of the ball. The Cardinal held the ball for nearly 37:49 minutes of play, out-gaining the Bruins 436-262 in yards. UCLA couldn’t stay on the field, going a combined 6-18 on third and fourth downs, and struggled to bring down Stanford ball carriers, allowing the Cardinal to put together five scoring drives that lasted seven or more plays. Meanwhile, the Bruins were shut out the entire second half – and, as a result, shut out of the Pac-12 championship game.
The Verdict: Just another year
Facing a Stanford team that came into the game with a 6-5 record, this seemed like the year UCLA would finally get past its nemesis and into the Pac-12 title game. Instead, the Bruins proved they’re still not one of the conference’s elite teams, as they finished their third straight regular season under coach Jim Mora with a 9-3 record.
The loss prevented UCLA from reaching the Pac-12 title game – one of the team’s goals for the season – as Arizona ended up atop the Pac-12 South. It also officially puts an end to any outside chance that the Bruins have at reaching the College Football Playoff.
After all the early-season hype settled, redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley’s Heisman hopes came back down to Earth. After the late-season resurgence, after the rekindling of playoff hopes, all the Bruins have to show for their regular season is the same record they’ve had for the last two seasons.
Player of the Game: Redshirt senior inside linebacker Eric Kendricks
Kendricks provided one of the only bright spots in the game for UCLA, bypassing Jerry Robinson’s UCLA career tackle record and setting a new record with 471 career tackles. Kendricks needed eight tackles to tie the record and finished the game with 11, his 10th double-digit tackle game of the season.
Despite the defense’s struggles, such as surrendering 31 points to an offense that has struggled all season, Kendricks still played well, adding 1.5 tackles for loss to his game-high 11 total tackles. Struggling to slow down the run and allowing Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan to do whatever he wanted, UCLA’s defense had one of its worst performances of the season, but Kendricks can’t be faulted for that.
Quote of the Game: Sophomore outside linebacker Myles Jack on failing to reach goals
“That was really what we set out to accomplish this season – was to win a Pac-12 championship and kind of try to change things in the Pac-12, be one of the Oregons and Stanfords. That was kind of our motto, and we figured this was the year, but I guess not.”
Compiled by Kevin Bowman and Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
