Each week, Daily Bruin Sports takes a look at the game film for UCLA football and grades each position group on its performance.
This week, we grade UCLA’s 27-23 win against Colorado.

The UCLA defense was electric last year.
With playmakers like Takkarist McKinley, Jayon Brown and Fabian Moreau, the Bruins had one of the Pac-12’s best defensive units.

This article was updated Oct. 1 at 1:40 a.m.
The defense finally showed up.
UCLA football gave up a combined 106 points and 1,113 yards in its past two games – both losses – but only allowed 434 yards to Colorado as the Bruins (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) defeated the Buffaloes (3-2, 0-2) 27-23 Saturday night.

PASADENA, Calif.—UCLA entered halftime leading 14-10 over Colorado after a fairly even opening half Saturday night in front of an all-white-clad crowd at the Rose Bowl.

The first game of the academic quarter is a success. Strong defense from the Bruins kept the Buffaloes from scoring, but also kept the score close for the majority of the game.

To get some inside information on the Colorado football team, Daily Bruin Sports reached out to the CU Independent – CU Boulder’s student news publication – and asked a few questions about the Buffaloes before their upcoming game against UCLA this Saturday.

Vikram Sairam, football beat writer
Prediction: UCLA 45, Colorado 24
I think the Bruins will bounce back with a win against the Buffaloes this week – partially because the UCLA offense has been rolling this season, and partially because Colorado is coming off a 27-point loss to Washington this past weekend.

Two overarching themes have become clear in UCLA football’s first four games this season – untimely turnovers and a fragile defense.
After turning the ball over seven times in the past two weeks, UCLA’s offense has made it a priority to hold onto the ball and make Colorado (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) drive the length of the field to score Saturday night.