[Online exclusive]: Cougars change game plan to pressure Bruin secondary

Heading into Saturday’s matchup against BYU, everyone on the UCLA side knew it was going to be a physical matchup against a big team.

What most did not expect was that BYU’s inexperienced sophomore quarterback Max Hall would light up the Bruins’ secondary the way he did.

The Cougars threw the ball 53 times for 391 yards as the Bruins effectively shut down their running game by halftime, leaving the visitors to lean on their passing attack. Despite BYU’s essentially one-dimensional offense in the second half, the Bruins needed a handful of key sacks and turnovers to seal the game 27-17 as the secondary struggled to contain BYU receivers often in single coverage.

“Their receivers were pretty good,” cornerback Alterraun Verner said. “They made some plays out there. They were a tough opponent. They were physical like I thought they were going to be. Their running backs out of the backfield and the passing were tough like we expected. They came out and gave us a very good game ““ a very physical, physical game.”

For the Bruin secondary, knowing that the Bruin front seven was stuffing the Cougars’ running game to the tune of 44 yards on 25 attempts, it only added pressure to make a play – especially during the Cougars’ 17-0 run starting five seconds before halftime.

“We got that sense of urgency to make something happen,” cornerback Trey Brown said. “Somebody’s going to make a play. Whoever it is, somebody’s going to have to step up and make something happen, and we did. There were a couple times during the game where we made some key stops, key turnovers to get the offense the ball and a chance to get in the end zone.”

That sense of urgency was a first for the Bruins this season, and as the Cougars were marching toward the Bruins’ end zone late in the fourth quarter down only three points, defensive end Bruce Davis sacked Hall, forcing a fumble and getting the ball back to the offense.

“When someone had to make a play, I made a couple plays today,” Davis said. “It’s just good to know that I was helping my team.”

The overall speed of the Bruin front seven was evident late in the game as they were able to beat a physical offensive line and put pressure on Hall.

“They’re big, and they claimed we’re not as physical as Arizona, and they had all these claims about how our front eight are soft and all that,” Davis said. “I think they know that today that we’re not soft. I think if you go out there and ask their quarterback ““ I don’t even know what his name is ““ I think if you go out there and ask him how he feels today, or maybe tomorrow morning, I think he’ll tell you that he knows we’re not soft now. Their interior three were very good, but you can’t leave our guys one-on-one on the outside- we’ll cost you.”

INJURY UPDATE: On BYU’s only interception of the game, Bruin wide receiver Brandon Breazell was trying to make the tackle when Bruin tight end Logan Paulsen accidentally put a huge hit on him while attempting to tackle the same player. Breazell suffered cracked teeth and a concussion on the play … Defensive end Nikola Dragovic suffered a concussion in the first half and did not return … Defensive tackle Brigham Harwell sprained his left knee … Rodney Van did not start due to an ankle sprain and only played in limited action on special teams. Verner started in his place.