Report Card: UCLA vs. Oregon State

Quarterbacks: B-

Saturday was the first win of Mike Fafaul’s career, and that meant a lot for the Bruins.

From a performance standpoint, the redshirt senior had yet another solid, if unspectacular, outing. Offensive coordinator Kennedy Polamalu praised the passing game for its role in opening things up for the running game to have one of its few decent showings of the season.

Fafaul was 25-of-47 for 281 yards, with no touchdowns and an interception, on the night.

He didn’t go downfield much, targeting receivers on throws of more than 20 yards just six times, according to Pro Football Focus, but he looked fairly comfortable doing so, completing two of those six for 78 yards.

Running backs: B

The run game finally got on track, albeit against an Oregon State defense that is subpar at defending the rush.

The UCLA running backs carried the ball 27 times for 159 yards, a healthy average of 5.89 yards per carry.

All five of the Bruin backs saw time, with sophomore Bolu Olorunfunmi doing the most damage – eight carries for 65 yards.

Freshman runners Jalen Starks and Brandon Stephens also showcased their styles, with Starks providing two touchdowns with his bruising between-the-tackles ability and Stephens scampering for 18 yards on two carries with his second-level burst.

Sophomore Soso Jamabo started the game and took off for a 19-yard gain on his first carry, only to fumble the ball and grant the Beavers advantageous field position.

Wide receivers: C+

In the box score, the numbers look pretty solid for this group, but a frustrating five drops on the night knocks the grade down.

Redshirt junior Darren Andrews continues to serve as a reliable target, working in all different areas of the field and finding soft spots in the defense.

The Bruins even tried lining him up in the backfield a few times. He’s not a big-play receiver, but he caught four different passes over ten yards. On the whole, Andrews hauled in six of his 11 targets for 74 yards.

Redshirt sophomore Jordan Lasley is emerging as perhaps the Bruins’ top playmakers, and he produced 105 yards on five receptions, though a second-half fumble marred his performance. Lasley’s hands have improved in consistency, and he’s got great after-catch agility and speed.

Freshman Theo Howard saw the most action of his career, and ended up with five catches for 30 yards. After failing to haul in his first two targets, he caught the next five, all in the second half.

[Last week’s report card: UCLA vs. Colorado]

Offensive line: A-

This unit has had more than its fair share of issues in 2016, but it produce a great performance Saturday night.

For the first time in Pac-12 play, every offensive lineman graded positively, per Pro Football Focus’ grading metrics.

Redshirt freshman right tackle Andre James and redshirt junior center Scott Quessenberry each earned Pro Football Focus Pac-12 Team of the Week honors for the first time this season.

The right side of the line was spotless in pass protection, as neither James nor junior right guard Najee Toran, both of whom began the season as backups, gave up a sack, hit or pressure on the night.

James was much-improved in the run game, as evidenced on this Starks touchdown.

Redshirt senior left tackle Conor McDermott was also unblemished as a pass protector. He’s recovered from his early-season struggles, giving up no pressures in either of the past two games, and just two hurries in the past four games.

Defensive line: B+

Senior defensive end Takkarist McKinley continues to be borderline unstoppable for the Bruins, as he picked up another five pressures and a sack Saturday, and senior Deon Hollins added a sack as well. Hollins hasn’t gotten a whole lot of time this season, but he’s showcased a strong motor when he’s seen the field.

Other than those two, the pass rush was a little lacking, and OSU quarterback Marcus McMaryion was able to get in a rhythm at some points.

The line was quite stout against the run, though, helping to free up the linebackers to make plays on the Oregon State ballcarriers.

Linebackers: B+

We saw a lot more base-defense looks from the Bruins this week, which meant sophomore Josh Woods was on the field for extended stretches along with junior Kenny Young and senior Jayon Brown.

Woods looked solid, and UCLA seems more comfortable with him on the field than it might have been earlier in the year.

Brown was his usual ball-hawking, run-stopping self, helping to hold the Beavers to just over two yards per carry on the night.

Defensive backs: B+

Randall Goforth’s interception return touchdown sealed the game, but it was really the result of either a bad throw or a mix-up between the quarterback and receiver, rather than a standout play by Goforth.

That said, the redshirt senior made the most of it, bringing it all the way back for a score.

Goforth played well all night, but the rest of the defensive backs didn’t necessarily look their best.

Victor Bolden gave the Bruins trouble, with the Beavers’ constant threat of a jet sweep forcing UCLA to avoid assigning a single defender to him.

Fabian Moreau has not been quite as dominant recently as he was during the early portion of the season. The redshirt senior allowed five catches on nine targets, according to Pro Football Focus.