Five Things: UCLA vs Oregon

No. 12 UCLA football (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) granted No. 8 Oregon (6-1, 4-0) first place in the Pac-12 in Eugene on Saturday with its loss to the Ducks. Sports editor Sam Settleman gives his five main takeaways from the Bruins’ first defeat of the season.

Chips (not) on the table

Early in the second quarter, Oregon took a chance.

After a touchdown drive that put them up seven, the Ducks went with a surprise onside kick – stealing a critical possession from the Bruins and taking command of the contest.

Kicker Andrew Boyle tapped a slow roller down the middle of the field before pouncing on it himself, with no UCLA player laying a claim to the loose football. Seven plays later, Oregon had found paydirt again, widening its lead to 24-10 as control over the once back-and-forth battle had been seized by the Ducks.

For the first time all year, the Bruins found themselves on their heels. But coach Chip Kelly – who as an Oregon coach once had a nickname for his aggressive play-calling – didn’t respond with his own gutsy calls. In fact, he let the Ducks do the punching time and again Saturday.

On UCLA’s drive following the onside kick, the Bruins needed a touchdown to bring their deficit back to one possession and halt Oregon’s surging momentum. But when UCLA faced a 4th-and-5 at the Oregon 26-yard line, Kelly surrendered, taking the points instead of taking a chance.

Perhaps to no one’s surprise, Oregon marched right back down the field and into the end zone in the final seconds of the half, securing a 31-13 halftime advantage that all but put the game away. Trading field goals for touchdowns doesn’t win games.

Even when the Bruins crawled back in the third quarter, the Ducks didn’t change their philosophy. Fourth-and-1 from their own 27-yard line? No hesitation. Fourth-and-1 again three plays later? Easy conversion.

All day Saturday, Oregon was the aggressor. Sometimes the gutsy play-calling gets you in trouble, but Kelly needs to return to his old ways if UCLA wants to win big games.

Rushing defense regression

For much of this year, it has been UCLA opening up gaping lanes on the offensive front.

But that’s exactly what the Ducks did to the Bruins.

In a matchup between the top rushing offense in the Pac-12 and one of the best rushing defenses in the country, something had to give. And that something proved to be UCLA’s rushing defense.

The Bruins had given up 99 yards per game on the ground through six games this season, the second-best mark in the conference and one of the top marks in the nation. The Ducks almost matched that total in the second quarter alone.

Oregon routinely opened up huge rushing lanes for running backs Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington, who sliced through UCLA’s defense with relative ease. By halftime, Oregon had already logged 145 yards on the ground and nearly seven yards per carry, proving unstoppable even when its opponents knew what was coming.

Even in a must-stop situation for the Bruins in the third quarter on a 3rd-and-8, the Ducks went to the ground and converted.

Make no mistake, this Oregon offensive line is one of the strongest groups in the country. But Saturday exposed an area of weakness for UCLA that has flown under the radar through six games.

The Bruins entered the year with new faces across the defensive line, leaving a question mark surrounding what had blossomed into one of UCLA’s strongest assets – its rushing defense. Statistically, that group had answered those questions.

But a strong rushing performance from Utah two weeks ago followed by a 262-yard showing on the ground from Oregon have proven that the Bruins have work to do to get back to their rushing defenses of the past.

And it wasn’t just on the ground Saturday. UCLA’s pass rush didn’t force Oregon quarterback Bo Nix into one bad decision Saturday, giving him time to find his target in the pocket or take off with green grass ahead.

If UCLA’s defense continues to get manhandled at the point of attack, it won’t even give its offense a chance to win football games.

Talent discrepancy

It’s fair to say that the Bruins outperformed expectations through six games.

It’s not for lack of experience or lack of coaching, but many thought UCLA simply didn’t have the talent to compete at the highest level of its conference, let alone the country.

The base of this program this season has been built on a handful of returning veterans and a strong contingent of transfers plucked from across the nation. At some point, however, the Bruins will have to reevaluate their approach to recruiting.

If Saturday showed anything about the state of these programs, it was a stark discrepancy in talent. Experience and depth can win football games, but in college football, ultimately talent puts teams on top.

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Since 2019, Oregon has had one of the 13 best recruiting classes in the nation every single season. UCLA hasn’t even cracked the top 30 in that span, dropping to as low as 61st in 2022.

Recruiting rankings may just be arbitrary numbers to an extent, but the difference in talent showed Saturday.

Oregon wide receiver Troy Franklin – the No. 3 wide receiver recruit in the country in 2021 – burned UCLA for eight catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns. He beat UCLA’s best defensive backs over the top, high-pointed contested catches and routinely got himself open.

On the other side of the ball, UCLA’s receiving room led by redshirt senior Jake Bobo and redshirt junior Kazmeir Allen – a pair of three-star recruits – couldn’t get separation against the Oregon defense.

Lack of talent hasn’t stopped the Bruins from finding ways to win games in 2022, but Oregon showed exactly why UCLA’s ambivalent attitude towards recruiting might start costing the program.

Autzen advantage

No conversation this season has been more overplayed than UCLA’s attendance at the Rose Bowl.

But perhaps the most pertinent time to have that conversation is a week in which the Bruins didn’t even play in Pasadena.

Autzen Stadium is arguably the toughest road environment in the Pac-12, so maybe it’s not fair to pit it against the Rose Bowl – but Saturday’s road trip to Eugene showed everything UCLA is missing out on.

Despite rain, wind and cool temperatures, Ducks fans showed up in droves. A sold-out crowd of nearly 60,000 packed Autzen Stadium to the brim as deafening roars engulfed the venue.

There’s a reason Oregon has won 23 straight games at home. Home-field advantage can make a difference – especially at the college level.

Ducks fans provided nonstop noise for 60 minutes of football, cheering louder at every Bruin blunder and every Oregon score. Whether it impacted UCLA’s communication or compounded its frustration, the crowd made its presence felt.

The tiny section of UCLA fans in the top corner of Autzen Stadium could do nothing but watch, drowned out by the buzzing Oregon fans.

Redshirt senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson insisted after the game that the crowd played no factor, but make no mistake – Oregon fans deserve some credit for that win.

The closest UCLA will get to recreating that environment will be a sold-out crowd of just under 54,000 against USC on Nov. 19. Just imagine what eight games of that would look like and what it could do for the program.

Small drop after a big loss

UCLA’s first loss of the season only dropped it three spots in the AP poll, just barely falling out of the top 10.

But are the Bruins really the 12th best team in the country?

Let’s take a look at UCLA’s resume. Wins over Bowling Green, Alabama State, South Alabama and Colorado – nothing impressive. A win over a once-ranked Washington team that looks worse every week is nothing to write home about either.

The blue and gold’s win over No. 14 Utah, a team that beat No. 10 USC, stands as the lone bright spot on its list of wins this season. Now add a loss to Oregon that never looked particularly competitive, and you have the resume of a team that should certainly be ranked, but maybe isn’t worthy of a spot among the 12 best teams in the country.

UCLA will be heavily favored against its next three opponents, likely picking up wins over Stanford, Arizona State and Arizona to move to 9-1 on the year entering its showdown with USC.

Should the blue and gold go unscathed the next three weeks, the Bruins and Trojans will likely both be one-loss teams ranked in the top 10 and fighting for a spot in the Pac-12 championship game when they meet next month.

But again, is UCLA really a top-10 caliber team? It might be another month until that question is answered.