Five Things: UCLA vs. Arizona

No. 12 UCLA football (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12) was upset by Arizona (4-6, 2-5) at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night, putting a dent in the Bruins’ Pac-12 championship hopes. Sports Editor Sam Settleman gives his five main takeaways from UCLA’s second loss of the season.

One stop away

UCLA’s defense had seemingly quieted the naysayers.

Nine weeks of offensive outbursts had masked a defense still weighing the Bruins down.

Even when Oregon put up 45 on UCLA, it was fair to say the Bruins had just run into a juggernaut with a near-unbeatable home-field advantage. And when Arizona State moved the ball at will against UCLA, no consequences were faced because the Bruins had put up 50 points of their own.

But Saturday showed this defense’s true colors.

Whether UCLA’s offense deserves the primary blame for the loss or not, its defense once again showed its inability to get a stop when it matters most.

4th-and-4 late in the fourth quarter? The Wildcats put up a 17-yard touchdown to take the lead. In dire need of a quick stop to give its offense a chance? Arizona put together a nine-play drive that took nearly five minutes off the clock.

But it wasn’t just late-game malfunctions. All night, Arizona receivers separated with ease as Wildcat quarterback Jayden de Laura scrambled around wherever he wanted with zero containment from the Bruins’ defense.

3rd-and-18 in the first quarter? De Laura escaped the pocket and found a receiver in the end zone.

When UCLA needed a stop, it couldn’t buy one. Stop me if you’ve heard that one before.

Questionable in the clutch

UCLA’s offense didn’t fare any better than its defense in the clutch.

Driving 72 yards in 65 seconds with no timeouts was an improbable feat to begin with, but the Bruins’ final drive raised some serious question marks.

Three quick strikes followed by a defensive pass interference had set UCLA up at Arizona’s 29-yard line with plenty of time to play. The Bruins could have easily run a couple more quick throws across the middle to move the sticks and set themselves up in short range.

Instead, inexplicably, UCLA started taking shots at the end zone. Redshirt senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s pass on first down fell incomplete, followed by two more incompletions on deep throws that never really had a chance.

The once-promising drive had stalled, leaving UCLA with one last attempt at a Hail Mary on 4th-and-10 on the final play of the game.

And despite all the Bruins’ miscues, redshirt senior wide receiver Jake Bobo still found himself streaking across the back of the end zone with no defender in range on the final play of the game.

But in fitting fashion, Thompson-Robinson couldn’t hit Bobo. The pass sailed long, and Bobo’s diving attempt came up empty.

Improbable or not, UCLA’s last drive was puzzling to say the least.

Fundamental flaw

The Bruins’ final possession serves as a microcosm of a larger problem.

Once thought to be a multidimensional offense with Heisman Trophy candidates at both quarterback and running back, UCLA has looked awfully one-dimensional as of late.

Without senior running back Zach Charbonnet’s presence a week ago, the Bruins turned to the ground anyway, ultimately putting up 402 rushing yards to bring home a win. The week before that, UCLA cruised to victory behind 324 yards on the ground.

This offense has increasingly relied on its rushing attack. And while no rushing offense in the nation has been more efficient than UCLA’s this season, sometimes the Bruins are going to need to throw the ball.

A run-dominant offense can control a game via the clock or provide a balance to a solid passing attack, but when a team finds itself trailing late in the fourth quarter, there’s no option other than to pass the rock.

UCLA found itself in exactly that situation Saturday. The Wildcats had put the Bruins exactly where they wanted them, taking away the run game and forcing Thompson-Robinson to get it done with his arm.

But the fifth-year signal-caller looked shaky, routinely missing his receivers – who did him no favor, either. With redshirt junior wide receiver Kazmeir Allen unavailable, the rest of the Bruins’ thin receiving corps gave Thompson-Robinson virtually no options downfield.

Make no mistake, UCLA can ride its run game for much of its offensive production. But the Bruins need a proficient passing attack to have any chance at winning the Pac-12.

De Laura dominates

Arizona showed UCLA exactly what it is missing.

De Laura and his trio of receivers torched the Bruins’ secondary all night long. The Arizona pass-catchers routinely created separation, and de Laura had no problem scrambling out of the pocket and throwing bullets on the move.

No stranger to putting up big numbers through the air, de Laura lit UCLA up to the tune of 315 yards on an efficient 78.6% passing with three total touchdowns to boot. A pair of fumbles he ultimately recovered was the lone blemish on the night for de Laura, who looked untouchable at times.

Coach Chip Kelly and his players heaped praise on the Arizona quarterback after the game.

“He played his tail off, and you’ve got to tip your cap to him,” Kelly said. “He kept some of the plays alive scrambling and stayed on his feet extending plays. … When he gets scrambling, he’s able to make throws, and he made them, so I thought he played a really good football game.”

Put simply, Thompson-Robinson was outplayed Saturday.

That’s not to say de Laura is a better or more developed quarterback than the Bruin signal-caller at this juncture, but UCLA is going to need de Laura-esque performances from its leader on offense.

Mistake-free football is no longer the bar for Thompson-Robinson. He needs to be the best quarterback on the field, and that wasn’t the case Saturday.

Stayin’ alive

Moments after UCLA kicked off Saturday, a significant development had come to fruition up north.

No. 6 Oregon had fallen at home for the first time in 24 games, as No. 25 Washington sent shockwaves through the conference with an upset of its own to kick off the late slate of Pac-12 games.

With the Ducks losing, the Bruins officially controlled their own destiny in the Pac-12. Win out, and UCLA was guaranteed a Pac-12 championship berth.

But it took all of three hours for the Bruins to hand back control of the conference.

Losing at the hands of an Arizona team coming off a four-game skid – one week in advance of a historic showdown with No. 8 USC, no less – certainly dampens UCLA’s spirit heading into the final weeks of the regular season. But a Pac-12 championship berth is very much still on the table.

Two-loss UCLA now moves into fourth place in the conference standings, but with a matchup with USC on the horizon and Oregon squaring off against Utah next week, the Bruins could easily be back in the conversation by Saturday.

If UCLA wins out, Oregon beats Utah, and Washington drops a game, the blue and gold would be headed to the Pac-12 championship courtesy of head-to-head tiebreakers over USC and Utah. There are many scenarios on the table for the final two weeks of the season, but UCLA’s hopes for a conference crown are far from dashed.