College BattleGround - Forum: Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/ Simple:Press Version 6.11.14 College BattleGround on Pick-Six: UCLA Football’s Running Backs Could Shine and Rosen Can Continue Record Pace https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/pick-six-ucla-footballs-running-backs-could-shine-and-rosen-can-continue-record-pace/#p1554 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/pick-six-ucla-footballs-running-backs-could-shine-and-rosen-can-continue-record-pace/#p1554 This is the first installment of Pick-Six, a weekly rundown of notes about UCLA football and its upcoming matchup.

1) Rosen Watch has officially begun. So far, the junior quarterback hasn’t disappointed, compiling 820 passing yards and nine touchdowns across two games.

If he continues this torrid stretch, he will easily surpass Brett Hundley’s record for most passing yards in a season. The now-Green Bay Packers quarterback accrued 3,740 yards in 2012 to set the record.

Rosen, should he average 410 yards per game like he has, would set the record Nov. 11 against Arizona State. Sure, he’s not likely to garner that many yards every game, but he doesn’t have to. All he has to do is average about 293 yards per game for the rest of the regular season to capture the record.

If he does so, it would truly be a special year for projected first-round draft pick.

2) While the aerial attack has always been dangerous with Rosen in the pocket, the running game has been nearly nonexistent for much of the past two seasons. But after the Bruins accumulated 132 yards on the ground last week against Hawai’i, they could rush for more than 100 yards in back-to-back games for the first time in more than a year.

Junior Bolu Olorunfunmi and sophomore Jordan Starks were the only players to receive carries in both games thanks the absences of Nate Starks and Soso Jamabo. But Nate Starks is back and Jamabo could return, though his status is still up in the air.

Memphis’ run defense acts as more of a sieve than a brick wall, allowing opponents to exploit holes frequently throughout games. The Tigers allowed 100 rushing yards or more in 11 of their 13 games last year.

They surrendered 200.1 rushing yards per game last season, ranking 85th in the nation. Thus, while Rosen will be slinging tons of passes, the Bruins could have a chance to make their running game respectable again.

3) Memphis coach Mike Norvell isn’t new to the Pac-12 scene. Prior to joining the Tigers, he was the offensive coordinator at Arizona State, shredding defenses apart, as we mentioned Wednesday.

In three of his four years in Arizona, his teams ranked in the top 20 in points per game – from 2012-2014 – with 38.4, 39.7 and 36.4, respectively. In his first year at the helm for Memphis, his team averaged 38.8 points, boasting yet another daunting offense.

Not only that, but each time he’s faced off against the Bruins, his offense compiled hundreds of yards.

Mike Norvell’s Offense vs. UCLA Defense

Year Total Yards Result
Year Total Yards Result
2012 535 UCLA 45-43
2013 448 ASU 38-33
2014 626 UCLA 63-27
2015 465 ASU 38-23

Kyle Cardoza

The Tigers averaged 304.4 total yards per game, ranking 15th in the country, so UCLA’s defense will probably need to step up on the road this weekend after a lackluster showing against Hawai’i.

4) Senior linebacker Kenny Young is undergoing a concussion protocol after being on the bad end of an egregious hit by Hawai’i tight end Metuisela ‘Unga, so he will likely be out against Memphis.

Young spoke out at Pac-12 Media Day about the danger of concussions. Sadly, he’s become a victim now.

Fellow linebacker Josh Woods will be on the sidelines for at least one half thanks to a targeting penalty last weekend. This leaves the linebacker position pretty shallow against an above-average running team.

Linebackers Brandon Burton, Krys Barnes, Leni Toailoa and Lokeni Toailoa should all earn more playing time due to the absences.

5) We discussed how good Memphis’ offense is, briefly mentioning wide receiver Anthony Miller. But just how good is he?

News flash, he’s really good.

The Memphis native broke essentially every one of the team’s single-season receiving records last year. And the previous record holder for catches and yards in a season has some pedigree – former NFL star receiver Isaac Bruce.

Miller’s line last season: 95 catches, 1,434 yards, 14 touchdowns. He also had 15 receptions in one game against Houston, which set another school record.

The Tigers’ offense focuses primarily on the ground, but Miller is obviously someone to keep an eye on for the Bruins’ defensive coordinator Tom Bradley.

6) UCLA owns a 7-7 record against teams currently in the American Athletic Conference dating back to 1937 – yes, you read that correctly. Most of the bouts were against Houston and SMU, although it matched up against Temple and Memphis once apiece as well.

The one time the Bruins took on the Tigers was in 2014, when Brett Hundley and Paxton Lynch squared off in an offensive shootout. UCLA claimed the victory 42-35 at the Rose Bowl thanks to a Thomas Duarte touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Bruins’ defense kept the Tigers off the board for the remaining 10-and-a-half minutes of the game.

Paul Perkins pitched in 98 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Hundley finished with 422 total yards, three passing touchdowns and an interception. Lynch amassed 332 total yards with both a rushing and passing touchdown.

7) Extra Point! - this will tend to be a quirky or random fact about either UCLA or their opponent.

Coach Jim Mora is pretty good in whatever turns out to be his team’s third game of the season. As a head coach, both in college and the NFL, he’s posted a 7-1 record in those games. And that one loss didn’t come since he’s been in Westwood.

So if you’re a believer in superstitions, then UCLA has a good chance of coming out on top against Memphis.

]]> Thu, 14 Sep 2017 17:30:30 -0400 College BattleGround on UCLA Football’s Jim Mora Can Save His Job by Keeping the Punter off the Field https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/ucla-footballs-jim-mora-can-save-his-job-by-keeping-the-punter-off-the-field/#p1537 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/ucla-footballs-jim-mora-can-save-his-job-by-keeping-the-punter-off-the-field/#p1537 Last year, after the Stanford game, I blasted UCLA coach Jim Mora for his conservative NFL mindset. In that article, I mentioned that there is statistical evidence that football coaches should never punt. Well, last month, I read a very interesting article on CougCenter.com, SB Nation’s Washington State sister site, about how Mike Leach embodies the “Never Kick” philosophy.

But, to me, the most interesting information in that article was the interactive chart that was included. The chart ranks every team in the FBS by what CougCenter calls their #NeverKick percentage. That’s the percentage of fourth downs where a team goes for the first down, rather than attemping a field goal or punting. In Washington State’s case, they were ranked #1 in the nation in 2014 with a #NeverKick percentage of almost 38%. The Cougs were 3rd in 2015 with a 34.5% #NeverKick percentage and 5th last season with a 33.3% percentage.

So, where does UCLA rank? Well, take a look for yourself. Just change the team to UCLA. Or compare the Bruins to the rest of the Pac-12 or teams from other conferences.

Of course, I analyzed the raw data as well.

UCLA on Fourth Down under Jim Mora

Year Team 4th Downs FG Attempts FGA % Punts Punt % 4th Down Attempts Never Kick % 4th Down Conversions Conversion %
Year Team 4th Downs FG Attempts FGA % Punts Punt % 4th Down Attempts Never Kick % 4th Down Conversions Conversion %
2012 UCLA 122 22 18.03% 78 63.93% 22 18.03% 11 50.00%
2013 UCLA 88 21 23.86% 55 62.50% 12 13.64% 5 41.67%
2014 UCLA 108 22 20.37% 70 64.81% 16 14.81% 9 56.25%
2015 UCLA 101 24 23.76% 64 63.37% 13 12.87% 8 61.54%
2016 UCLA 106 22 20.75% 73 68.87% 11 10.38% 5 45.45%
Total 525 111 21.14% 340 64.76% 74 14.10% 38 51.35%
Total without 2016 419 89 21.24% 267 63.72% 63 15.04% 33 52.38%
Total w/o Hi & Lo 297 67 22.56% 189 63.64% 41 13.80% 22 53.66%

Basically, the way this breaks down is that, four out of every six fourth downs, you can expect Jim Mora to punt the football, one out of every five fourth downs, you can expect a field goal attempt and, a little less than one of every six, you can expect him to go for it.

Last season was the worst of the Mora era and it’s somewhat understandable. When you can’t count on the offense to gain anything on the ground, you can’t possibly expect a coach to show any faith in his offense players and that was definitely the case last season as the Bruins only went for it on fourth down a little more than 10% of the time.

But, the year before, it wasn’t much better at just 12.87%.

The entire Mora era has been generally bad when it comes to aggressive football. Mora’s best “Never Kick” percentage was in his first season when it was just over 18%. That ranked 70th out of 123 FBS teams in 2012, while Mora’s worst was last season when the team was 124th of 128 FBS teams.

So, the question becomes what will Jim do this season? Will he be more less conservative this season knowing that his job may be on the line if he doesn’t win? Will he show a renewed faith in his offense to get the job done by going for it more on fourth down? Or, maybe more likely, will he show faith in his new offensive coordinator by letting Jedd Fisch make the call?

If the latter is the case, it might behoove us to know what Jedd Fisch’s tendencies are. So, let’s look at the college programs that Fisch has been associated with.

Jedd Fisch’s Teams on Fourth Down

Year Team 4th Downs FG Attempts FGA % Punts Punt % 4th Down Attempts Never Kick % 4th Down Conversions Conversion %
Year Team 4th Downs FG Attempts FGA % Punts Punt % 4th Down Attempts Never Kick % 4th Down Conversions Conversion %
2009 Minnesota 103 17 16.50% 71 68.93% 15 14.56% 5 33.33%
2011 Miami 79 14 17.72% 48 60.76% 17 21.52% 8 47.06%
2012 Miami 97 25 25.77% 55 56.70% 17 17.53% 8 47.06%
2015 Michigan 93 22 23.66% 55 59.14% 16 17.20% 6 37.50%
2016 Michigan 98 24 24.49% 54 55.10% 20 20.41% 13 65.00%
Total All Teams 470 102 21.70% 283 60.21% 85 18.09% 40 47.06%
Total w/o Hi & Lo 288 71 24.65% 164 56.94% 53 18.40% 27 50.94%

Generally speaking, Fisch’s teams have tended to go for it more than Mora’s teams. Fisch’s teams have broken the 20% mark on fourth down twice in his last five college football seasons including last year at Michigan and, over five seasons, Fisch’s teams go for it a little more than 18% of the time. That’s about equal to Mora’s high-water mark.

So, if Mora suddenly starts going for it a lot more often on fourth down, I would be inclined to chalk that up to either Fisch’s influence or Mora being desperate to save his job. After all, Rick Neuheisel saw a spike in his fourth down conversion attempts in his final year, but, at the same time, that continued his trend of going for it on fourth down more often every year. Mora has had the opposite trend.

But I’m willing to guess that, if Mora finishes this season going for it less than 15% of the time, UCLA will be looking for new head coach at the end of this season.

And, since AP writer Ralph Russo is convinced that former Oregon coach Chip Kelly will be hired by the Bruins, let’s look at Kelly’s fourth down tendencies to compare him against Mora.

Oregon on Fourth Down under Chip Kelly

Year Team 4th Downs FG Attempts FGA % Punts Punt % 4th Down Attempts Never Kick % 4th Down Conversions Conversion %
Year Team 4th Downs FG Attempts FGA % Punts Punt % 4th Down Attempts Never Kick % 4th Down Conversions Conversion %
2009 Oregon 104 20 19.23% 62 59.62% 22 21.15% 15 68.18%
2010 Oregon 94 17 18.09% 43 45.74% 34 36.17% 22 64.71%
2011 Oregon 94 13 13.83% 49 52.13% 31 32.98% 14 45.16%
2012 Oregon 96 14 14.58% 51 53.13% 31 32.29% 20 64.52%
Total 388 64 16.49% 205 52.84% 118 30.41% 71 60.17%
Total w/o Hi & Lo 190 27 14.21% 100 52.63% 62 32.63% 34 54.84%

Wow. Kelly looks the anti-Mora when it comes to fourth down. This may account for why Oregon football under Kelly was so explosive. Of course, at the same time, it might also have something to do with the fact that, with the exception of Kelly’s first year, the Ducks faced fourth down less than 100 times per season.

If that’s the key, then maybe Fisch does have the answers for UCLA since four of his five college teams have faced fewer than 100 fourth downs. Whereas, by comparison, only one of Mora’s five Bruin teams has faced fewer than 100 fourth downs in a season.

There are two other interesting stats that stick out to me here.

The first is the number of times teams are punting on fourth down and the second is the percentage of the time teams are punting on fourth down. Kelly’s Oregon teams never punted more than 62 times in a season and they never punted on more than 60% of their fourth down while Fisch’s last four college football teams haven’t punted more than 55 times in a season and they haven’t punted more than 61% of the time either.

Three of Mora’s teams have punted more than 70 times in a season. The 2015 team punted 64 times and only the 2013 team, at 55, punted less than 60 times all year. All of Mora’s Bruin teams have all punted at least 62.5% of the time on fourth down.

So, when the Bruins’ season starts next Sunday, we’ll finally get to see the new UCLA offense in action and we’ll be able to get a good idea right away as to the kind of season it’s going to be.

Some of the keys offensively should be punting fewer than 5 times, punting on fewer than 60% of fourth downs and keeping the number of fourth downs to 8 or less. If the Bruins can’t execute on any of these, it will be a long season and Kelly may want to email his resume to Dan Guerrero.

Go Bruins!!!

]]> Sun, 27 Aug 2017 17:13:36 -0400 College BattleGround on UCLA Achieves Perfect Duality against Colorado https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/ucla-achieves-perfect-duality-against-colorado/#p1382 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/ucla-achieves-perfect-duality-against-colorado/#p1382 [Image Can Not Be Found]

Grading out the finer details of UCLA's 20-10 loss to the Colorado Buffalo to see if UCLA football is meeting expectations.

Let me start with a definition.

Duality - an instance of opposition or contrast between two concepts or two aspects of something; a dualism.

Why discuss duality? Because UCLA managed to achieve a perfect level of duality in Thursday’s game against Colorado. On one hand, you had the best defensive performance of the year; a level of play that would have been competitive against the best teams in college football. And on the other, you had an offensive performance that would have made some of the worst teams in FBS blush in its awfulness.

Greatness and horribleness. Light and dark. Yin and Yang.

UCLA managed to be at its best and its worst in this game, which is absolutely frustrating to fans. It’s even more frustrating to me, because now I must try and find a perfect balance in this grade. Please don’t hold it against me when the final grade feels higher than it should have been while watching.

1.) Is our defense prepared for each and every team we play?

Raw stats: 304 yards on 85 plays, an average of 3.6 yards per play. The UCLA defense only allowed 13 points (Colorado averages 33.7 ppg), 144 yards rushing (Colorado averages 208 ypg), and 160 yards passing (Colorado averages 266.4 ypg). Oh yeah, and 4 turnovers.

I’ve been saying that the UCLA defense had their best performance of the year against Stanford. That statement now sits in the past, able to gather dust, because THIS was the best performance the defense had all year.

This was just a completely dominant performance at all levels. Let’s start with the defensive line, which had their best performance of the year after struggling against Utah. Colorado isn’t that far off from Utah’s offensive line talent, so this really was a great bounce-back. In particular, Takkarist McKinley made himself a richer man with this game, in which he had a completely dominant performance. Officially, McKinley ended the day with 7 tackles, including 2 sacks, to go with a QB hurry. But the official box score doesn’t include all the plays McKinley affected just by getting into the backfield as quickly as he did. And the box score doesn’t tell you about that forced fumble, which was an absolute beauty of a play from McKinley to beat the right tackle with his speed, and then crush Sefo Liufau, forcing the fumble, then coming back to lay a big block on Jayon Brown’s fumble return. At this point, it would absolutely shock me if McKinley isn’t drafted in the first round, as he’s one of the most ready defensive ends in college football.

And this isn’t to say the rest of the defensive line was chopped liver. Jacob Tuioti-Mariner had one of his best games of the season, and looks poised to take over as one of the next top defensive ends once McKinley and Deon Hollins leave. Eddie Vanderdoes was his usual excellent self, routinely taking up multiple blockers and just being so talented that the opposing offensive line has to overcompensate to account for him. Eli Ankou had his best game of the year, actually popping multiple times on tape. Even the second string, including Boss Tagaloa, Rick Wade, Nick Terry, Deon Hollins, and Kesian Lucier-South, had great showings.

Then you move to the linebacker core, which again had a great bounce-back game. Last year, Jayon Brown had 18 tackles against the Buffalo, so he decided to do one better this year, recording 19 tackles (13 solo), 2 tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery. The easiest way to describe it was Eric Kendricks-esque. Kenny Young as well was back to his season form, recording 7 tackles and being an athletic menace whenever the Buffaloes tried to spread things around. Cameron Judge had an interception, and Josh Woods looked at his most comfortable.

Finally, let’s get into the secondary, which I’ve been critical of in recent weeks. As it turns out, having Nate Meadors back in the lineup definitely makes this unit much stronger. Meadors and Fabian Moreau are maybe the best cornerback tandem in the conference, and it allows Goforth to play back as a safety, where he recorded another interception. Jaleel Wadood, Adarius Pickett, and Tahaan Goodman all looked good in coverage, and even backup Octavius Spencer, who came in for a few reps, looked like he belonged on the field with the rest of the defense.

From a strategy standpoint, this was a clever plan of attack. Colorado has been very balanced this year on offense, but most of that success comes from an effective ground attack from both quarterback Sefo Liufau and running back Phillip Lindsay. The Bruins keyed in on that, limiting the Buffaloes to 2.8 yards per rush, and most of those rush yards were hard earned, as the UCLA defenders typically got into the backfield quickly. From there, UCLA was content to let Sefo Liufau, who isn’t a particularly amazing passer, try and beat them with accuracy and arm strength. There were a few good throws, but Liufau was kept to a robust 4.8 yards per pass attempt (just for reference, against Michigan’s top ranked defense, Liufau threw for 9.8 yards per pass attempt). In addition, the defense was able to bait Liufau into throwing his first, second, and third interceptions on the year.

So yes, this was easily the best performance by the defense on the year. They only allowed 13 points, with two of Colorado’s three scoring drives beginning in UCLA territory. Allowing 13 points in a road game should be enough to win any game. This was an A (4.0), and now the UCLA defense has a new standard to be graded against.

2.) Do we call offensive plays to catch our opponents off guard?

And now we come to our yang to the defense’s yin.

For as great as the defense was in this game, the offense was bad. UCLA had a whole bye week to prepare something, anything on offense, and the Bruin coaching staff used to put together their most conservative game yet. This game was literally a malpractice against all offensive coaching talent.

Consider this stat, which at this point in the season should be a fireable offense: UCLA ran 30 run plays compared to 29 pass plays. When you have one of the nation’s worst rushing attacks, you should be able to recognize the folly of going with a 50:50 pass:rush ratio, simply because you’re actively handicapping yourself.

Now, there is some perverse logic to running so much; according to S&P, Colorado had the 11th ranked rushing defense, and the 12th ranked passing defense. Among their weaknesses (of which there aren’t many) was a relative weakness on standard downs compared to obvious passing downs, and a surprisingly average havoc rating from their front 7. The point is, Colorado is equally good against the run and the pass, but success could theoretically be found by limiting the amount of obvious passing downs you found yourself in, and attacking the front 7. This would, theoretically, require a decent rushing attack to keep your offense on schedule. Notice the word theoretically, because UCLA’s offensive gameplan all year has seemed to rely on theoretical offensive ability rather than scheming to the available talent.

Which is to say: there is no reason to be running that many times at any remaining point this season. UCLA does not possess any of the required pieces for even an average rushing attack, and the continued insistence that they possess that ability is, I assume, baffling to people with even a rudimentary understanding of football.

The strategy employed in this game seemed to believe in two truths - that UCLA possessed a good rushing attack, and that Josh Rosen was still at quarterback and could make the kind of throws that someone with his talent level makes. The first “truth” was obviously a continued issue, but the passing game designs were much more bizarre. You would think that Kennedy Polamalu would have recognized by now that Mike Fafaul does not possess the same skill set as Rosen, and cannot make the same throws into tight coverage. When you combine that with long-developing routes run by receivers struggling to get open, you end up with a bad passing game.

This was bad, and the fact that it made the Arizona State game look good by comparison is maybe the worst part. The infinite monkey theorem states that, if given an infinite amount of time, a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter would eventually type up something like the complete works of Shakespeare, but I also believe it would take this monkey much less time to figure out a working offensive gameplan than it takes UCLA’s offensive coaching staff. F (0.0).

3.) Do our players look like they know what they should be doing at all times, and do they execute?

Well, this is an interesting section, to be sure.

Defensively, not much else to say really. Everyone did their job, and as a result Colorado had its worst offensive outing on the year. Pretty simple, really.

On offense, it was more of the same. An offensive line that struggles with the simplest of blocking assignments. A running back that struggles finding holes and being decisive. A quarterback missing throws. Surprisingly, there were only a few truly-dropped passes, but of course one of them would have resulted in a touchdown had Eldridge Massington actually caught the ball.

Really, this section is rather boring to write at this point, simply because it’s boring to write the same thing every week. At least UCLA has achieved a level of consistency in that regard?

The biggest execution issues, outside of the offense, was on special teams, and that’s where the grade for this section is going to take a hit. Normally I’d save special teams discussion for section 4, but considering there are a lot of penalties, I thought I’d move it up here to give this section more #content.

UCLA missed 3 field goals in this game. Well, missed isn’t completely right, because after making his first field goal (for a new career long of 48 yards), his second kick was blocked. The blocking effort on this kick was just poor, especially on the left side, where the Colorado defender came into the backfield unblocked. This affected Molson’s second miss, as the defender on the left side again came unblocked, which forced Molson to rush and push his kick to the right. At this point, Molson was subbed out for Andrew Strauch, who promptly missed his only field goal attempt. Playing musical chairs with the place kickers is awful, especially if you want to build up their confidence. And besides, the bigger issue was on kick protection, as an awful effort in the middle and on the left side forced some rushed kicks from both kickers.

Punt coverage was equally awful, as one would assume when you allow a punt return touchdown. Adam Searl ended up having to make a tackle on another punt, which unfortunately left Colorado with field position deep in UCLA territory. What I don’t understand is, again, UCLA brought in a freshman punter, and they’ve decided to roll with the older player instead of giving the true freshman valuable live reps in an essentially-lost season.

If there was a bright spot on special teams, it would be Ishmael Adams on kick returns, as he averaged 33 yards per return and did his best to set UCLA up for success.

So, with special teams in mind, this would take what would have been a C grade (for an averaged-out execution from both sides) and takes it to a C- (1.7). Sorry defense.

4.) Do our players play disciplined and with exceptional effort for 60 minutes every game on special teams, offense and defense?

A look at the penalties on an individual basis:

4:26, 1st Q - False Start on Andre James. Pretty obvious. UCLA scores on the next play anyway, so this is basically the only penalty that doesn’t actively hurt the Bruins.

2:37, 1st Q - Holding on the punt return by Octavius Spencer. The worst part was that this penalty occurred away from the ball and had no affect on the return. Just a dumb penalty to take, but at least Octavius can take solace in not committing the dumbest penalty by a UCLA player in this game.

14:23, 2nd Q - False Start on Will Lockett. How one commits a false start on a punt, I will never know, but UCLA did manage this feat twice in this game, so kudos for innovating.

9:38, 2nd Q - False Start on Will Lockett. HE DID IT ON 2 PUNTS IN A ROW HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN?!? Be right back, gonna go sit in the liquor cabinet for a bit.

9:19, 3rd Q - Subsitution Infraction. UCLA was caught off-guard by Colorado deciding to go for it on 4th down, ends up giving up a 1st down with this penalty. Just an A+ job.

2:36, 3rd Q - Face Mask by Deon Hollins. Pretty obvious, Hollins just got caught by a scrambling Liufau and ended up going too high with his tackle, grabbing a solid amount of facemask in the process.

1:43, 3rd Q - Unnecessary Roughness on Jaleel Wadood. Here is one of the dumbest penalties of the day. Wadood makes the tackle, and instead of getting up, he tries to make a point and starts shoving Liufau around while he’s on the ground. UCLA absolutely lost composure on this drive, when they had seemed like the much-more disciplined team up to this point.

0:27, 3rd Q - Unnecessary Roughness on Jayon Brown. Same basic concept. No idea why Brown thought it was a good idea to continue hitting people after the whistle, but here we are.

12:10, 4th Q - False Start on Kenny Lacy. Sure. Why not?

11:10, 4th Q - Pass Interference on Randall Goforth. Of all the penalties, this is the one where the UCLA player had a case for it being a bad call. Goforth played the ball well on a 50/50 ball, and the referee bailed the Colorado offense out. Not sure how much else Goforth could have done here.

6:33, 4th Q - False Start on Kenny Lacy. Yep.

5:27, 4th Q - Holding on Nate Starks on the punt return. I didn’t really see anything on the tape to pinpoint where the penalty actually occurred, but either way it negated a really good return by Ishmael Adams at a point where UCLA needed any bit of luck to get points.

2:40, 4th Q - Offsides. On a punt. God this team is dumb.

13 penalties. 96 yards.

This was, very obviously, UCLA’s worst outing from a penalty standpoint by far. The ironic thing, of course, is that Colorado was by far the more undisciplined team, committing 4 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and repeatedly giving UCLA’s offense first downs that they wouldn’t capitalize on. But considering UCLA’s own issues, they can’t afford any level of undisciplined play if they want any chance at winning.

But this was, again, an F (0.0). Both teams were undisciplined messes, which made this game an absolute chore to watch even once.

5.) Did the coaches put the team in the best possible situation to succeed?

Well, I’m going to again have to split the difference on the grade here, because again, the defense had their best game of the year as a result of a clever scheme and game plan, while the offense had their worst game of the year for the exact opposite reason.

What is going to affect the grade is, again, special teams, because this was a ridiculously bad game from that standpoint. The jerking around of the kickers is going to get the coaching staff a D (1.0) instead of the C- that the players got, because the players aren’t the ones struggling to put together a coherent special teams game plan.

6.) Do we have leaders on the field?

Yeah, I might have to consider eliminating this section next year, because I’ve really just turned into an individual player highlight section, which is hard to grade.

On defense, the most obvious choice for leader was Takkarist McKinley, and its hard not to see why. He takes over games in a way UCLA really hasn’t seen in awhile. Kenny Clark was pretty good last year at taking over games in the 4th quarter, and other great UCLA defensive players have had dominant showings, but Takkarist McKinley has had multiple games this year where he just took over from beginning to end. Even in the loss to Utah, which was the defenses worst outing of the year, McKinley had a few series where he almost single-handedly stopped Utah from doing anything on offense. McKinley is going to get paid this year, and he absolutely deserves it.

Also, I’ll just highlight the much-maligned Ishmael Adams, who has quietly had a very good run of games with quality return play. It hasn’t been the best season for Adams, who has been dealing with injuries, but people, I think unfairly, focus on the bad returns from Adams instead of noting the overall good field position he has provided, so I’ll do that for him here.

I still want to see someone, anyone, step up on offense, but I have a feeling that the players who could (looking right at you, Jordan Lasley) aren’t given enough opportunity to succeed. So I’ll go with a B (3.0) here.

Grade Card for the Utah Utes:

1.) Is our defense prepared for each and every team we play? A (4.0)

2.) Do we call offensive plays to catch our opponents off guard? F (0.0)

3.) Do our players look like they know what they should be doing at all times, and do they execute? C- (1.7)

4.) Do our players play disciplined and with exceptional effort for 60 minutes every game on special teams, offense and defense? F (0.0)

5.) Did the coaches put the team in the best possible situation to succeed? D (1.0)

6.) Do we have leaders on the field? B (3.0)

Colorado GPA: C- (1.6)

For reference, the previous loss to the Utah Utes graded to a C+ (2.6). The loss to the Washington State Cougars graded at a C (2.1), while the previous loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils graded out to a C- (1.8). The victory over the Arizona Wildcats ended up with a B+ (3.2) grade. The loss to the Stanford Cardinal graded out to a B- (2.7). The victory over the BYU Cougars graded out to a B+ (3.3), while the win over the UNLV Rebels graded out to a C (1.9). The opening loss to Texas A&M graded a bit better at a C+ (2.6), and probably would be higher on review.

That grade is the lowest of the year, which feels right. 8 games in, you’d expect some level of adaptation from an anemic offense, but UCLA just seems like that is a foreign concept.

Oregon State, our next opponent, represents UCLA’s best shot at a win over the final 3 games, and at this point, I’ll say who knows! Maybe UCLA wins, and gains some momentum that they use to upset USC and beat a vulnerable Cal to get to 6-6. I’m not confident in that outcome, but hey, this is college football, and crazier things have happened.

Go Bruins!

]]> Mon, 07 Nov 2016 16:17:13 -0500 College BattleGround on UCLA Football vs. UNLV Preview: Tony Sanchez Is Looking For Progress From Rebels https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/ucla-football-vs-unlv-preview-tony-sanchez-is-looking-for-progress-from-rebels/#p1234 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/ucla-football-vs-unlv-preview-tony-sanchez-is-looking-for-progress-from-rebels/#p1234 cdn0.vox-cdn.comthumborcdXh6iivtPUin31uO1DuAoKI35s0x1653000x21651310x873cdn0.vox-cdn.comuploadschorus_imageimage50696617598658074.0-eb94077e1b48bbdc4e9b3357f068e73df83577a8.jpgImage EnlargerPhoto by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

One of the most successful coaches in UNLV football history will be in Pasadena on Saturday.

As the Bruins prepare to take on the Rebels this Saturday, let’s take a look at their coaching staff, which is actually one of the most successful in UNLV football history.

Tony Sanchez is in his second year as the head coach of the UNLV football program. He was hired in December of 2014 and was previously head coach for the powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School, whom he led to an impressive 85-5 record and six consecutive state 4A championships to go with a top-25 national ranking each year. While his three wins in 2015 may not look impressive on paper, Coach Sanchez was only the second coach at UNLV to reach three wins in his first season, and it was only the fourth time in the last 12 years the program saw more than two wins. In nine of their 12 games, the Rebels trailed by a touchdown or less in the fourth quarter.

Coach Sanchez has an impressive list of accomplishments as a high school coach. He led Bishop Gorman to a 15-0 season and a national championship in 2014. During his tenure, 41 of his players received college football scholarships, 31 of those to FBS schools. I expect to see more coming from Coach Sanchez, and even some improvement from last year. When he was hired, he definitely made a statement with the hiring of two extremely experienced coordinators, Nebraska offensive coordinator Barney Cotton and Colorado defensive coordinator Kent Baer.

Barney Cotton has over 20 years experience in the college football world. He was the interim coach at Nebraska in 2014, coaching them through the Holiday Bowl after serving eight seasons as the associate head coach. That was actually his second stint at Nebraska, as he was the offensive coordinator/offensive line coach at Nebraska in 2003. He was hired again in 2007 and lasted through to the end of the Bo Pelini’s tenure. Cotton helped the Huskers finish in the top 20 nationally in rushing in each of his last five years, averaging over 215 yards per game in 2013. In 2014, the Rebels averaged 129.2 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per rush. Clearly, we are not talking the same level of talent as Nebraska. Last year the Rebels averaged 194 rushing yards and 211 passing a game, but this year, that should change. He is no stranger to revamping offenses, and while UNLV is breaking in new quarterback Johnny Stanton, Cotton feels they are still a lot further along than previous years. We should see the numbers increase and more points on the board.

Kent Baer hails from fellow Pac 12 team, University of Colorado, where he was the defensive coordinator from 2013-2014. Baer took a huge pay cut to move to Las Vegas, and came into a less than idea situation last year. UNLV has a history of horrible defense, allowing 218 yards rushing per game in 2015. They have eight returning starters to work with, but Coach Baer definitely needs to beef up the front seven. He had success at Colorado and in his first season with the Buffaloes, his defense improved significantly in 12 major statistical categories. Most notably, the Buffs jumped from 92nd to 58th in the NCAA in third down defense, 116th to 60th in turnovers forced, and 119th to 61st in red zone defense. I think we can see why Tony Sanchez went after him. According to an article by Keith Scheessele, Baer saw an opportunity to be a "part of something special", and is looking for an opportunity to continue revamping the Rebel defense.

Overall, this may not be the same team the Bruins easily handled in Vegas last year. While the Rebels may put up more of a fight, I also expect us to get a win at our home opener.

Go Bruins!

]]> Tue, 06 Sep 2016 15:51:59 -0400 College BattleGround on UCLA Football Ranked #16 in AP Preseason Poll https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/ucla-football-ranked-16-in-ap-preseason-poll/#p1124 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/ucla-football-ranked-16-in-ap-preseason-poll/#p1124 cdn2.vox-cdn.comthumboraTUXxpbxZNpNOp7BIKzW_YbL4T8313x2401857x12691310x873cdn0.vox-cdn.comuploadschorus_imageimage50470657usa-today-8840993.0-e090825195ea4278f38db67dd0cb8d43615918e1.jpgImage EnlargerRichard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The Bruins have earned a little more respect from AP voters than they did in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Unfortunately, it's all meaningless until any games are actually played.

This morning, the Associated Press released its preseason poll.

UCLA is ranked #16 is the AP Preseason Poll which is substantially better than the team's #24 ranking in the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll. With 496 points, the Bruins are ranked behind Houston with 644 points and ahead of Iowa which received 486 points.

Four other Pac-12 teams appear in the AP Top 25. Stanford leads the way at #8, Washington is #14, USC is at #20, and Oregon is #24.

Two more Pac-12 schools also received votes. Utah received 74 votes and Washington State received 68 votes.

But, much like the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll, this one is also meaningless because no games have been played.

The good news is that the college football season kicks off Friday night when UC Berkeley plays Hawaii at 7pm PT on ESPN. That also means that the season will kick off with the #Pac12AfterDark, even if it will be 3pm locally in Australia.

RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS FIRST PLACE VOTES PREVIOUS RANK
1 Alabama Crimson Tide 0-0 1469 33 1
2 Clemson Tigers 0-0 1443 16 2
3 Oklahoma Sooners 0-0 1352 4 5
4 Florida State Seminoles 0-0 1325 5 14
5 LSU Tigers 0-0 1269 1 16
6 Ohio State Buckeyes 0-0 1224 1 4
7 Michigan Wolverines 0-0 1147 1 12
8 Stanford Cardinal 0-0 1029 0 3
9 Tennessee Volunteers 0-0 1021 0 22
10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 0-0 1006 1 11
11 Ole Miss Rebels 0-0 718 0 10
12 Michigan State Spartans 0-0 710 0 6
13 TCU Horned Frogs 0-0 707 0 7
14 Washington Huskies 0-0 651 0 NR
15 Houston Cougars 0-0 644 0 8
16 UCLA Bruins 0-0 496 0 NR
17 Iowa Hawkeyes 0-0 484 0 9
18 Georgia Bulldogs 0-0 448 0 NR
19 Louisville Cardinals 0-0 447 0 NR
20 USC Trojans 0-0 344 0 NR
21 Oklahoma State Cowboys 0-0 316 0 20
22 North Carolina Tar Heels 0-0 283 0 15
23 Baylor Bears 0-0 280 0 13
24 Oregon Ducks 0-0 218 0 19
25 Florida Gators 0-0 180 0 25
Others Receiving Votes: Miami 159, Texas A&M 81, Utah 74, Washington St. 68, Boise St. 49, San Diego St. 46, Wisconsin 42, Auburn 22, Pittsburgh 15, Arkansas 14, Texas 12, Nebraska 11, Navy 8, Northwestern 5, W. Kentucky 4, South Florida 2, Toledo 2.

Go Bruins!!!

]]> Sun, 21 Aug 2016 12:47:49 -0400 College BattleGround on UCLA Football’s Blue Chip Ratio Should Lead to Success https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/ucla-footballs-blue-chip-ratio-should-lead-to-success/#p1085 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/ucla-footballs-blue-chip-ratio-should-lead-to-success/#p1085 cdn2.vox-cdn.comthumborQLAcoqqUQU6C5tJVEMERBaBjr941025x9664352x31841310x873cdn0.vox-cdn.comuploadschorus_imageimage50442753IMG_0618.0.0-512b13d2d04e51d4e2b4991d0354cee4bdaa4cdb.jpgImage EnlargerTom Bradley coaching Tak McKinley and several other defensive players. - Joe Piechowski

The Blue Chip Ratio is a mark for championship success and UCLA has the ninth-best Blue Chip Ratio in the country.

Let’s talk about the Blue Chip Ratio.

SB Nation Recruiting Analyst Bud Elliott has an article today about the 2016 Blue Chip Ratios of every team in a Power 5 conference.

The Blue Chip Ratio calculates the percentage of each team’s 4 and 5 star recruits.

UCLA comes in 9th overall with a 0.55 Blue Chip Ratio. In other words, 55% of UCLA’s recruits on this year’s team were either 4-star or 5-star recruits.

Elliott goes on to mention that the Blue Chip Ratio is one of the best predictors of whether a team will win the National Championship. Elliot takes it a step further, writing: "As my colleague Bill Connelly has said, winning in college football takes talent acquisition, development and deployment." Elliott also explains that, because NCAA rules restrict coaches to 20 hours per week with their players, development is limited.

That leaves talent acquisition (and retention) and deployment as the biggest factors in winning.

So, if, under Jim Mora, UCLA has performed well in talent acquisition, then the biggest question left is a matter of deployment. In other words, are players playing in the best positions with effective schemes?

While Southern Cal does have a higher Blue Chip Ratio, UCLA’s talent level should be enough to deliver a Pac-12 Championship...unless the deployment is not the best.

Many Bruin fans felt that Noel Mazzone’s offensive scheme was holding the team back. If Coach Polamalu’s system works as well as we hope, the sky may be the limit for the Bruins.

In fact, Bud Elliott’s article lists UCLA as one of the thirteen teams to reach the 50% Blue Chip Ratio this year and he predicts that this year’s national champions will almost certainly come from that group of thirteen teams. Considering the Bruins play one of those teams in game #1, we’re likely to know more about this year’s team on September 3rd.

And, that’s a darn good reason to follow what going on in Training Camp.

It's Day 9 of Training Camp in San Bernardino. The team gets back on the field at 3pm today. The weather for this afternoon should be sunny with a high of 103 degrees. So, it's going to be HOT out there!

It’s good preparation for the Texas heat the team will face in just a few weeks when they head to College Station.

This is our open thread for today's practice. You can tweet pictures to us @Bruinnation, write a fanpost with words and/or photos/video, or share them in a thread or Spaulding Report. This is our community and the more we each share the better.

Go Bruins!!!

]]> Thu, 18 Aug 2016 16:17:32 -0400 College BattleGround on Spaulding Report: UCLA Football Manages to Practice in San Berdoo without Juarez https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/spaulding-report-ucla-football-manages-to-practice-in-san-berdoo-without-juarez/#p1062 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/spaulding-report-ucla-football-manages-to-practice-in-san-berdoo-without-juarez/#p1062 cdn1.vox-cdn.comthumborbUfkpgSN-7Itch8NdfNzzGb_I8w177x5884759x36431310x873cdn0.vox-cdn.comuploadschorus_imageimage50409349IMG_2285.0.0-113a162ec40941addf797c04b36c7b381f5d3a54.jpgImage EnlargerJaleel Wadood and the DBs had a good afternoon practice yesterday. - Joe Piechowski

Mique Juarez's absence dominated the headlines, but the defensive backs shined in an afternoon practice in San Bernardino.

It probably says a lot that UCLA had two practices yesterday, and the only thing anyone seemed to care about was the status of incoming freshman Mique Juarez. But that’s where we are to start the second week of fall camp and the first in San Bernardino. Thus, I’m going to focus this particular report on last night’s practice, while there will be a separate post for yesterday’s Mique Juarez saga.

Yes, UCLA did manage a practice last night, in full pads and everything. And it was a really strong effort from the defense, specifically the defensive backs. The common perception was that the defensive backfield would be the best unit on the team, and possibly the best DB unit in the conference. Joe did a real good analysis of the unit that you should check out. Anyway, the defensive backs were active all through the period, and it resulted in average play from Josh Rosen. Throwing lanes were tight, and the receivers had issues making catches. What’s most impressive is the continued drive to be better in this unit. Take, for example, this anecdote from Thuc Nhi Nguyen at Inside SoCal:

Tahaan Goodman nearly picked off Rosen, but couldn’t quite get his hands on the high throw. It bounced off his fingertips and he did a few push-ups as punishment.

This appears to be a self-applied punishment, but still speaks to how hard this group is pushing themselves.

Continuing with the offensive struggles, Coach Jim Mora did not appear to be happy with the offense at times yesterday. Thuc Nhi Nguyen wrote:

Mora was really displeased with something going on with the offense while the team was working on some plays in the red zone. Wasn’t exactly sure what he was yelling about, but he was yelling for quite a while at offensive coordinator Kennedy Polamalu. It looked like the offense was struggling to get the play calls in and get the correct personnel on the field.

Thankfully, this is practice, and the exact moment to iron out these issues. Still, these are the kinds of speed bumps that can hopefully be rectified with a new offense.

Also of note, there continues to be a focus on penalties, as Ben Bolch of the LA Times noted:

In injury news, Deon Hollins was held out of yesterday's practices as a precaution due to concussion-related symptoms.

Only one interview after this practice, featuring LB Coach Scott White. Thanks to Edward Lewis at Bruin Sports Report for the video!

[embedded content]

Coach White (obviously) talks about the linebackers, including the battle for the middle linebacker spot. Interestingly enough, Coach White describes it as a three-way battle between Kenny Young (who got the start with the ones), Isaako Savaiinaea (boy I really need to learn that name) and incoming freshman Lokeni Toailoa. Toailoa came in the last recruiting class with the expectation of being one of the big linebackers of the future, so it is exciting to see him make an impact this early, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get some playing time during the year.

And, obviously, Coach White dodges any questions on Mique Juarez, though he does say they’ve been in contact and that "he’ll be just fine."

As a bonus, we also have three videos from yesterday morning's practice, also courtesy of Ed Lewis of the Bruin Sports Report.

First up is Coach Mora. He spoke about how being in San Bernardino for only six days allows the team to focus on the football for the time they are there. He said:

I think they're genuinely excited about being here this year. And, I think that that's because we cut it down a

little bit. And, that was the point of cutting it down a little bit is to make this really a very concentrated, special six days up here in this environment, where we can really grow together as a team and get some great work on two grass fields in a beautiful setting in a great climate.

[embedded content]

And, if it's Monday, it must be Rosen. This week, he talked about working with new receivers and about how the new offense is actually helpful for the defense in that they get to see even more looks than they did under the old offense.

[embedded content]

Finally, there's Nate Meadors. Meadors discussed, among other things, how he likes being in San Bernardino because it's an opportunity to play in front of friends, family and his high school football coach Ron Gueringer who played fullback for UCLA in 1977.

[embedded content]

The next practice will be at 3:00 PM today in San Bernardino. Go Bruins!

]]> Tue, 16 Aug 2016 09:11:54 -0400 College BattleGround on 2016 UCLA Football Fall Preview: Who Will Be Josh Rosen's Backup? https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/2016-ucla-football-fall-preview-who-will-be-josh-rosens-backup/#p1030 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/2016-ucla-football-fall-preview-who-will-be-josh-rosens-backup/#p1030 cdn2.vox-cdn.comthumborZ-uL-lK7V_xb52qaY0wC-8QTDOk596x2854160x26611310x873cdn0.vox-cdn.comuploadschorus_imageimage50372767usa-today-8121188.0-3e8f81fe64e5c80182bc5b0d056064d599165b53.jpgImage EnlargerRedshirt Senior Mike Fafaul might just be the most important guy on the UCLA roster this year. - Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Does it matter? Absolutely! Why? I ain't saying. We wrap up our 2016 UCLA Football Fall Preview with one last position group: Quarterbacks.

At this time last year, the question on everyone's mind was "Who would be the starting quarterback?"

Well, this year, there's no doubt who that is. He's on this week's cover of Sports Illustrated, after all.

But, with the departure of Jerry Neuheisel to Japan, this year's quarterback question is "Who will back up Josh Rosen?" Let's take a look at this year's QBs.

Personnel Changes

In addition to Neuheisel, UCLA has also lost Jake Hall. At the same time, there are three freshmen quarterbacks who will battle Mike Fafaul to be Josh Rosen's backup. They are, in no particular order, Dymond Lee, Matt Lynch and Devon Modster. Now, this is where the state of UCLA recruiting could end up influencing the situation.

UCLA does not have an elite quarterback lined up for the 2017 recruiting class and that's a big deal. Why? Because Jim Mora could have redshirted that individual with intention of making him the starter in 2018 when Josh Rosen will probably be off to the NFL.

So, what does UCLA do with the three freshman?

If it's up to me, I think all three freshmen should get redshirted this year. Realistically, the only way anyone other than Rosen plays this year is if a. Coach Mora decides to give the backup some reps in the UNLV game to get them some experience...just...in...case, or b. the worst possible situation arises and...well...I'm not going to say it, but you know what the worst possible situation is.

So, more than likely, there won't be a need to use a freshman quarterback this year.

Meaning that plan should be to redshirt all three unless something bad happens.

Here's this year's QB roster:

3 Josh Rosen 6-04 218 So.
9 Dymond Lee 6-02 176 Fr.
12 Mike Fafaul 6-02 205 R-Sr.
17 Matt Lynch 6-04 220 Fr.
18 Devon Modster 6-02 225 Fr.
19 Craig Myers 5-11 185 R-So.

Projected Depth Chart

So the question becomes "What does the projected depth chart look like?"

I guess, under ideal circumstances, it looks like this:

Quarterback
Josh Rosen

Oh, you wanted to know who was backing Josh Rosen up? All right. It looks like this:

Quarterback
Josh Rosen
Everybody Else

I get it. You want to know who is the guy to replace Josh Rosen...when his helmet comes off and he has to leave the field for one play...Who is not the guy. Who's on first. Wait...wrong sport.

If I go with my gut, that's Mike Fafaul. The guy has put in the time behind Hundley, Rosen and even Jerry Neuheisel in Jerry's World a few years ago.

There's only one time that may change: If Josh Rosen is unable to be on the field for multiple plays.

But, even in that situation, I still think it will be Fafaul with one exception. That exception is if Rosen is unable to be on the field for multiple plays at the start of a game. For our readers who may happen to go to Southern Cal, that means that Rosen probably hasn't practiced all week either. And, if you can't figure out why Josh Rosen might not practice any given week, I'm not going to tell you. Phone a friend. Alright, alright. I'll give the Trogens a hint. It rhymes with "SI Purse".

In that case, and that case only, I think Jim Mora burns Devon Modster's redshirt and goes with him.

But, we all know that it's NEVER going to come to that.

And, with that, we conclude Bruins Nation's 2016 UCLA Football Fall Preview. I hope you've enjoyed it.

Go Bruins!!!

]]> Fri, 12 Aug 2016 18:04:14 -0400 College BattleGround on UCLA’s Josh Rosen Makes Cover of Sports Illustrated College Football Preview https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/uclas-josh-rosen-makes-cover-of-sports-illustrated-college-football-preview/#p956 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/uclas-josh-rosen-makes-cover-of-sports-illustrated-college-football-preview/#p956 Rosen's first SI cover is the 128th time a UCLA student-athlete has graced the cover of Sports Illustrated.

UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen has been selected for the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated, which also happens to be the magazine’s college football preview issue.

SI’s Pete Thamel has written an extensive profile on Rosen for the issue, but the article has already been posted online.

Overall, it’s an interesting look at the Bruin QB.

In the article, Rosen says that he doesn’t want to be Manziel or Manning. Rosen explains:

I'm not going to f‑‑‑‑‑‑ get in trouble for drugs or anything like that, but I don't want to be this crystal-clean guy with perfect responses. I'm not going to pretend to be 50. I just want to be happy and enjoy the experiences I have and take advantage of every opportunity I've been given.

He further explains:

I'm not a social media guy. I'm not. It's just once every three weeks it's like, "Hey, let's shake some s‑‑‑ up." I like to be a real person and show personality. People appreciate that.

While this may be the first interview this season Rosen has been allowed to do, but, rest assured, it won’t be the last. At Pac-12 Media Days, Coach Jim Mora mentioned that Rosen will speak to the media every Monday, which means we may hear from Rosen again sometime today.

Now, of course, this leaves us with one question: Can Josh Rosen withstand the SI Curse? UCLA's last two SI Covers featured Brett Hundley and, while he stayed healthy, that team didn't meet the expectations many fans had.

Go Bruins!!!

]]> Mon, 08 Aug 2016 12:14:52 -0400 College BattleGround on BOOM! 4-star TE Jimmy Jaggers Commits to UCLA Football https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/boom-4-star-te-jimmy-jaggers-commits-to-ucla-football/#p890 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/boom-4-star-te-jimmy-jaggers-commits-to-ucla-football/#p890 UCLA landed a top recruit from Northern California this afternoon.

Three days, three commitments.

After an almost unbearably slow summer which saw several recruits de-commit, UCLA’s 2017 recruiting class is picking up momentum very quickly this week as UCLA has now doubled the size of the next recruiting class in just a few days.

Today, UCLA landed a commitment from 4-star tight end Jimmy Jaggers from Roseville HS in Roseville, CA. Jaggers is considered to be one of the top tight ends in this year’s recruiting class.

Jaggers made his announcement via Twitter:

So, there you have it.

Not only will Jaggers be a Bruin next season, but he will also be an early enrollee! We love early enrollees because it means they can’t be flipped in that final month between the end of the football season and National Signing Day in February and early enrollees also tend to be pretty firm in the commitments overall.

Jaggers is 6’4” tall and weighs 244 lbs.

He’s got a ton of highlights posted to Hudl. Here are his junior year highlights:

Greg Biggins of Scout spoke with Jaggers about his commitment. Jaggers told Biggins:

My dad and I had dinner last night and we talked about everything and what UCLA offered was just too much to pass up. I debated back and forth between a few schools but I kept coming back to the people at UCLA and the opportunity to play there and that put them over the top....I'm going to be an early graduate and will be able to enroll at UCLA in time for Spring ball so I'm excited about that. I think UCLA is building something special right now and I'm very excited to be a part of that.

Sounds like a well-spoken young man to me and I can’t wait to see him wearing an new Under Armour UCLA uni next season.

Welcome to Westwood, Jimmy!

Go Bruins!!!

]]> Thu, 04 Aug 2016 14:53:44 -0400 College BattleGround on UCLA Football Ranked #24 In Coaches Preseason Poll https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/ucla-football-ranked-24-in-coaches-preseason-poll/#p879 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/ucla-football-ranked-24-in-coaches-preseason-poll/#p879 cdn1.vox-cdn.comthumborzn3oiZ5AoZl025rfx01OYD5cGeo631x373657x20541310x873cdn0.vox-cdn.comuploadschorus_imageimage50295711usa-today-8895132.0-374e9b7d72c3e6a5db2e6b76dddef04ae71783bd.jpgImage EnlargerKelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

There's only one good thing that comes from the preseason polls. It means you're a little closer to kickoff.

The USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll is out this morning.

UCLA is ranked #24 with 296 points behind #23 Louisville who received 331 points and in front of #25 Florida who received 245 points.

Five Pac-12 teams appear in the top-25. Stanford leads the way at #7, USC is at #17, Washington is #18, Oregon is #22, and, of course, UCLA is #24.

Three more Pac-12 schools also received votes. Utah received 73 votes, Washington State received 47 votes, and Arizona received 2 votes.

This season, four Pac-12 coaches are on the panel. Southern Cal’s Clay Helton, Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez (which probably explains at least one of U of A’s two votes and, maybe, both), Washington’s Chris Petersen and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham are those coaches.

This poll is basically meaningless except for the fact that it means we are another step closer to kickoff.

Despite that, here are the results of the Preseason Coaches Poll:

Well, we've seen what happens when the preseason expectations are high. We always seem to fall flat.

At least with our preseason ranking lower than last year, the national expectations appear to be lower. Hopefully, that means we'll be able to surprise some folks, especially in Week 4 when we face Stanford.

Go Bruins!!!

]]> Thu, 04 Aug 2016 10:00:56 -0400 College BattleGround on 2016 UCLA Football Fall Preview: The Defensive Line Should Be A Strength On This Team https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/2016-ucla-football-fall-preview-the-defensive-line-should-be-a-strength-on-this-team/#p846 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/2016-ucla-football-fall-preview-the-defensive-line-should-be-a-strength-on-this-team/#p846 cdn0.vox-cdn.comthumborr7jMgP9dS4ov4WuDJuDZhD0z2sM0x1902390x17831310x873cdn0.vox-cdn.comuploadschorus_imageimage50273385IMG_1732.0.0-a815d4fdaebe5e041a5266e097e9d563134dca18.jpgImage EnlargerDefensiive lineman Eli Ankou hits the sled during Spring Practice. - Joe Piechowski

The defensive line should have four starters with plenty of experience and should prove to be one of the strongest units this season for UCLA if they stay healthy.

We continue our 2016 UCLA Football Fall Preview with a look of the defensive line.

The defensive line is a unit in some degree of flux due to the shift from a predominantly 3-4 defense to a predominantly 4-3 defense. I say predominantly because if you ask Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley about his base defense, he’s likely to say something like, "We’re multiple," meaning that the team will shift formations dependent on the situation.

Frankly, the move away from the 3-4 is not unexpected. When Bradley was the DC at Penn State, he ran a 4-3 defense and, after the difficulty UCLA had stopping the run last year, putting another down lineman on the defensive front just makes good sense.

The shift in scheme does mean that a few players have shifted positions from linebackers to the defensive line. The two most notable position changes are senior Deon Hollins and redshirt freshman Keisean Lucier-South who have both moved from linebacker.

Overall, UCLA lists seventeen players as defensive linemen. They are:

11 Keisean Lucier-South 6-4 215 R-Fr.
47 Eddie Vanderdoes 6-3 305 R-Jr.
58 Deon Hollins 6-1 230 Sr.
69 Preston Awedisean 6-6 275 R-Sr.
75 Boss Tagaloa 6-2 295 Fr.
76 Justin Rittman 6-1 245 R-So.
89 Thomas Schwab 6-3 250 R-Jr.
90 Rick Wade 6-6 255 R-Fr.
91 Jacob Tuioti-Mariner 6-2 275 Jr.
92 Osa Odighizuwa 6-3 265 Fr.
93 Chigozie Nnoruka 6-3 255 So.
94 Nick Terry 6-4 295 R-Jr.
95 Marcus Moore 6-3 255 Fr.
96 Eli Ankou 6-3 305 R-Sr.
97 Jake Burton 6-6 255 Fr.
98 Takkarist McKinley 6-2 250 Sr.
99 Matt Dickerson 6-4 275 Jr.

Of course, Kenny Clark is gone. He's off to play for the Green Bay Packers after being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

This year’s line will be anchored by Hollins at one defensive end, Takkarist McKinley on the other side, and Eddie Vanderdoes and Eli Ankou at the tackles. This is a seasoned defensive line which promises to be even better because of the return of Eddie Vanderdoes. But the thing that this line does is create problems for the opposing offensive line. Opposing teams can't just say, "We're going to double team Vanderdoes" because, if they do, they will leave someone else unblocked. Among the probable starting four, they have a total of 113 games experience. That's a lot of experience on the defensive line.

Underclassmen Matt Dickerson and Jacob Tuioti-Mariner and JUCO transfer Nick Terry add depth to the starting four. Meanwhile, redshirt freshmen Rick Wade and Keisean Lucier-South should also compete for playing time.

UCLA also has four true freshmen on this year's roster in Boss Tagaloa, Jake Burton, Osa Odighizuhwa and Marcus Moore. Any or all of the guys could see some playing time, but, hopefully, with the level of experience on this year's line, most, if not all, of them will be able to redshirt. That will depend on how healthy the starters can stay.

A projected 3-deep depth chart should look like this:

Defensive End Defensive Tackle Defensive Tackle Defensive End
Deon Hollins Eddie Vanderdoes Eli Ankou Takkarist McKinley
Keisean Lucier-South Nick Terry Jacob Tuitoti-Mariner Matt Dickerson
Boss Tagaloa Jake Burton Marcus Moore Rick Wade

That's how things will likely shape up for the defensive line. Of course, staying healthy is key to the success of the unit. We saw last year what happened when Eddie Vanderdoes got hurt. But, the upside is that guys who may not have played last year got a chance to get experience and that should make this year's line even stronger as a result.

One thing is almost certain. These guys will be tested each and every week as teams will try to pound the ball thinking that, because teams ran all over UCLA last season, they will be able to do it again this year.

I look for Vanderdoes, Ankou, Hollins, and McKinley to prove them wrong.

What are your thoughts? Do you think the depth chart will look different? If so, leave it in the comments below.

Go Bruins!!!

]]> Wed, 03 Aug 2016 08:44:14 -0400 College BattleGround on BOOM! UCLA Lands 3-Star DB Chris Wilson https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/boom-ucla-lands-3-star-db-chris-wilson/#p836 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/boom-ucla-lands-3-star-db-chris-wilson/#p836 UCLA adds a defensive back to its 2017 recruiting class.

Folks -

After a very dry recruiting trail during the month of July, it is nice to receive some positive news when it comes to UCLA Football Recruiting.

Today we received our fourth commit of the 2017 Class when 3* Chris Wilson out of Hitchcock, Texas committed to the Bruins:

There is a very good chance you have not heard of Chris prior to his announcement as he is a bit under the radar, but whose's profile has been rising on the Summer Camp circuit leading to a few offers (Texas A&M, Iowa, St., etc.) and additional programs (Arkansas, Baylor, Boise State, Oklahoma and TCU) watching him.

Demetrice Martin just offered Chris on the 23rd of July so the commitment came rather quick after the offer:

Chris has played all three positions in the secondary (cornerback, free and strong safety) during his high school football career and Demetrice Martin values that flexibility in his recruits as we have seen in the past. As has been noted, UCLA is starting to recruit "bigger" in the secondary and Chris fits the mold coming in at 6'1" and 186lbs.

Gabe Brooks, who is Scout.com's recruiting expert in Texas profiled Wilson:

Chris Wilson is an aggressive safety prospect who possesses skills that could fit the traditional free or strong positions at the FBS and most likely Power Five conference level. At 6-foot-1, Wilson possesses a good frame and ample length that suggest he will add significant bulk once he's in college. He's a willing and able tackler who often looks for the big hit in coverage. Wilson plays with awareness and does a good job locating the ball from the back end of the defense, whether that's patrolling the deep portion or crashing to the flats. Wilson plays faster than he tests and he flashes good closing speed to help in his ability to break on balls and deliver those aforementioned hits. Wilson can improve his overall fluidity and lateral mobility. If his change-of-direction skills and ability to flip his hips improve, he'll be a well-rounded safety at the next level. Overall, Wilson is a promising safety prospect with an above average frame and a fairly high ceiling.

UCLA continues to recruit Texas aggressively where High School Football is King and talent is produced in droves. As Bruin Fans know, UCLA has been able to consistently pull talent out of the Lone Star State in comparison to other states.

Chris will be visiting the campus in two weeks time and let's hope it goes better than Will Farrar's visit did. As with any commitment in this new era of recruiting, it is a long way to Signing Day and his LOI being signed, sealed and delivered, but this is a step in the right direction.

Now, let's see some commitments when it comes to offensive and defensive line along with our 2017 QB prospect and Bruin fans can start to enjoy a little recruitment momentum...

**On a separate note, another UCLA target is supposed to be announcing tonight. Let's hope we can top this day off with two Bruin commitments!**

Here's Chris Wilson's 2015 highlights from Hudl.com:

]]> Tue, 02 Aug 2016 15:33:25 -0400 College BattleGround on 2016 UCLA Football Fall Preview: Molson Will Pick Up Where Fairbairn Left Off https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/2016-ucla-football-fall-preview-molson-will-pick-up-where-fairbairn-left-off/#p794 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/2016-ucla-football-fall-preview-molson-will-pick-up-where-fairbairn-left-off/#p794 UCLA's Special Teams units will have three positions filled by new starters this season. Who will they be?

Special teams. Aside from the offensive line more games are won or lost on the strength of special teams than probably any other individual unit.

Several of the biggest losses of the Jim Mora Era would have been different if our special teams players had come through. That doesn’t excuse the rest of the team because, in football, when a team loses, it’s truly a team loss.

But, special teams can snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat or vice-versa, depending on how the special teams players played.

This year, three key special teams roles will be filled by newcomers. And, that’s important.

Obviously, Ka’imi Fairbairn is gone, but so are punter Matt Mengel and long snapper Christopher Luongo. The only special teams guys that are returning are, well, the return guys.

Here’s a look at the projected Special Teams depth chart:

Kicker Punter Long Snapper Punt Returner Kick Returner
JJ Molson (Fr) Adam Searl (Sr) Johnny Den Bleyker (Fr) Ishmael Adams (Sr) Ishmael Adams (Sr)
Stefan Flintoff (RSo)

Andrew Strauch (RFr)

 Austin Kent (Fr) ? Stephen Johnson (So)
Mossi Johnson (Jr)		 Randall Goforth (RSr)

Let’s look at each of the positions.

Kicker

Ka’imi Fairbairn left some pretty big shoes to fill.

Not only did Fairbairn win the Lou Groza award as the best kicker in college football, he also set a school record with a 60-yard field goal against Cal. Yet, somehow, he was not the All-Conference selection for kicker. He finally seemed to hit his stride after struggling his first three seasons.

As the Bruins head to camp, there are three kickers on the roster. Stefan Flintoff is a redshirt sophomore from Loyola High School who did not see any action last season. Andrew Strauch will be a freshman after redshirting last season.

But, expect the job to be won by true freshman J.J. Molson who seems to be enjoying the Southern California weather as a nice change of pace from the frigid Canadian winters. Molson was an early enrollee and participated in Spring Practice.

On the basis of his performance in Spring, Molson certainly appeared to be the best of the UCLA kickers, which makes sense since Chris Sailer Kicking rated him as the #2 kicker in North America in the 2016 recruiting class. I’m expecting Molson to win at least one game for us this season with a late field goal.

In Spring, he was easily and consistently hitting long field goals with plenty of distance to spare. While he may be a freshman college kicker this year, I have a hunch that Ka’imi’s school record may not stand for long with Molson around.

Don’t be surprised, though, if Coach Mora plays coy and refuses to acknowledge Molson has won the spot. Mora doesn’t like his guys to feel comfortable in camp. I’d be shocked if anyone but Molson lines up for the first field goal of the season.

That said, it’s always possible that one of the other kickers could be given the kickoff duties, allowing Molson to concentrate on putting the ball through the uprights.

Long Snapper

Well, this is where things start to get interesting. There is only one long snapper on the roster and that’s incoming freshman Johnny Den Bleyker from Moreau Catholic in Fremont, CA. I’m not sure who the backup will be, but let’s just hope that he stays healthy so we don’t have to worry about that.

Punter

This is the special teams slot where there could actually be a position battle. Senior Adam Searl, who was reinstated to the team prior to the start of Spring Practice, returns and is joined by true freshman Austin Kent, who comes to UCLA from Charlotte, NC.

There wasn’t as much of an emphasis placed on punting as there was on the placekicking at the practices I saw this Spring.

So, it’s completely possible that the competition here could be wide open. But, given UCLA’s punting struggles the past few seasons, I just don’t see Searl retaining the job for long even if he wins it in camp.

Kent should be good enough, though, to make sure Kenny Walker never lines up in punt formation again.

Returners

Ishmael Adams is back for another season and, perhaps, it was his explosiveness as a return guy that led to Coach Mora asking Ish to switch to the offensive side of the ball this Spring.

Look for the Johnsons, Stephen or Mossi, to join Ish for kickoff returns while Randall Goforth could see some time as the team’s punt returner.

Of course, it’s always possible that one of the incoming freshman could work his way onto either return team by working his tail off in practice.

That wraps up our look at the Special Teams as the Bruins head into Fall Camp. Stay tuned all week as we continue our UCLA Football Fall Preview.

Go Bruins!!!

]]> Mon, 01 Aug 2016 17:24:00 -0400 College BattleGround on Manning, Jr. Becomes the Sixth UCLA Football 2017 Decommit https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/manning-jr-becomes-the-sixth-ucla-football-2017-decommit/#p774 Ucla Hot Topics https://www.collegebattleground.com/forum/ucla-hot-topics/manning-jr-becomes-the-sixth-ucla-football-2017-decommit/#p774 UCLA lost its sixth committed recruit of the 2017 recruiting class when Jeffery Manning, Jr. announced that he is decommitting.

UCLA lost another football recruit on Saturday. This time, it was Jeffrey Manning, Jr. who announced that he is re-opening his recruiting process.

It was just last month that Manning, Jr. announced his commitment to UCLA. So much for UCLA being his "dream school."

Now, of course, we have no idea exactly what has caused Manning, Jr. to re-open his recruiting process since he didn’t offer any kind of an explanation for the decision in his tweet which announced it.

While losing six recruits who had verbally committed is discouraging, there may be different reasons why each one chose to re-open their recruiting process. And, of course, academics may be a big factor in some of them.

Bruin fans need to remember that these are 17 and 18 year old kids who are making the biggest decision of their lives to date and they are certainly entitled to rethink their decisions or have their doubts about them.

Heck, I remember back when I was a high school senior. I didn’t make my decision to go to UCLA until graduation night. So, I can understand why some indecision is possible.

At the same time, the overall trend is certainly disturbing to Bruin fans.

As derhessian points out in his fanpost, the number of decommits is now twice as large as the list of remaining commits. That’s troublesome.

What else is troublesome is the fact that Manning, Jr. is the third decommit from Cathedral HS. (While Manning attended Bellflower HS last season, he is transferring to Cathedral HS for his senior year.)

It raises the question as to what is going on with Cathedral High and the UCLA Athletic Department. Are the coaches at Cathedral High steering their players away from UCLA because of the Kobe Paras situation? Is the Kobe Paras situation somehow influencing football players at Cathedral HS?

After all, Cathedral is an all-boys Catholic high school with an enrollment of about 750 boys. That means that, roughly, each Cathedral class is made up of approximately 150-200 boys. That’s small enough that it could affect things.

Could the Cathedral coaches be looking at the Paras situation and suggesting their players re-open their recruitment by comparing current players’ grades to Paras’ grades? Certainly.

To be sure, there’s a whole host of issues which could be causing the current UCLA Football recruiting issues. At this point, there’s only one thing which is sure to reduce the concern about the 2017 recruiting class and that’s for the coaching staff to convince more recruits to commit to UCLA and get them to stay committed.

Go Bruins.

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