I know that it is very early in the college football season, but The UCLA Bruins are turning heads. The Bruins racked up 646 total yards on offense including 343 on the ground in their Week 1 victory over The Rice Owls. The Bruins really made a name for themselves last Saturday when they defeated the 16th ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers at The Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena. The game was in prime-time on FOX which allowed The Bruins to show the nation that Los Angeles may no longer just belong to The USC Trojans.
The Bruins were able to gain 344 yards on the ground while silencing The”Sea of Red” that traveled with The ‘Huskers from Lincoln, Nebraska. UCLA controlled the time of possession as they held the football for over 37 minutes.
Bruins head coach Jim Mora is making a difference in his first season at UCLA. Since Mora was hired in December, one of his main goals was to make UCLA tougher. The game of football is won in the trenches and The Bruins have been winning the battle so far this season. Last season, UCLA was 89th in total defense which was evident by their record of 6-8. Already The Bruins have nine sacks on the season which is second in the nation. Now Mora’s Bruins appear to be accomplishing something that his predecessor at UCLA Rick Neuheisel was never able to accomplish which was the ability to dominate the line of scrimmage.
The Bruins are averaging 7.4 yards per carry as they are led by senior running back Johnathan Franklin and freshman quarterback Brett Hundley. At 6’3″, 223 lbs., Hundley is a dual-threat quarterback that is an imposing figure. His first carry of the season resulted in a 72-yard touchdown run against Rice. With six touchdown passes and only one interception through two games, Hundley is showing the poise that has not been seen at the quarterback position for UCLA since the days of Cade McNown in the late 90s. Franklin has seen his fair share of losing with UCLA, but instead of opting to leave school early last season in favor of The National Football League Draft, he decided to stay in school for his senior campaign and give Mora’s system a try.
UCLA hasn’t finished with a winning record since 2009 when they won seven games. The Bruins are now ranked in The Associated Press’ Top 25 for the first time in four years as they come in at 22nd overall this week. The last Bruin team to win 10 games in a season was in 2005 when the team was guided by Karl Dorrell. After starting this season at 2-0, the remainder of The Bruins schedule appears very favorable. The Bruins will host The Houston Cougars on Saturday night followed by a home game against The Oregon State Beavers. The Bruins then have consecutive Pac-12 road games against The Colorado Buffaloes and California Bears before returning home to take on The Utah Utes. All eyes will be on The Bruins for their November 17 showdown with The Trojans at The Rose Bowl. Aside from wanting this team to be tougher, Mora knows that this team must be able to contend with USC on the field as well as in the recruiting battle in Southern California. The Bruins haven’t been a consistent national power since Terry Donahue was the head coach from 1976 to 1995 as UCLA made The Rose Bowl on four occasions during his tenure, but Mora appears to on the road to bringing that respectability back.
Mora knows The Pac-12 Conference as he was a defensive back at The University of Washington in the early 80s. Mora also knows how to win as a head coach in The NFL as he is one of only two head coaches to take The Atlanta Falcons to The NFC Championship Game as he accomplished the feat in 2004. Just like USC went to The NFL ranks to tab Pete Carroll in 2001 to bring The Trojans back to national prominence, UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero appears to have done the same thing in hiring Mora. There is once again a sense of excitement around The UCLA football program.
Leave A Comment