LOS ANGELES — DeShaun Foster continues to turn to his Week 1 decision to kick a field goal in UCLA’s first second-half drive against Utah.
The Bruins’ head coach insisted that the decision was morale-related; his team needed to see points on the board – albeit only trimming its deficit to 23-10 – to believe they had a chance to snowball the three points into more, energizing the sidelines to hoist the 11 players on the field.
Even though the Bruins went on to surrender 20 unanswered points in their loss to the Utes, much like that kick through the uprights, Foster said his team needs to see a victory on the board Friday night against New Mexico (1-1) at the Rose Bowl, not just for lofty hopes of matching last season’s turnaround, but for positivity’s sake.
With a bye week coming, a win could set the Bruins up for a louder roar entering Big Ten play, where only Northwestern and Maryland appear to be tight matchups going forward.
“These guys need to – they need to feel [a victory], because that can carry over,” Foster said Monday. “And then once you have positive stuff happening, more things come.”
If UCLA is going to enter the win column, then Friday is surely its best shot so far. A 15½-point spread favors the Bruins over the Lobos, which could be the biggest sway toward Westwood in 2025. New Mexico – which in the offseason lost quarterback Devon Dampier and offensive coordinator Jason Beck to Utah – is a team exploring what it has through two games with former Idaho coach Jason Eck at the helm.
New Mexico went toe-to-toe with No. 23 Michigan in Week 1, falling 34-17 in the Big House, but fended off FCS squad Idaho State last week – defeating the Bengals by a greater margin of victory than UNLV did.
Where the Lobos differ from the Bruins’ first two opponents is primarily in how they move the ball. Unlike Dampier and UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea, New Mexico junior quarterback Jack Layne doesn’t escape the pocket all that much, staying steady behind center – a potential break for UCLA’s defensive line that’s spent two games chasing quick-moving signal callers.
Against Michigan, Layne passed for 208 yards, completing 31 of 47 attempts for one touchdown and three interceptions. The Lake Oswego, Oregon, native has been sacked five times by opposing defenses.
The change of pace behind center is something redshirt junior defensive lineman Anthony Jones said the Bruins want to exploit.
“We have an advantage as a defensive line, just matchup per matchup,” said Jones, who tallied 1.5 sacks in Saturday’s loss to UNLV. “Not as mobile a quarterback as we’ve seen these past two weeks, so we should be able to pass rush, get there, keep him in the pocket, and just let our DBs know that we’ve got their back.”
UCLA defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe said getting Jones and the other Bruins’ edge rushers into the backfield, like they were able to do on occasion against the Rebels, will come down to fundamentals. The second-year coordinator said that after the season-opening loss to Utah, he simplified much of the Bruins’ defense, stripping down the scheme from a year ago to help “playmakers make plays.”
Malloe, who worked with New Mexico offensive coordinator Luke Schleusner at his first coaching stop at Western Illinois (overlapping from 2002 to 2003), said the Bruins’ success in the pass rush will come down to eye discipline.
“We got guys that can make plays, but if they don’t go through their eye discipline, we could actually be a liability to our own defense,” Malloe said. “So this really will come down to defensive ends playing with good eye discipline.”
When New Mexico has the ball
Layne can certainly sling the ball downfield, and he’s got one primary target in Lobos tight end Dorian Thomas. The Arizona transfer has tallied a team-high 127 receiving yards on 15 catches – the same amount of catches as New Mexico’s three wideouts combined.
Although running back Scottre Humphrey struggled against Michigan – tallying 33 rushing yards on 10 carries – he broke out for 141 yards against Idaho State. At an average of 7.8 yards per carry against the Bengals, Humphrey showcased the speed he put on display as the top tailback at Montana State a year ago.
Limiting Humphrey on the ground and pressuring Layne into forcing passes is where the Bruins could find success making the Lobos’ attack stagnant.
When UCLA has the ball
Despite losing last week in Las Vegas, the Bruins did find success creating big plays. UCLA recorded 10 plays – five passes and five carries – for more than 15 yards; against Utah, the Bruins had just six.
Diversity is at the heart of Tino Sunseri’s offense, mixing and matching a plethora of fresh running backs and receivers on the field. If the Bruins can start strong, the first-year offensive coordinator might be able to flex his play-calling chops against a Lobos team that has given up an average of 419 yards per game.
Considering how running backs Anthony Woods and Jaivian Thomas have emerged as rushing and receiving threats, the duo could help UCLA improve its 101st total offense ranking in the FBS.
New Mexico (1-1) vs. UCLA (0-2)
When: 7 p.m Friday
Where: Rose Bowl
TV/Radio: Big Ten Network/790 AM