When UCLA went into halftime tied with San Diego State, 0-0, many Bruin fans at the Rose Bowl scratched their heads.
What happened to the electric offense that scored 45 points in its season-opening win over Cal a week ago?
Their question was thoroughly answered as the Bruins put up 28 second-half points, with 21 of them coming in the fourth quarter, to pull away from the Aztecs 28-10 on Saturday in UCLA’s home opener.
Despite the slow start from the offense, it was a day to remember for UCLA’s secondary. From start to finish, the Bruins dominated the Aztecs’ offense. UCLA held SDSU to 91 yards in the first half, including just 23 passing yards. The Aztecs were held to less than 200 yards of total offense (189).
SDSU quarterback Jayden Denegal was limited to 45 passing yards, his second-lowest mark as a starter. It’s the lowest amount of passing yards the Bruins have allowed since holding Kansas State to 79 yards in 2017.
“The defense had a really nice day overall and kept us in this game when we needed it the most,” UCLA coach Bob Chesney said. “I thought there were some opportunities for guys to step up and make some plays. I was pretty impressed with some of them that did it was proud of our guys, and we found a way to win the game.”
It was a big day for Jalen Woods, who racked up nine tackles, one sack, and one interception for the Bruins. The fifth-year senior was flying all over the field and played a big role in holding San Diego State to 144 rush yards.
However, Chesney believes that his veteran linebacker could’ve had an even more productive day.
“I thought he played great. You’re going to go back and watch some of the film and just some of the fits in some of the blitz game were not perfect…but (Jalen Woods) was phenomenal,” Chesney said. “I think he played as hard as he possibly can, but he’ll have two or three plays too that he wishes he had back.”
The Bruins’ front seven as a whole had plenty to celebrate. Linebacker Sammy Omosigho followed up his 14-tackle performance against Cal with five tackles and two TFLs. Defensive lineman Aiden Gobaira had six tackles in his best performance in a UCLA jersey.
UCLA’s defensive performance made up for the offense’s pedestrian start. The Bruins were able to move the ball in the first half, but couldn’t finish as their lone red zone trip ended in an interception from Nico Iamaleava.
“It’s not his best game, he knows it’s not his best game and I just think again that the grit and the toughness that he played with though when he needed to get a couple first downs that really, really mattered to keep drives alive and put his body on the line … that’s special,” Chesney said. “But there’s a whole lot we got to do in there. I got to go back and just watch the tape with our coaches and ask ‘Are we putting the guys in the best position? Yes or no?”
Iamaleava ended his night without throwing a touchdown for the second week in a row. He completed 14 of 22 passes for 151 yards. The senior quarterback knows that the offense is still a work in progress, but likes the effort he’s seeing from the unit.
“We’re still getting comfortable with each other as far as the offense and seeing what we do best,” Iamaleava said. “So I think it was the second game for us to learn from. Coming from game one and game two, we were trying to make strides in playing team football and that happened.”
The Bruins will begin Big Ten play against Purdue next Saturday at the Rose Bowl and then travel to Maryland the following week. Those two games should help UCLA work out any kinks in the offense before a big showdown at Oregon in early October.