UCLA left Week 1 with a 45-24 road win over Cal, and the defense walked away with a mix of encouraging signs and obvious work to do.
The biggest positive came in the area that mattered most coming into the season: the run defense. Cal finished with 119 rushing yards, a result that suggests UCLA held up fairly well against a team with real offensive weapons. After last season’s struggles against the run, that kind of showing matters for a Bruins defense trying to establish a new standard under defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler, who arrived from James Madison with Bob Chesney.
But the performance wasn’t clean across the board. Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele still found room to operate, throwing for 271 yards and two touchdowns. That’s the kind of production that can become a bigger issue once UCLA starts lining up against stronger Big Ten passing attacks, even if Sagapolutele is expected to be among the best quarterbacks the Bruins face this year.
The secondary did help finish the job, though. Safety Ta’Shawn James picked off Sagapolutele twice, and those turnovers were a major reason the Bruins were able to close things out.
Third down remains a clear area for UCLA to sharpen. Cal converted 11 of 21 third-down chances, a 52.4% rate that allowed too many drives to stay alive.
UCLA did make up for it by slamming the door on fourth down, where Cal went 0 for 3. Those stops were huge in shaping the outcome.
In all, the Bruins forced three turnovers and came through with several key plays on defense in the win. The offense put points on the board, but the defense’s takeaways and fourth-down stands were just as important in getting UCLA to 1-0. If that group can tighten up on third down while continuing to create turnovers, there’s a real path to something special in the Big Ten this season.
In Other News...
UCLAs Biggest Post-Cal Challenge Is Just Getting Started
After a road win at Cal, Bob Chesney spent Monday trying to steer UCLA away from the easy trap that follows a result like that. The Bruins got the kind of victory that can make a locker room feel a little too good about itself, and Chesney leaned on a lesson from his time at James Madison to make sure the message stayed clear: the work is not finished just because one good day turned into a better one.
San Diego State is next, and Chesney said UCLA still has to keep improving and lock back in quickly. For a team coming off a confidence-boosting trip, the challenge now is less about celebrating the win and more about proving it meant something by carrying the same edge into the next game. [Read more 🡒]
UCLA Left One Costly Red Zone Mistake That Better Teams Will Punish
UCLA opened Week One with a 21-point win and, for the most part, looked efficient when it got inside the red zone. The Bruins turned most of those chances into touchdowns and kept control of the game, which made the overall offensive showing feel encouraging even if there were a few early-seasons rough edges to clean up.
One empty trip still loomed large because it came just before halftime, when a short Nico Iamaleava pass was intercepted in the red zone and Cal quickly answered with a touchdown to trim the lead to 21-17. UCLA steadied after that and allowed only seven second-half points, but better teams are far more likely to punish that kind of wasted scoring chance. [Read more 🡒]
UCLA Gets Its First Real Chance To Prove Week 1 Was Real
UCLA gets a cleaner read on itself Saturday when it hosts San Diego State at Rose Bowl Stadium, a follow-up that should say more about the Bruins than the season opener did. The 4:15 p.m. kickoff comes after a win over California that gave first-year head coach Bob Chesney and his team an encouraging first step, with running back Wayne Knight and defensive back TaShawn James among the players who helped set the tone.
Chesney arrived with a proven track record, and his first game in charge suggested the Bruins may have more immediate traction than some expected. But Week 1 can only tell you so much, and this home game offers UCLA a chance to see whether its fast start was a one-night burst or the beginning of something sturdier as the schedule starts to sharpen. [Read more 🡒]