No. 7 UCLA survived a serious scare on the road against Virginia Saturday, managing to pull out the 28-20 win thanks in large part due to a number of major mistakes made by Virginia early.
3 things we learned from UCLA’s close win over Virginia
The Bruins pulled out the victory on the road, but Virginia’s defense gave them a big scare.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
After an opening deep bomb from Brett Hundley brought UCLA into Virginia territory, the Cavaliers’ defense held strong. Virginia’s offense did not hold quite as strong, however, giving up three touchdowns to the UCLA defense in the first half alone.
More from our team sites
Virginia managed to grab one back before halftime after switching quarterbacks, as Matt Johns found Andre Levrone for the 29-yard score. Johns followed that up with a 23-yard touchdown toss to Darius Jennings in the third quarter, bringing the game back within reach for the Cavaliers.
Virginia continued to beat up the UCLA offensive line in the second half, but Brett Hundley was finally able to make a big play late in the third. The redshirt junior saw a hole up the middle and burst through it, scoring the 6-yard touchdown to make it a two-score game.
The Cavaliers returned to their Hundley-sacking ways in the fourth, bursting into the backfield and forcing a fumble from the quarterback on a fourth down conversion attempt. Virginia converted on fourth down on their ensuing drive, leading to a 27-yard field goal to cut the lead to one possession. After UCLA’s seventh punt of the game concluded their next drive, Virginia was unable to convert on a fourth down attempt, giving the Bruins the victory.
Three things we learned
1. The Bruins’ offense needs some serious work. A late fourth quarter surge by Paul Perkins and Brett Hundley helped seal the victory and pad some stats, but UCLA’s offensive line was dominated by Virginia’s defensive line for the first three quarters of the game. The Bruins ended up averaging 3.0 yards per rush on 39 carries and 6.2 yards per pass attempt, relying heavily on their defense to get them on the scoreboard.
2. Maybe all that UCLA playoff talk was just a bit premature. The Bruins have a favorable home split in their Pac-12 schedule, a potential Heisman candidate in Hundley and one of college football’s most dynamic talents in Myles Jack. As a result, the Bruins were a popular pick to sneak into the new four-team playoff, but a close victory over a team that won two games in 2013 is a far cry from a top four program. If the offensive line improves, they have the quarterback and the defensive ability to make some noise, but that looks like a pretty sizable “if” at this point.
Hey, we finally joined Facebook!
3. Matt Johns could save Mike London's job. Starting quarterback Grayson Lambert averaged less than five yards per attempt and threw two pick-sixes before being pulled for Johns, and the sophomore impressed immediately. London has done a fine job bringing blue-chip talent into the program, with little on-field success to show for it. This year could be different -- the Cavaliers' defense is stacked, and Johns could upgrade the offense from "dreadful" to "mostly adequate." Before the year, our own Bill Connelly called the Cavaliers' defensive line "potentially excellent" and the secondary "potentially spectacular," and Virginia certainly put on a show early against the Bruins. Without the early mistakes from Lambert, this could have very well been a convincing home victory for the Hoos.
See More:
