Column: Wild win over Colorado is a real gut check for UCLA’s beleaguered defense

No matter how many UCLA defensive players succumbed to pulled hamstrings, twisted ankles and muscle cramps Saturday against Colorado another one popped up in his place, some playing out of position but all eager to keep alive their hopes of a Pac-12 Conference South Division title.

Nate Meadors, a freshman cornerback moved to safety by necessity, made the biggest play with a late interception at UCLA’s 46-yard line to seal the Bruins’ 35-31 victory over the Buffaloes at the Rose Bowl. But he wasn’t alone in his ability to adapt and forge onward through searing heat and a seemingly endless wave of injuries.

“A gazillion plays and it’s a thousand degrees out there and we’re standing there facing the sun. Of course we’re hot. Hell yeah, they were fatigued,” a pumped-up Coach Jim Mora said of his defense.

Physically exhausted, yes, and how could they not be after Colorado ran 114 plays to UCLA’s 59? But playing on homecoming weekend in front of the 1966 Rose Bowl championship team — the squad first dubbed the “Gutty Little Bruins” — the modern-day Bruins did their triumphant predecessors proud.

“No matter how we do it, we just need to win. And that’s the mentality of this team, just win,” receiver Thomas Duarte said. “We’d like something more normal, but today was exciting. It’s what college football is all about. It’s great to be a part of it.”

They survived the tedium of Colorado’s grind-it-out-a-little-at-a-time game. They survived a stretch in which their offense was on the field for only one play in 19 minutes. They squandered a 28-13 lead in the third quarter and fell behind, 31-28, early in the fourth but kept their legs churning and spirits buoyant as player after player limped to the training table.

“It shows we’re tough. Shows our grit,” Duarte said. “It shows our mentality as a team and this truly shows the true colors of the team.”

On Saturday those colors were black and blue.

“As a defense we had to dig super-deep. It was the longest, long day on defense today but we pulled it together,” said junior Jayon Brown, who was credited with a career-best and team-leading 18 tackles. “We counted on each other. We got each other hyped up. We all knew we were tired but we had to lean on each other and got the job done.”

Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said he had to play two defenses. “We couldn’t do a lot of things we had planned to do early because we had a lot of guys who never practiced them, and besides that they were playing positions they’d never played,” he said. “They stepped up and figured out what they could do, and we just did the best we could to keep them out of the end zone, which we did.

“I’m not a stat guy. I’m only worried about one stat: did you win the game? I thought that they stepped up at the end in some big situations. They didn’t have a lot of good luck today on some things but they hung together as a team and everybody hung tough on the sidelines and I’m awful proud of that group today.”

Their bodies faltered but their purpose never did.

“It was pretty crazy today. It was hot outside. We just had to grind it out and get the win,” defensive lineman Takkarist McKinley said. “Each week for us is championship week now that we control our destiny.”

Three of their last four games will be on the road, starting next week at Oregon State. For Mora, still running on adrenaline afterward, it was too soon to say how he will piece his defense together for that game.

“I’m going trick or treating with my son tonight,” he said with enough energy to suggest woeful consequences awaited anyone who’d deny the boy a treat. “We’ll figure it out. That’s what you do. That’s coaching. That’s ball. It’s never going to be [that] you don’t go through a season unscathed. We’ve got a bunch of guys, they’re a bunch of warriors, that’s what they are. They’re not survivors, they’re warriors. They’ll figure it out and they’ll go out and go to Oregon State and play our asses off.”

Defensive lineman Kenny Clark said Saturday’s win could become a springboard for a strong finish.

“I feel like we have a lot of momentum going up to Oregon State. Especially with those young guys. They played great,” he said. “I’m pretty sure our dinged-up guys will get back healthy and we’ll see next week.”

With strange wins like this, who needs normal?

Follow Helene Elliott on Twitter @helenenothelen