Punter Matt Mengel is proving a valuable asset for UCLA

When you punt, you win.

Rick Neuheisel took some grief from fans for that comment when, as UCLA’s football coach, he tried to explain the upside of strategizing for field position in 2008.

Which is what the Bruins did Saturday in a key Pac-12 Conference victory over Arizona. There were several components that were important to UCLA’s 17-7 victory, and punter Matt Mengel was among them.

Mengel averaged 40.7 yards per punt, but it wasn’t so much how far the ball traveled as much as where it landed. Of his seven punts, six put the Wildcats inside their 20-yard line, three inside the 10.

“That feels great,” Mengel said. “Now their quarterback has to be thinking, ‘Shoot, I got to drive the ball 90 yards against a defense that is on top of its stuff today?’ To him, that can only be discouraging.”

Mengel was a late addition to the team, coming in after Sean Covington left school. Splitting the punting duties with Adam Searl, Mengel is averaging 39.8 yards per kick.

“I have become more consistent hitting the ball 40 or more yards,” Mengel said. “It has taken tons of training, working on my drops, working on my form. It’s finally starting to come together.”

The timing for his breakout performance was perfect.

“Against a team like Arizona, we needed him to flip the field for us a couple times,” Coach Jim Mora said. “We needed him to pin them back.”

The Bruins scored their go-ahead touchdown after a 50-yard Mengel punt rolled dead at the Arizona four. UCLA got the ball back at its 42.

Arizona was unable to return any of Mengel’s kicks. The Wildcats started beyond their 25 only twice.

“Every week he makes positive strides,” Mora said. “This week, his operation time was good. I thought his sky punts inside the 20 were really good. When we needed him to bang one, he banged one pretty good. A 41-yarder with no return is a 41-yard net gain.”

Reaching deep

UCLA suddenly has a wealth of depth along the offensive line, especially at guard.

Alex Redmond has returned form an ankle injury. Malcolm Bunche has played well since shifting from tackle. Scott Quessenberry has performed consistently. Kenny Lacy has improved.

“It’s nice to finally have some guys who can step in there and feel like there isn’t going to be a drop-off,” Mora said. “As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter that I realized Kenny been out there as much as he had. That’s really great when I don’t notice that.”

UCLA has averaged 293 yards rushing in its last four games.

The line depth and improvement has been such that Mora would like to make tackle Simon Goines, who had knee surgery during training camp and has been working to come back, a redshirt. Goines, a junior, started 19 games the last two seasons.

“If he’s called on, I know he’ll work,” Mora said. “The most profitable thing for us in the long run would be for him to redshirt.”

Quick hits

Receiver Thomas Duarte went through an entire practice Tuesday. He sat out the last three games because of a hamstring injury. Mora said that Duarte could have played against Arizona had he been needed.

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Paul Perkins has a shot to make a big climb up the Bruins’ season rushing list. He has 1,074 yards, the 17th-best season in UCLA history. He needs 332 to reach third on the list. Perkins is averaging 119 yards per game, ranking him third in the Pac-12 and 14th nationally.