Five things we learned in UCLA’s 38-23 defeat by Arizona State

Arizona State defeated UCLA, 38-23, on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Here are five things we learned from the Bruins’ loss.

UCLA letdown

Last week doesn’t matter.

There were whispers around the Rose Bowl hours before kickoff that this was a game that UCLA should be afraid of.

The Bruins were in too good shape — and off to a perfect 4-0 start — after they dominated Arizona, 56-30, last week in the desert.

Meanwhile, Arizona State was embarrassed last week by USC 42-14, and was desperate for a win.

The game had the same feeling as a year ago, when the Bruins needed a win against Stanford — a team it had beat on paper — but couldn’t beat on the field.

When the run fails

UCLA committed to the run early and abandoned it too late.

It was clear Arizona State’s game plan was to make UCLA throw the ball, but the Bruins tried to run it to the end.

UCLA’s leading rusher Paul Perkins, who averaged 128.8 yards per game, was held to 63 yards and a touchdown in 18 carries.

“They took the run out of the game plan for us,” offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said. “Paul is kind of our comfort zone and they weren’t going to let us do that.”

UCLA rushed for 62 total yards.

Injuries added up

UCLA played without five defensive starters and it was apparent.

Eddie Vanderdoes, Fabian Morea, Myles Jack, Marcus Rios and Jayon Brown were unavailable because of injuries.

The Bruins defense struggled to get off the field in critical third- and fourth-down situations.

Arizona State rushed for 192 total yards, including 55 yards from quarterback Mike Bercovici.

Bercovici completed 27 of 44 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception.

Arizona State was 10 of 23 on third down.

Rosen learning on the fly

In his short five-week college career, quarterback Josh Rosen has faced several scenarios.

He completed several impressive passes against Arizona State.

He also made a few freshman mistakes.

Rosen said after the game that he needed to learn to slow the game down before the snap.

Rosen completed 22 of 40 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception.

He struggled to find a rhythm early, but completed a 16-yard, 15-yard and 17-yard pass in a six-play scoring drive that pulled UCLA within a touchdown of Arizona State in the fourth quarter.

Pac-12 South is open

It’s unlikely any team makes it out of the Pac-12 South division without a loss.

Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA each have lost to a division opponent.

USC lost to Stanford, a Pac-12 North team.

And it’s only a matter of time before Colorado, which has yet to play a Pac-12 South game, picks up a loss too.

Utah is a perfect 4-0, and defeated Oregon 62-20 last week, but has yet to play a South division opponent.

Follow Lindsey Thiry on Twitter @LindseyThiry