What we learned about UCLA in its win over Arizona

UCLA beat Arizona on Saturday, 17-7, in its most important win of the season. Here’s what we learned in the win:

This was the game the defense has been waiting for, plain and simple.

It would be a very “2014 UCLA” thing to not build off this defensive performance. The Bruins have been incredibly inconsistent this season, so it would be irresponsible to call this game the turning point.

But that was a heck of a defensive performance. I mean, a performance so good that the Bruins didn’t even seem to be expecting it.

Arizona came into this game averaging more than 40 points, 540 offensive yards and 348 passing yards per game. On Saturday, those numbers dropped to seven, 255 and 175. And even then, the Wildcats’ only points came on the first drive of the game, a drive that needed two Myles Jack penalties to stay alive.

Arizona’s offense is good. Legitimately good. UCLA made them look worse than Colorado. Quarterback Anu Solomon was flummoxed from the first snap. The Bruin defensive line lived in the backfield. The secondary laid big hits and didn’t get beat deep. It was a dominating, impressive performance.

The key to this was the same thing these players and coaches have been talking about since San Bernardino: discipline. Jeff Ulbrich runs a defense built off staying true to gap assignments. There’s no freelancing. If you don’t stick to your gap, and if you don’t trust that every single one of your teammates will stick to theirs, big plays become common.

For three months, Ulbrich has said if his defense figures it out, they are going to be dangerous. On Saturday, they figured it out. Players filled the gaps they were supposed to. Linebacker Eric Kendricks had just four tackles, which is a good thing. He’s usually the Bruin making up for other guys’ mistakes. On Saturday, that wasn’t necessary.

Again, whether or not they can carry this performance for the rest of the season is a very real concern.

But for right now, in UCLA’s biggest win of the season, that defense was dangerous. Impressive, dominating and dangerous.

Saturday was the biggest win of the season

It’s not like there are a lot of options. UCLA certainly played better in its win against Arizona State, but that game didn’t mean as much as this one did. A Bruin loss would have finished their season. Coach Jim Mora admitted as much after the game, saying it would have been impossible to achieve their goals with a loss.

It’s not like the Bruins are in the driver’s seat for the Pac-12 South. They are likely going to have to win out to play in the Pac-12 championship game, and will still need a Sun Devil loss, but at least they have that opportunity.

This was not the flashiest, sexiest win, but it was a win over a team that had put up some serious numbers against the rest of the Pac-12.

Defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa called this a “statement win,” and I’m going to have to agree with him.

Brett Hundley is going through some mental transformations

Most of Hundley’s performance on Saturday is covered in this post from after the game, but it’s important to note that the game Hundley played against Arizona might not be abnormal for the remainder of the season.

He had one deep pass, a 70-yard score to Jordan Payton, but had just 119 yards passing without that completion. The threat to throw was never really there.

Meanwhile, he ran the ball 24 times for 131 yards. That was his bread and butter.

UCLA’s offense is better when Hundley is running the football, without question. Any UCLA coach will admit that.

Running the football isn’t going to help his NFL draft stock though, and Hundley admitted after the game that the pressure to improve his pro prospects led to less rushing attempts early in the season. I highly recommend that post if only for the quotes from Hundley. He was honest and open, which leads me to believe he’s turned a corner. Wins are what matter now, regardless of how they come.

Penalties, penalties, penalties

Mora said after the game that UCLA just has to own its penalty problem, because it’s the one thing holding his team back right now.

Problem is the right word for the way the Bruins are racking up penalties. They were called for six in the first quarter alone, nine in the first half, and 12 in the game. They are one of the worst teams in the country at penalties per game, and this performance certainly doesn’t help.

It’s at the point where Arizona wouldn’t have scored if Myles Jack didn’t have two personal fouls on the Wildcats’ first drive of the game. It’s an easy correlation: No penalties = no points.

The Bruin defense played well enough to limit the impact those penalties made, but something needs to change. The flags are coming against the offense and defense, the offensive line to the defensive backs to the punt return team. It’s everyone, and it needs to be fixed before it ends up costing UCLA a game — a very real possibility.

Twitter @everettcook