What we learned about UCLA in its win over Colorado

UCLA needed double overtime to beat Colorado on Saturday. Here’s the live blog and recap, and here’s what we learned about UCLA:

We know who this team is now

UCLA is a talented football team that plays down to its competition. That isn’t a hypothetical anymore. That’s a statement.

It was a hypothetical after Virginia, or Memphis, or Utah, or Cal, but it’s not anymore. Colorado was UCLA’s chance to prove that it’s a legitimate national contender. A big win would have done wonders for this team’s reputation. Blowing out teams like Colorado is what good teams do. Maybe not every week, but consistently enough to where they aren’t going down to the wire in every game.

Instead, the Bruins let Colorado hang around, just like they have in almost every game this season. The Buffaloes don’t have a Pac-12 win this season and lost to Colorado State, but the Bruins still needed double overtime to put them away. It was a bad win in every sense of the phrase, but for UCLA, that’s now the norm. It’s almost November. There are no more hypotheticals. This is who they are.

The penalty problem is very real

Ishmael Adams picked off a pass in the second quarter, and then was called for pass interference. The next play, Myles Jack pulled off an incredible one-handed interception, only for Adams to get called for defensive holding. Two plays, two turnovers that didn’t count.

The Bruins have had a penalty problem this whole season, but it reared its ugly head in a bad way on Saturday. UCLA finished with 14 penalties for 121 yards, oftentimes keeping Colorado drives alive with mistakes.

It’s hard to play the blame game with penalties. Most of it is coaching, but at some point, the players have to be mentally strong enough to carry it out. They haven’t been up to this point, and it was a very real problem against the Buffaloes.

Another inconsistent game from Brett Hundley

Last week, I wrote that Hundley had decent numbers, but his arm looked a little off, almost like something was wrong.

I could have copy and pasted that section for Hundley’s game against Colorado. It was the same deal. He passed for 200 yards, ran for 110, and scored two touchdowns. Good numbers, not great.

But again, Hundley struggled with accuracy, especially with throws down the field. Perhaps the most concerning part is that he isn’t missing high, or low. He’s missing all over the place.

As long as Paul Perkins continues to run well, UCLA’s offense isn’t completely stuck. But something is up with Hundley, and the Bruins are going to continue to be as inconsistent as he is as long as these sort of games continue.

This team would be in serious trouble without Paul Perkins

He scored the first touchdown of the game, on a 92-yard run down the sideline, and was UCLA’s only consistent offensive player. Hundley was all over the place, the receivers were dropping passes, but Perkins kept doing his thing.

He was dealing with a wrist injury this week, but still finished with 180 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone didn’t dial up Perkins’ number much, potentially because of the wrist injury, but Perkins still managed to carry the offense — again.

UCLA seems to have figured out the offensive line rotation

The Bruins rushed for 309 yards and didn’t allow a sack. Hundley had all day to throw. The only real negative from the offensive line was penalties, especially from right tackle Caleb Benenoch.

Besides that, this offensive line looks like it’s finally starting to gel. Putting Conor McDermott into the starting lineup as the left tackle, and shifting Malcolm Bunche over to left guard seems to be working.

Even if tackle Simon Goines and guard Alex Redmond return from injury soon, I’m not sure UCLA will mess with the combination it has going. For the first time in a while, the offensive line isn’t a big concern. It’s probably better for everyone if it stays that way.

For more Bruin observations, follow Everett Cook on Twitter @everettcook