Josh Rosen shrugs off slow start as UCLA holds on to beat BYU, 17-14

A huge roar washed over LaVell Edwards Stadium late in the second quarter Saturday night, which seemed curious given the circumstances.

Brigham Young had not scored in the game and trailed UCLA by 10 points.

What had triggered the enormous rise in fan volume?

The Cougars had gained a first down, their first of the quarter and third of the game. Hey, it was progress.

Positive yardage was a struggle against a once-malleable Bruins defense that looked formidable upon the return of several starters. UCLA rediscovered its pass rush and was equally sturdy against the run during a 17-14 victory that served as a pleasing prelude to its showdown with Stanford next week.

The Bruins (2-1) sacked BYU quarterback Taysom Hill four times—all in the first half—and held the Cougars (1-2) to 23 yards rushing, huge progress for a defense that was the team’s primary weakness in its first two games. It was the lowest yards rushing yards UCLA allowed since it held Arizona State to 21 in 2008.

“I love that,” Bruins defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes said. “Now it’s not, ‘Oh, the D-line gave up 200 yards, the D-line did this, the D-line did that’ so it’s nice when we’re finally all healthy playing together, executing and playing at a high level.”

Hill gave UCLA a late scare when he completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Nick Kurtz with 37 seconds left in the game, but the Bruins got the ball back when the ensuing onside kick scooted out of bounds.

Big defensive plays by the Bruins were the norm, prompting boos shortly before halftime after another BYU play that went nowhere and early in the fourth quarter when a Hill pass landed at the feet of a receiver.

Hill finished the game with minus-seven yards rushing in 10 carries, largely as a result of UCLA linebacker Jayon Brown shadowing him, but he completed 26 of 48 passes for 250 yards and one touchdown.

“We put a lot of emphasis this week on our rush lanes and what we call putting dots on the quarterback and not giving him escape routes,” Bruins Coach Jim Mora said.

UCLA was so good on defense that it should have considered pulling its plane into the Tom Bradley Terminal upon its return to Los Angeles International Airport as a tribute to its much-maligned defensive coordinator of the same name.

Bradley said much of the improvement resulted from Mora making the defense run plays over as many as four times in practice during the week to get every detail right.

Bruins quarterback Josh Rosen shrugged off a slow start, completing 26 of 40 passes for 307 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The Bruins’ offense moved the ball just enough, finding some rhythm in the second half after failing to convert on each of its first eight third downs.

The Cougars’ first touchdown, late in the third quarter, was heavily abetted by Bruins penalties. Vanderdoes was called for hands to the face, cornerback Fabian Moreau was called for holding and cornerback Nate Meadors was called for pass interference.

The final infraction gave the Cougars the ball at UCLA’s two-yard line before running back Jamaal Williams ran for a one-yard touchdown on third down to cut the Bruins’ lead to 17-7.

UCLA’s defense was the only story worth telling in the first half.

Bruins safety Adarius Pickett smashed into receiver Mitchell Juergens to break up one third-down pass and intercepted another pass that was tipped. Brown and Moreau also delivered big hits to break up passes and UCLA spent considerable time in BYU’s backfield.

Brown registered a tackle for loss and defensive end Rick Wade and linebacker Kenny Young each sacked Hill, giving the Bruins more sacks through the game’s first 16 minutes than they had recorded in the first two games combined. Brown and defensive end Takkarist McKinley added sacks later in the second quarter.

“I think as much credit should go to the secondary as goes to the front,” Mora said of the sacks. “It’s a team thing. We played a ton of man coverage—a ton of man coverage—and those young men did a tremendous job under a lot of stress and that allowed our rush to get there.”

UCLA’s defensive surge was triggered in large part by its available personnel.

The Bruins welcomed back McKinley and Deon Hollins, who had played sparingly in the first two games, and Vanderdoes, who had suffered a knee injury in the first half last week against Nevada Las Vegas. Safety Jaleel Wadood and linebacker Cameron Judge also returned after missing the game against the Rebels, but defensive tackle Boss Tagaloa was out with a foot injury and safety Randall Goforth also did not suit up and McKinley left with an injury in the final minutes.

Rosen appeared jittery early before composing himself to throw a six-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter to fullback Cameron Griffin for the game’s first points. J.J. Molson added a 24-yard field goal midway through the quarter to extend the Bruins’ lead to 10-0.

UCLA completed its most impressive drive early in the third quarter, converting all three third downs before Rosen completed a 33-yard touchdown pass to Darren Andrews.

UCLA’s stable of running backs remained in flux when tailback Nate Starks made his season debut but tailback Soso Jamabo and fullback Ainuu Taua watched the game in street clothes. Jamabo had entered the game as the Bruins’ leading rusher, with 181 yards in two games. Mora would not say why Jamabo did not play.

Starks sat out the first two games because of what Coach Jim Mora described as a “coach’s decision” that amounted to a team-imposed suspension. Starks led the Bruins with 39 yards in 15 carries against the Cougars, part of a sluggish rushing attack that gained only 50 yards and 1.5 yards per carry.

It didn’t matter given how the Cougars went nowhere with far more regularity.

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Follow Ben Bolch on Twitter @latbbolch

UPDATES:

1:25 a.m.: Updated with quotes.

This article was first posted at 11:05 p.m.