UCLA Bruins 3-3 Overall (0-3 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Cal 45 – UCLA 26

Next Week’s Opponent: @Arizona

It feels like forever ago that the Bruins triumphantly marched into Tennessee and upset the Volunteers for the second straight year, doesn’t it?

After a perfect 3-0 start, the Bruins have come out of the bye week with three straight losses. While Stanford, Oregon, and Cal could all very well end up in the top half of the conference, it doesn’t do much to lessen the sting of the losing streak.

The defense has surprisingly been a major concern for the Bruins during conference play, especially in the running game. After giving up 174 yards on the ground to Stanford and 221 to Oregon, the Bruins had another awful day against the run vs. Cal, surrendering 289 yards.

UCLA gave up six touchdowns Saturday, all on huge plays. Marvin Jones had two TD grabs for 43 yards and 24 yards, Jahvid Best had a 51 yard touchdown catch and a 93-yard run, and Shane Vereen had a 42-yard scoring run. But it isn’t just the defense giving up the big plays; for the second straight game, Kevin Prince has thrown a pick-6, this one returned for 68 yards.

The Bruins lost the turnover battle 2-0, and both turnovers led to touchdowns. This team simply cannot afford to turn the ball over.

If there was a positive to take from Saturday’s game, it would be amassing 448 yards of total offense. With the exception of the pick-6, Kevin Prince had a nice day, going 21/41 for 311 yards. Jonathan Franklin had 101 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, and Logan Paulsen led the receiving corps with five catches for 96 yards.

It was good to see the offense come alive a bit; but not good enough. The defense will have to find its form in a hurry if the Bruins are to have any chance of beating Arizona this weekend.