Slide, Josh Rosen, slide, UCLA coaches say
UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen is hit hard by Arizona safety Will Parks after an 11-yard scramble in the first half at Arizona Stadium.
There were two things concerned UCLA Coach Jim Mora after a 56-30 victory over Arizona Saturday. How the Wildcats ran the ball and how quarterback Josh Rosen ran the ball.
Fixing the defense, which allowed 353 yards rushing, will take some tinkering. Getting the freshman quarterback to protect himself, Mora hopes, is a done deal.
Rosen, at a lean 6 feet 4, presents a tasty target to head-hunting linebackers. Twice he took off against the Wildcats, once on a scramble and the other on a zone-read option. Both times he got clobbered.
“The only thing he didn’t do well tonight was taking those hits,” Mora said. “It’s not necessary for him. He doesn’t have to prove his courage to anybody. He is a courageous young man. Everybody knows it.”
Mea culpa, Rosen said.
“I’m usually pretty good about sliding,” Rosen said. But, he added, “Some plays, instincts take over.”
The Bruins need to keep their quarterback healthy, especially with their defense trying to plug holes opened by injuries. But they also need Rosen to carry the ball when needed.
His two runs Saturday were vital in keeping the defense honest.
The first was a 10-yard scramble on a third-and-nine play that propelled a touchdown drive. The last three seasons, opposing defenses had to worry about quarterback Brett Hundley improvising and using his feet to pick up yards.
On the second, Rosen pulled the ball back on a zone-read option, scurried eight yards for a touchdown and got belted at the goal line. Rosen has to show he is willing to run the ball to make the zone-read put doubt in the mind of defenders. Otherwise the zone-read is just a regular handoff and defenses can load up on running back Paul Perkins.
“A lot of little things seem like a big deal, like that eight-yard run,” Rosen said. “It makes everything look completely different.”
Still, offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said, “It’s an efficient play. I just wish he would stinking slide instead run down there thinking he’s Paul Perkins. You get the first down and get down.”
Run down
The 353 yards rushing was the most the Bruins have allowed since being run over by USC in 2005. The Trojans had 430 yards rushing in a 66-19 victory.
“I’m concerned, but I’m not in panic mode,” Mora said. “If in four weeks, we had not stopped run, I would be a little more shook up about it. But we have stopped the run.”
UCLA held Virginia to 109 yards rushing. Nevada Las Vegas gained 181 yards, much of it after the game was decided. Brigham Young had 161 yards on the ground and gave the Bruins some trouble.
Against Arizona, Mora said, “We missed an inordinate amount of tackles, we need to do a better job as a staff adjusting and need to play things with exactness. I know we’ll get it fixed.”
Time and distance
Two things took some pressure off the UCLA defense.
First, the offense stayed on the field. In the previous game, BYU kept the Bruins’ defense on the field for 40 minutes. Against Arizona, UCLA had a slight edge in time of possession, 31:55 to 28:05.
“We let the defense get some rest,” Perkins said. “We knew Arizona had a high tempo offense. It was important for us to sustain drives. If we don’t score, we need get the ball on the other side’s 50 and pin them down.”
The Bruins also started in their own territory only once on their first five drives. In scoring their first four touchdowns, the farthest the Bruins had to go was 50 yards.
“That [stinks] as a defense,” Rosen said. “You can’t give up a 10-15 yard play and shake it off. We get 10 or 15 yards and we’re in the red zone. It’s tough to defend a short field.”
Game time
UCLA will play Arizona State at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The game will be on Channel 11.
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