‘I just don’t want to let down this team’: Ikaika Malloe is driven to fix UCLA’s defense
It started as the same unremarkable sequence that materializes dozens of times a season on UCLA’s football practice field, a coach lingering to speak with reporters and engage in the usual give and take.
Questions were asked about simplifying the defense and putting more pressure on the quarterback. Answers were given about accountability, attention to detail and putting the right defenders in position to make plays.
Then the coach started blinking tears, his voice catching, his words a chore. Everything routine about the exchange transformed into something else entirely.
“You know, I love this defense because I feel like part of them,” defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe began Tuesday, still holding it together. “They work so hard to try to give me what I want, you know, and so, on the flip side just, man, I can’t — I mean, I’ve been up since 3 o’clock on Sunday because I just don’t want to let down this team.
“These kids fight hard, man,” Malloe continued, now struggling to keep his composure, “and so I think the love for each other, that’s what keeps us going. But fundamentally, technically, that’s my job. I just got to get these kids better so we can win.”
UCLA-Oregon rewind: Familiar problems haunt Bruins
UCLA fans who gave up and went to bed should consider themselves the smart ones.
They only missed more disappointment.
A late start for the Bruins on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl came with an early ending for hopes of an upset.
UCLA fell behind by multiple touchdowns, found a flicker of hope with a big defensive play and ultimately came up short once again during a 34-13 loss to No. 8 Oregon.
Will Justyn Martin start at quarterback for UCLA? Five things to watch vs. Penn State
Come on down, Justyn Martin?
It was increasingly looking that way as UCLA finalized preparations for what’s going to be a difficult challenge no matter who takes the first snap at quarterback.
Barring a gutsy comeback from Ethan Garbers, his understudy will make his first college start Saturday against No. 7 Penn State at Beaver Stadium.
Garbers remained confined to an exercise bike midweek after being knocked out of the Bruins’ loss to Oregon last weekend with an unspecified injury, leaving his status in doubt for the game against the Nittany Lions. Martin, a redshirt sophomore, took first-string snaps in practice, every repetition coveted by a player who has thrown all of five passes in college.
UCLA vs. Penn State: How to watch the game, plus betting odds
UCLA (1-3) will face one of its toughest tests of the season Saturday when it takes on No. 7 Penn State (4-0) on the road at 9 a.m. PDT. The game will air on Fox and will be available on 1150 AM in the Los Angeles area.
Here are the latest betting odds for the game:
