UCLA defense straddling fine line between yards and turnovers

Statistically, UCLA’s defense should be in full-on crisis mode.

The Bruins are currently giving up an average of 450 yards per game, which ranks 102nd in the nation. Teams like Georgia Southern, Purdue and South Alabama are giving up fewer yards per game.

But UCLA also has four defensive touchdowns, while forcing a respectable seven turnovers.

Through four games, the team is straddling a line between giving up too many yards and playing aggressively enough to force turnovers and score defensive touchdowns. Consider Arizona State backup quarterback Mike Bercovici, who threw for 488 yards and three touchdowns, but also turned the ball over three times. He had the Sun Devils in good position to score, but the game became a blowout because the Bruins capitalized on turnovers even after long, yardage-heavy drives.

When asked if this defensive model is sustainable, linebacker Eric Kendricks said, “Absolutely.”

“That’s what we harp on as a defense, stripping the ball and getting interceptions,” he added. “Those are key to winning games, so as long as we apply those we’ll have a good chance.”

The Bruins are also allowing a mediocre 25 points per game. Not bad, but not great. Without the turnovers and defensive touchdowns, that number would look a lot worse.

“I definitely believe we can keep doing that,” junior defensive back Ishmael Adams said. “We haven’t reached our full potential at all on that defensive side, and we’re not so worried about how many yards we got put up. It’s something we do notice and would like to cut down on, but at the end of the day it’s all about touchdowns and how many touchdowns are being put up. As long as we don’t have all these touchdowns in the end zone, we’re fine, but we do want to reach for better goals.”

Another part of that aggressiveness is penalties. The Bruins average more than eight penalties and 75 penalty yards per game, both among the worst in the nation. Kendricks said that a lot of the penalties UCLA had against Arizona State were disciplinary, as opposed to being caused by being over aggressive. Theoretically, that’s an easier fix.

“You’re going to have some penalties here and there, but for the most part, technique penalties, maybe like grabbing someone’s jersey or face mask, we have to minimize,” Kendricks said. “But sometimes you’re just going to get some when you’re being aggressive. Obviously the offsides can’t happen either. So it’s a little bit of both I would say.”

The Bruins have yet to play against a good, nationally-ranked quarterback this season. Utah comes to town this week, and its signal-caller, Travis Wilson, might be the best one UCLA has faced. Even still, he’s not one of the top six quarterbacks in the Pac-12.

The big test comes next week, when Oregon and Marcus Mariota come to town.

If the Bruins can force turnovers, they might be able to survive another defensive gashing. If not, the team could be in trouble.

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