Bruins Take Away UVa’s Upset Hopes

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Eli Harold, Mike Moore, and the Hoos pressured Brett Hundley all afternoon. ~ Mike Ingalls

In a game dominated by defense, No. 7 UCLA came through with a 28-20 win against Virginia on Saturday. Both sides allowed less than five yards per play and less than 400 yards, but the Bruins changed the outcome with their defense. The visitors turned three Cavalier turnovers into touchdowns to grab the victory despite a lockdown effort from UVa’s defense, which allowed just one scoring drive all afternoon.

That’s right, UCLA scored 21 defensive points courtesy of two pick-six interceptions and one fumble return. That was enough to thrwart the upset attempt by the Hoos.

“I think we have a lot to improve upon offensively, but it was beautiful defensively. Can someone tell me the last time a UCLA defense scored three touchdowns in one half? Maybe never. But, we have a lot to improve on and that’s what’s encouraging,” Bruins coach Jim Mora said. “We came across three time zones to play early in the morning, for our body clocks if that’s an excuse, and we got a win with a lot to improve on and it’s exciting. I’m excited about this football team.”

“Defensively, they were where they needed to be. They capitalized on our errors. You take away those errors and you have a very competitive game,” UVa coach Mike London said.

Indeed, the Bruins’ ability to capitalize on turnovers was the difference. Virginia created two strip-sack fumbles of its own on defense, but scored just 10 points off those turnovers. UCLA, on the other hand, turned its three take-aways into 21 points while allowing just 386 yards and 4.6 yards per play.

The first pick-six interception came after a scoreless first quarter. With 13:42 on the clock in the second quarter, Greyson Lambert dropped back on first down but had his throwing motion bothered and the ball fluttered in the air toward intended receiver Taquan Mizzell. Ishmael Adams snared the jumpball and sprinted 20 yards for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

After Virginia responded with a field goal drive to make it 7-3, the Hoos appeared to be in business again late in the quarter. Over 3:42, they moved the ball into UCLA territory when Lambert found receiver Kyle Dockins for first down yardage on third-and-four. After Dockins gained 11 yards on the catch, however, he lost control of the ball while being tackled and the Bruins scooped up the fumble. Randall Goforth sprinted 75 yards unchallenged to make it 14-3.

The second interception came less than two minutes later. On third-and-eight from its own 38-yard line, UVa dialed up a screen pass for Khalek Shepherd. UCLA linebacker Eric Kendricks had other plans, though. Lambert appeared not to see Kendricks, who shot through the passing lane and intercepted the ball in front of Shepherd before running 20 yards for the touchdown. That made it 21-3 with 1:20 to go in the half. Kendricks finished with 16 takles on the day as well as the forced fumble on Dockins and the INT return.

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Matt Johns checked in and produced two touchdowns. ~ Mike Ingalls

“The first one was Owa [Odighizuwa] getting to the quarterback and Ish [Adams] having tight coverage and getting to the ball,” Mora said. “The second one: they had a bit of a tendency that [Eric] Kendricks was clued into and he was able to get in front of that one and make a play, but I don’t believe that he was telegraphing anything and those guys just made pretty nice plays.”

That play led to a quarterback change for Virginia, which went with Matt Johns in place of Lambert the rest of the way. Lambert tallied 112 yards on 16-of-23 passing with two interceptions, while Johns posted 154 yards on 13-of-22 passing with two touchdowns.

Johns led a touchdown drive as soon as he checked in, taking 28 seconds to get points. He found Andre Levrone for a 29-yard score that made it 21-10 at halftime. In the second half, Johns connected with Darius Jennings from 23 yards out to draw the hosts to within 21-17. That drive covered 59 yards over 10 plays.

After UCLA’s only touchdown drive of the day and a Virginia field goal made it 28-20, the Wahoos appeared to have some momentum. Taking over at the Bruins’ 40-yard line amidst cheers of “I believe that we will win,” the Cavaliers had prime position to try to tie the score. Johns completed a 19-yard pass to Levrone to push the ball inside the 20-yard line, but three straight running plays resulted in just two yards. The Hoos went for it on fourth-and-eight but a pass toward freshman Doni Dowling fell incomplete.

Both London and Johns indicated after the game that the quarterback called the incorrect play on third down, which had been signaled in as a passing play.

“They signaled in the play, I read the wrong line on my wristband. That was completely my fault. Bottom line, I called the wrong play. That’s it. It was a pass play and that’s all I’m going to say about it,” Johns said.

“We were in a four-down position there. We didn’t execute there. Unfortunately, the play that was called [on third down] was not executed. It wasn’t a run play. It was a pass play. Matt [Johns] misread the signals as they came in. As I said, you have a guy who had been playing a good game, and then the signal comes in and he makes an error. But, that game wasn’t won or lost in that situation,” London said. “There were so many opportunities during the game.”

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Henry Coley led UVa with 14 tackles, including two sacks. ~ Mike Ingalls

The opportunity to pull out a win late came thanks to an oustanding effort from the UVa defense. The Cavaliers allowed just 358 yards and 4.9 yards per play, numbers that fell well behind UCLA’s 2013 averages. The Bruins averaged 448.1 yards and 6.08 yards per play last season. The Hoos posted five sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and five pass break-ups as well. They held Heisman Trophy candidate Brett Hundley to 242 yards on 20-of-33 passing. He had just 39 yards and one touchdown rushing.

Virginia’s Henry Coley led the way with 14 tackles, two sacks, and one pass break-up, while Anthony Harris added 10 stops. Quin Blanding added nine tackles in his debut, while Daquan Romero (eight), Max Valles (six), and Eli Harold (five) each had at least five stops too. Romero and Coley forced fumbles, while Romero and Mike Moore came up with the recoveries.

Still, it wasn’t enough as the familiar theme of limited offense ruined the upset hopes.

“We want to make a statement every game. We do not give up no matter the circumstance and we keep fighting out there on the field. It’s a step forward today from last season,” Valles said. “Last season we would have given up early in the second quarter, so that’s a big step up in how we stayed together as a team.”

“They were a solid defense, strong, high motors, they didn’t quit. I feel like they really wanted this game, and so did we,” UCLA center Scott Quessenberry said. “They gave us a hell of a game, and that’s really all there is to say.”

Final Stats

4 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. Great game. Proud of our boys. London’s prep and game designs were excellent. UVA had a great pass to run ratio.

    We have some of the saddest fans in the nation… booing plays today… and it’s always guys who never played football whining when things don’t work. You even see it in posts here crying about the inside runs. Read the freaking post game interviews. The QB read the wrong signal. It happens.

    Even with the loss, today was a win for this program.

    Congrats to London.

  2. I agree. The team left everything out on the field and never gave up. If they play the rest of the season liked they played today it will be a good year.
    Good job by the coaches and the players.

  3. Even with the loss, the team has a lot of positives to build on from this game. — This is going to be a very exciting and productive season!!!

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