The iconic Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California has seen some great games in it’s time. On Saturday it saw the new PAC-12 member, San Diego State and the legacy PAC-12 and current Big Ten member, UCLA Bruins. This was not one of those great games.
The home team Bruins won 28-10, turning a 0-0 halftime tie upside down late in the 2nd half. Here is some of the good and the bad that occurred to make it so.
The Good
As mentioned, the game was tied 0-0 at halftime, with the Aztec defense pitching a shutout that included two punts, an interception, and a turnover on downs via a sack.
The first marquee play came at the goal line when sophomore cornerback and Los Angeles native Mike Lindsay picked off an errant backfoot throw from senior Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava at the 9:19 mark.
Lindsay’s interception completed the goal-line stop after UCLA had driven down the field via Nico Iamaleava connecting with sophomore wide receiver Brian Rowe Jr., who ran 45 yards to the Aztec 21-yard line to set things up for UCLA.
The turnover erased a 10 play 78 yard Bruins drive that lasted over 5 minutes.
The second big play occured at the 2:08 mark on 4th and 7 at the Aztec 36 yard line when the Bruins elected not to kick a 53 yard field goal and instead try for a first down before the two minute warning.
Iamaleava was wrapped by Aztecs senior defensive tackle Amari Comier before escaping and senior nose tackle Malachi Finau who took him down for a 2 yard sack.
Overall, the Aztec defense was impressive. They shut out a team that had scored 24 points in the first half on the road at Cal-Berkeley the week prior.
In the first drive of the second half, the Aztec defense surrendered their first score on a 4-play, 43-yard Bruins drive that lasted 2 minutes and 5 seconds. Capped off by a Wayne Knight 8-yard touchdown almost untouched into the endzone.
From there, the Aztecs’ defense forced two punts, keeping it a one-score game. On 3rd and 7 at the UCLA 34-yard line, junior linebacker Cameron Cooper came in on the blitz and sacked Nico Iamaleava for a 10-yard loss at the 1:04 mark.
However due to the offense’s inabality to take advantage of great defesive play for a variety of reasons, there was only so much that a unit that spent 34 minutes 55 seconds on the field could do as the game dragged on.
UCLA scored 21 points in the fourth quarter duplicating what they done at California Memorial Stadium the week prior. The first fourth quarter touchdown was scored by running back Wayne Knight on 1st and goal completing a 9 play 75 yard drive.
The second was a 1 yard run from senior running back Javion Thomas. The final score came via a 36 yard Wayne Knight touchdown on 2nd and 4 at the 2:16 adding insult to injury for the Aztecs.
The Bruins have already scored 10 rushing touchdowns this season—6 of them came in the fourth quarter alone against two quality in-state FBS opponents, showcasing one of the nation’s best ground games with Wayne Knight, Javion Thomas, and 5th-year senior Anthony Woods.
The Aztec defense deserves applause for shutting down the Bruins’ potent rushing attack and limiting their scoring for three quarters. First-year defensive coordinator Demetrius Sumler’s unit should continue to develop and build chemistry.
The Aztecs run game was a the only bright spot for the offense as sophomore running back Javion Kinnard rushed for 48 yards on 12 carries, and senior Lucky Sutton finished with 19 carries for 81 yards.
The Aztecs scored their first and only touchdown of the game at the 2:28 mark fo the fourth quarter. Jayden Denegal, while on the run, found junior tight end Jackson Ford for a 19-yard pass, making an already decided game and lopsided score look better.
The Bad
If the Aztec defense was stellar for most of the game, the Aztec offense was anything but, and that’s me putting it lightly. Uninspiring and not innovative for a unit that couldn’t beat the Bruins or the point spread.
In the first half, the Aztec offense punted on all 4 possessions and didn’t enter Bruins territory once, totaling 71 yards on 25 plays and averaging an abysmal 2.84 yards per play.
The last drive of the first half was particularly brutal, as the Aztecs found a golden opportunity to put points on the board before halftime after the Bruins turned the ball over on downs. Instead of capitalizing on said opportunity, the Aztecs went on a 6-play, 12-yard drive with a 10-yard holding penalty by offensive tackle Joseph Borjon at the 0:39 mark. This turned a 2nd and 9 at the 50-yard line into a 2nd and 19 at the Aztec 40-yard line, effectively killing a crucial drive.
It was the same story in the third quarter, as the men in black and red averaged 28 yards on 15 plays for an even worse 1.86 yards per play. The only bright spot for this unit in the third quarter was the fact that they’d finally made it to Bruins territory on their third drive when they made it to the 48-yard line.
The drive ended on a punt and was effectively ended at the 6:05 mark via a 7-yard sack on 2nd and 11 when Jayden Denegal was sacked by sophomore edge rusher Scott Taylor and senior defensive back Ta’Shawn James.
After going scoreless in three quarters, the Aztecs would go on a 9-play, 48-yard drive ending in a 46-yard field goal made by senior kicker Cooper Dileva at 13:11, making it a 7-3 game.
When analyzing the offense and the play on the field it starts with senior quarterback Jayden Denegal. Regardless of the abysmal playcalling or the coaches lack of trust to throw more than deep outs, his performance just wasn’t up to the standard.
Denegal went 6-for-17, passing for 45 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and a rating of 35.7, and quite frankly, the numbers don’t do it justice. When there were plays to be made and receivers in space, Denegal couldn’t set his feet and push the ball down the field.
Playing a full season as a starter last year and with so many returning weapons to work with, his progression through reads with speed, his awareness, ball placement, and ability to take what the defense gives him doesn’t reflect an upperclassman who was on a national championship team in 2023.
The same criticism goes for head coach Sean Lewis and offensive coordinator Matt Johnson. The play calling didn’t put these young men in a position to win, as it consisted of runs up the middle, short passes, screen passes behind the line of scrimmage, and inefficient deep-ball attempts.
As the game wore on, I was concerned the coaching staff didn’t simplify the game for JD or use the short-to-medium passing game, RPOs, options, or other plays to get weapons in space instead of running similar plays over and over.
In addition, teams leading wide receiver a year ago, Jordan Napier was unable to get a touch.
The blame for the way this offense underperformed goes all around and they’ll have to go back to the drawing board to figure it out soon. If not, it may be a long season for the Aztec football program as JMU comes to town this coming Saturday.
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