UCLA Football: Bruins Fall Short in Week 2 Comeback, Lose 30-23 to UNLV

With a chip on their shoulder and something to prove, the UCLA Bruins took the road against the UNLV Rebels in a Week 2 college football matchup.

The past seven days for the Bruins were an uphill battle, and a trip to Allegiant Stadium was an opportunity to get back on track. However, the Week 1 bruises carried over into Week 2 as UCLA’s comeback against UNLV fell short, losing 30-23.

The Blue and Gold have now dropped each of their first two games of the season. The concern rises for Westwood’s own, and the journey to the season’s first win is still underway.

UCLA vs. UNLV: Week 2 College Football Recap

UCLA’s Tale of Two Halves

The first 3o minutes of the game were nothing like the final 3o. The Bruins looked like a completely different team coming out for the second half.

“First half, we didn’t really show up the way that we wanted to,” UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster said. “Second half, we were able to make some plays, but we were still doing some things that we shouldn’t have done, and stopping drives and getting in our own way. But it’s something that we can fix. We’re going to get it fixed.”

First Half

UCLA Bruins: Three points, 110 total yards, 0-6 on third downs, 4.4 yards per play, 25 total plays and 11:10 time of possession.

UNLV Rebels: 23 points, 250 total yards, 4-6 on third downs, 7.8 yards per play, 32 total plays and 18:46 time of possession.

Second Half

UCLA Bruins: 20 points, 318 total yards, 3-7 on third downs, 6.8 yards per play, 47 total plays and 20:16 time of possession.

UNLV Rebels: Seven points, 101 total yards, 1-4 on third downs, 4.8 yards per play, 21 total plays and 9:44 time of possession.

The Bruins’ Efforts Fall Short

After being outscored 66-13 through the season’s first six quarters, Foster injected his team with confidence at halftime. The first two quarters were just another awful sequence of drives. Offense stalled, and the defense couldn’t stop a nose bleed.

Led by quarterback Anthony Colandrea, UNLV racked up 250 total yards in 32 plays and created a sizable lead. The Rebels’ self-inflicted wounds did limit their damage as nine penalties for 85 yards wiped away big plays for the Mountain West representative.

However, a dismantled UCLA squad came out in the third quarter with one goal: to rally back.

Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava settled in and hit a flow state. He hit 22 of his 31 passes for 196 yards en-route to four scoring drives. In turn, the defense — in need of major stops — completely shut down the Rebels’ offense. They limited UNLV to 58 seconds of possession in the third and allowed just 17 yards.

The fourth was no different, but UCLA’s comeback was stopped 24 yards away. A tipped ball in the final minute left for an easy game-sealing interception for the Rebels.

Defense Remains a Concern for UCLA

As much as the second half showed promise of what this UCLA team is capable of, the glaring issues on defense still stand for the Bruins football team. Foster and UCLA have put back-to-back concerning performances on tape.

Through two games, the Bruins have allowed 409 passing yards and 434 rushing yards. The Achilles’ heel for the Blue and Gold is undoubtedly third downs. Defensively, they’ve allowed 19 conversions on 26 attempts in two games.

“I’m just frustrated because when you know that you can execute better than we were and put together two halves like I wish we would have done … this outcome would have been different,” Foster added.

Tackling needs to be sorted. Bruins defenders were not necessarily missing tackles straight up, but were rather putting themselves out of position — allowing the Rebels to squeeze by for extra yards.

The rush and pressure UCLA generated was much better, especially with the blitz. It led to UCLA tallying its first sack of the season. Nonetheless, to get its defense off the field, turning those pressures into tackles for loss and sacks will ease the load.

The Bruins’ Running Game was Impactful

It was clear that UCLA wanted to establish the run early, and junior running back Jaivian Thomas started the efforts with a 32-yard pickup in the first. However, the Bruins didn’t see any more big plays on the ground after that. Falling behind by an early deficit created a pass-heavy approach.

A change in tide revived UCLA’s rushing attack as five plays went for 10-plus yards on the ground in the second half, one of which Iamaleava took 30 yards to the house.

The three-headed running back room finished their evening with 114 yards on a 6.2 average per carry.

UCLA’s Week 3 Outlook

The Blue and Gold will have a short week to get prepared for New Mexico as they look to get into the win column. The Rose Bowl will host the Friday night kickoff between the 0-2 Bruins and the 1-1 Lobos.