UCLA Football: What Bruins Must Do to Win Pac-12 South

At 4-2 (1-2 in conference play), things are a bit tenuous for Jim Mora and the UCLA football team. 

As of now, UCLA ranks just above Colorado in the Pac-12 South Division standings. Another loss (or two) could potentially extinguish any hopes of playing in the conference championship game. 

This piece will look at how UCLA can indeed win the South Division. Four points in particular will be on the agenda. 

Keep Feeding Paul Perkins the Rock

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RB Paul Perkins

The talented tailback out of Arizona has been UCLA's best offensive weapon to date. 

Perkins is leading the team with 727 yards rushing on the year, and he averages over 120 yards per game on the ground. He's effectively stabilized a position with question marks heading into the year. 

Simply put, UCLA needs to keep giving him the ball. His ability to run with effectiveness gets the offensive line into a rhythm. Running the ball well also acts as a mechanism in protecting Brett Hundley and slowing the opposition's pass rush.  

In addition to conventional ways of running the football, UCLA could start to utilize Perkins more in the passing game as well. He's got great hands and can be deadly on screens. 

Giving him at least 25 touches a contest would be ideal. 

Fix the Defense

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UCLA's defense hasn't done enough of this in 2014.

According to NCAA.com, UCLA ranks No. 89 in total defense. Surely this wasn't the scenario Mora and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich envisioned as the Bruins get ready to play their seventh game of the year?

With the talent on defense, this statistical ranking is unacceptable.  

The bend-but-don't-break approach simply isn't working. UCLA hasn't been able to generate much of a pass rush—largely because Ulbrich rarely dials up any blitzes. This is illustrated in UCLA's sack total on the season. The Bruins rank dead-last in the conference with only seven sacks. 

In the second half of the schedule, Ulbrich desperately needs to be more creative and exotic with his play-calling. UCLA cannot remain with this vanilla scheme if it's to win the Pac-12 South. 

Shore Up Offensive Line

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Hundley has been sacked 25 times through six games.

To be frank, UCLA's offensive line up to this point has been bad. 

Brett Hundley has been sacked 25 times through six games. Against Utah, the signal-caller was sacked an eye-popping 10 times.

The inability to protect in passing situations has been the major issue. As a result, Hundley's play has suffered. He ultimately drops his head to check for pressure, and with his eyes on the pass-rushers, he misses receivers running down the field. 

Whether it requires extra blockers in the way of tight ends or running backs, UCLA needs to address this situation—and fast. 

Win out in Division Play

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Quarterback Brett Hundley

It's simple: UCLA virtually has to win the remainder of its games in order to win the division. 

The Bruins still have to play Colorado, Arizona and Southern Cal in the South Division. Meanwhile, Pac-12 North Division foes Washington, Stanford and Cal are also still to come. 

With two losses already in conference play, there simply isn't much room for error. 

A look at the Pac-12 standings can be found here, courtesy of ESPN.com.