Josh Rosen's Continued Growth Evident in UCLA's Dominating Win vs. Cal

PASADENA, Calif. – Every college football game is filled with a litany of small moments that can send momentum in a specific direction no matter what sideline you’re standing on.

Sometimes those plays happen early. Sometimes, as we all saw last week in Ann Arbor between Michigan and Michigan State, they can come on the very last snap.

That’s simply college football nowadays, and while it may seem like an easy-to-digest, macro concept, many players, coaches, fans and media members often overlook the fact that even amid blowouts there’s some spark buried deep inside a game that can prove to be the difference between being an upset and a runaway.

UCLA’s 40-24 thrashing of No. 19 Cal was merely quarterback Josh Rosen’s seventh game of his promising college career, but that notion was one of the key things the true freshman hit upon when diagnosing his 399-yard, three-score effort on Thursday night that was as close to flawless as one could be.

“There are so many instances that make the media or fans say that was a good game or that was a bad game,” Rosen said. “I almost threw a pick on that first drive when I threw the fade to (Jordan Payton), and I short-armed it. That could have changed how everybody is looking at this game. But it was just a few inches on a few certain plays that make people say you had a good or bad game.

“The cards fell in our favor. We executed.”

Few fifth-year seniors would be savvy enough to note an incomplete pass on a nine-play scoring drive that occurred nearly four hours ago. That Rosen did so, and labeled it as a turning point in an otherwise routine contest, was yet another reminder that he is no ordinary first-year starter nor your typical 18-year-old freshman.

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

“Josh is a lot like (Cal quarterback Jared Goff). He’s very mature, he has tremendous poise, he prepares well and he’s smart,” Bruins coach Jim Mora remarked. “Like all great performers, they are able to let go of what just happened and move on to the next event. Josh has been able to do that now for seven games, in spring ball and in our summer camp. He’s a rare kid.”

Goff is considered by most to be a first-round pick when he eventually declares for the NFL draft and even a 295-yard outing against a depleted UCLA defense in which he had three touchdowns but five sacks would dissuade few teams from making him the face of their franchise. Rosen may be fresh out of high school but his continued progression on the field has made him look far more like an elder statesman for the Bruins than a freshman.

“(This win) feels as good as BYU when I threw three picks and had a hundred something yards,” Rosen said matter of factly. “I feel like I’ve played five great games in five great wins.”

That fifth one may have been a season-saver for the team too.

UCLA’s division hopes remain on life support but another season finishing with double-digit wins remains on the table. That may not be what a fanbase longing to turn the corner wants to hear, but it’s not bad at all in the big picture considering the youth behind center and a host of devastating injuries.

After all, a big reason why Rosen was front and center leading the offense on a picturesque evening at the Rose Bowl was due to the absence of star tailback Paul Perkins. The underrated slasher took a helmet to his leg in the first half and failed to return to the game after limping off.

The redshirt junior led the Pac-12 in rushing last season and appeared well on his way to doing that again in 2015 but may find himself on the sidelines for the foreseeable future with several other starters after Mora said his prognosis was “not good at all.”

In other words, expect UCLA to do exactly what it did for most of the game against a woeful Cal defense: lean on Rosen.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

“I have to give UCLA a lot of credit, they had lost two straight. They came out and played a very aggressive physical brand of football,” Bears coach Sonny Dykes said. “We got pressure on Rosen, but we didn’t do a good job of keeping him hemmed in.”

Welcome to the club, coach.

With the meat of the Bruins schedule behind them until trips to Utah and USC to end the year, it’s unlikely Cal will be the last to say the same about the continually improving signal-caller.

Rosen led seven straight scoring drives to open the contest against Cal and put the game out of reach just after halftime. By the end of the night, he held or tied eight school records.

Not bad for his seventh game.

The Bruins don’t just have their quarterback of the future, they clearly have a good one for the present.

Rosen has been wise beyond his years during his short tenure so far in Westwood and his maturing under fire certainly gives the team plenty of hope after another dominating win that may just have saved the season.

You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.