UCLA Football: Grading the Bruins' Performance Against Oregon State Beavers

This past Saturday, the UCLA Bruins escaped Corvallis and the Oregon State Beavers with a 27-19 victory.

With the Beavers having an extra week to prepare and being played on their home field, this game figured to be close until the end—and it didn’t disappoint.

If you’re a Bruins fan, you were probably hoping for a more convincing victory, and Oregon State fans were probably hoping the Beavers would finish with their first victory of the young season.

Nonetheless, the Bruins showed some flashes of success and some areas of concern.

Offense: B-

Quarterback: B-

Richard Brehaut was 7-of-11 for 146 yards with a touchdown on the ground and through the air. Brehaut had a decent game and took advantage of poor coverage when needed.

Running Backs: B

Primary back Johnathan Franklin shared carries with Derrick Coleman, who rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries. Neither back scored a touchdown.

Receivers: B

The receivers did their job for the most part against the Beavers. Drops weren’t a major issue, and receptions averaged a staggering 20.9 yards per catch.

O-line: B-

The offensive line did a decent job. The running backs were able to rush for 211 yards and there were only a few penalties, but that is to be expected. 

Defense: C+

D-line: B

The defensive line did its job making its presence felt, sacking Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion twice and forcing several runs for losses on the day.

Linebackers: B+

This was the best performance of the day. Linebacker Sean Westgate picked off the lone interception on the day.

Secondary: C-

This is by far the weakest performance on the day for the defense. The secondary allowed a depleted Beavers receiving corps to rack up 287 yards through the air, and they were fortunate to not have been beat on a few dropped passes.

Special Teams: C-

Punting: B

Besides a punt return for a touchdown, Jeff Locke did a good job punting the football, averaging 50.3 yards on four punts.

Kicking: C-

The kicking game was surprisingly bad. Locke kicked as well, missing on his lone attempt and only converting 3-of-4 PATs (one blocked).

Return Game: B-

The return game really only had one good return for 42 yards on a kickoff, with no punt returns in the game.

Coverage Team: D

There really isn’t much to say besides that the Bruins need to work on their coverage team. Oregon State returned one punt for a touchdown and was able to move the ball with ease on returns.