Run game fell short of expectations in loss
Kennedy Polamalu earned a promotion earlier this year, becoming UCLA’s offensive coordinator while retaining his previous role coaching the running backs.
He suggested Saturday that maybe his dual responsibilities have resulted in a more-is-less approach, at least as they pertain to the Bruins’ continued inability to run the ball.
“My eyes are on the whole scheme instead of seeing their rhythm, seeing their tempo and seeing what they’re seeing,” Polamalu said of the running backs after UCLA’s 22-13 loss to No. 7 Stanford at the Rose Bowl, “where in the past when I’ve had the opportunity to sit a running back down and say, ‘OK, now they’re doing this. Take that extra step. Do this.’ “Those are all on me.” UCLA gained only 77 yards rushing and 2.3 yards per carry against the Cardinal, furthering its backward march statistically. The Bruins are averaging 117.8 yards rushing per game, ranking 114th out of 128 major-college teams.
UCLA was clearly in running mode when it started a drive with 4 minutes 40 seconds left in the game while holding a 13-9 lead. The Bruins probably needed two first downs to run out the clock and generate their first victory over Stanford since 2008.
They got one when Bolu Olorunfunmi cut outside for a 23-yard run on second down. Olorunfunmi carried the ball on the next two plays, gaining two yards each time to set up a third and six. But Josh Rosen’s pass to Eldridge Massington went for only four yards and the Bruins had to punt the ball back to the Cardinal, setting up their winning touchdown drive.
Olorunfunmi finished with 51 yards in 11 carries, which seemed like a surplus compared with Nate Starks’ 24 yards in 10 carries. Soso Jamabo also largely went nowhere, gaining 17 yards in seven carries.
“We had three backs and we’re trying to find one,” said Polamalu, who has indicated a preference for identifying a featured tailback since training camp. “I have to do a better job of coaching those young backs because that’s my position and I’m disappointed in how they’re producing.
“Can they produce? Yes they can. I have to help them more by calling the plays.”
Polamalu said the offensive line wasn’t culpable and neither were the ballcarriers, heaping all of the blame on himself.
“In high school the holes are there,” Polamalu said. “When you get to the top-10 defenses, top-10 teams [in college], they fit well, they’re disciplined, now you have to make them misfit. You use your athletic ability to bust the angle and run through the tackles, and that is on me.”
Stepping up
Three weeks ago, UCLA tight end Nate Iese appeared on the verge of a demotion. Bruins Coach Jim Mora said Iese would receive less playing time after failing to do much of anything in the season opener against Texas A&M.
As smoke screens go, it was thick and billowy.
Iese not only retained his starting role but may have found a starring one after catching five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown against Stanford. It was a big leap in production for someone with only three catches for 44 yards this season entering the game.
There was a redemption thread to Iese’s touchdown catch late in the first quarter.
Rosen had failed to see the tight end streaking wide open toward the end zone earlier in the drive, instead completing a short pass to Jamabo. But later, on third and five, Rosen found Iese over the middle for a 10-yard touchdown pass that gave the Bruins a 7-3 lead.
Rosen said he wasn’t targeting Iese so much as locking onto him as a result of his progressions.
“For a lot of the balls that he caught he was just running the right play and we were going through the reads,” Rosen said. “He just played smart football today and he was in the right spot.”
Said Iese: “I want to run my routes, make sure I’m getting to the right depth and be a big body and a big target for him.”
Quick hits
UCLA defensive tackle Eli Ankou suffered an injury early in the third quarter and did not return. … Rosen’s 248 passing yards allowed him to surpass Wayne Cook and move into eighth place on UCLA’s career passing yardage list with 4,833 . ... UCLA’s game against Arizona on Saturday at the Rose Bowl will start at 7:30 p.m. and be televised by ESPN.