Oladejo’s big first half key against San Diego State

UCLA linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo led the defense with eight of his 10 total tackles in the first half of the road opener against San Diego State at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday.

“I think we just have a mindset of the defense just getting to the ball,” said Oladejo, whose Bruins walloped the Aztecs 35-10. “As a linebacker, I have to find the ball and get there as fast as I can.”

Oladejo was effective in defending against the Aztecs’ run and short passing game. He recorded three tackles on each of San Diego State’s two scoring drives.

He also assisted on back-to-back tackles on the final two plays of the third quarter as Kenan Christon and Jaylon Armstead each had a carry out of San Diego’s backfield to extend a drive.

“I think I felt a little more prepared,” Oladejo said about his second game in defensive coordinator D’anton Lynn’s defense. “I was amped up. I just wanted to come out here, play ball and keep building up. The best jump is supposed to come in Week 2.”

The Cal transfer made his UCLA debut last week in a 27-13 victory over Coastal Carolina in the season opener at the Rose Bowl but didn’t record a tackle.

Oladejo arrived in the spring and began working with inside linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. and a position group that already featured several returning players, including Darius Muasau and Kain Medrano.

Muasau finished with six tackles, including three for a loss, a sack and an interception. His interception was one of three turnovers the defense created against the Aztecs.

Coach Chip Kelly was “really pleased” with how the defense managed a goal-line stand against the Aztecs that led to Muasau’s interception

after the Bruins’ offense turned the ball over on the previous possession.

“We thought it was a (SDSU) touchdown and they reviewed it and it was on the half-yard line,” Kelly said. “... There’s going to be adversity that hits in every game and competitors respond and that’s what we’re proud of. Our guys responded and that was huge to get an (interception) in that situation.”

Medrano had four tackles, including the first of the game for the defense as he went through the offensive front unguarded and brought Christon down in the backfield for a loss of 4 yards.

`Black Excellence' game

The Bruins will host North Carolina Central at the Rose Bowl on

Saturday, with an optional ticket package that includes a “Black Excellence” shirt.

North Carolina Central’s band will also travel to play at the Rose Bowl. NCCU previously performed in Pasadena as part of the 2011 Rose Parade.

It’s the second of a two-game HBCU series that was put together in February 2021. UCLA had not played against an HBCU opponent until it hosted Alabama State at the Rose Bowl last season.

The pair of games helped replace previously scheduled games with Michigan before the Wolverines terminated the home-and-home contract with the Bruins in 2019.

Former UCLA football player Kenny Washington will also be honored during the game. Washington helped break the NFL color barrier with the L.A. Rams in 1946. A year later, his UCLA football teammate Jackie Robinson did the same in Major League Baseball.