UCLA Football vs. Arizona Post-Game: BN Roundtable Discussion

Another week, another huge victory over an Arizona school. However, this victory felt particularly special not only because it washed the bad taste from last year out of our mouths, but also because of Johnathan Franklin's record setting day, the snazzy new jerseys and the electric Rose Bowl crowd. The Bruins looked exceptionally spectacular in the LA Nights jersey and we had nothing but great things to say about last Saturday's performance.

1. Initial Impressions?

bruinclassof10: The perfect game. An absolute masterpiece. I waited years for this kind of win. Everything clicked. Offense, defense and special teams. Just a great win - we came out and punched Arizona in the mouth and proceeded to pile it on from there. I admit I doubted Mora when he was first hired, was cautiously optimistic about him, and now I'm a bonafide believer. The jerseys looked good and this has to be the best game I've been to as a Bruin since 13-9 and I don't have that "how are we going to destroy the momentum" feeling that I felt with the previous coaches.

Bellerophon: That f**king ruled! This is the kind of victory we've been waiting for. UCLA has had explosive talent for years but it always seemed, no matter who the coaching staff was, they could never put all the pieces together. This weekend, we finally saw what would happen when we got clicking on all cylinders. The score was more generous than the game really was, but when you win by 56 against a team that was supposed to keep it close, that's pretty awesome.

gbruin: Wow. That's as complete a game as I can remember in years. Great enthusiasm, great execution, great game plan against a team that was really playing at a high level. Perfect.

Odysseus: It sure is a lot more fun to do these after these kinds of games!. The only downside is I'm having a hard time finding much to be critical about. So let me just say it was a great game, and the players and coaches deserve all the credit. It was great.

AHMB: Saturday's game was the complete performance that I've been waiting to see for years. The offense was outstanding, the defense was dominant, and the special teams were very good. The team played to their full potential, and it was fun to watch.

freesia39: MORA PLEASE. Why can't we consistently play like this? Is it too much to ask? I can't remember the last time UCLA played this well in a game. I was enjoying myself watching the game, even with the beyond late start time.

Achilles: The most complete game we've played in forever against an opponent that had been playing well all year.

Ajax: Wow. I can't remember the last time a UCLA football team came out firing on all cylinders like it did Saturday night.

2. The Good

bruinclassof10: Everything. The jerseys too. Damn, those looked great under the Rose Bowl lights. USC lost to Oregon too. That was nice.

Bellerophon: Hundley looked sharp. Manfro wasn't returning punts. Jet Ski didn't need real long to break the school career rushing record. The uniforms looked pretty sweet. The Trojans lost. Cal lost. Arizona State lost. All good, all around.

gbruin: Johnathan Franklin, as a running back, and as a human being. The offensive line was great. The defense was fantastic, particularly our maligned secondary. The LA Nights unis were sweet.

Odysseus: With that kind of beat down of a ranked opponent, it's all good. I don't want to say the team has finally put it all together, because there's still that lingering memory of being beatdown by Cal, and Wazzu looms as a terrifying trap game, but this is another game that I think the team would not have had under previous regimes. The team took an emotional win against ASU, and put that game away and focused on the Wildcats. It paid off.

AHMB: Pretty much everything. I was particularly thrilled to see Coach Mora take a timeout to acknowledge JetSki breaking UCLA's all time rushing record. The administration may have ignored JetSki's accomplishment, but Mora made sure that JetSki received some attention.

freesia39: Our unis were pretty freaking awesome - I just loved how they looked on the players. The full Rose Bowl. The energy in the players. USC lost. Johnathan Franklin breaking the rushing record at home, which was what I (greedily) wanted so that he could receive the recognition he deserved for his accomplishments, and I'm glad it was done before a packed and energetic Rose Bowl.

Achilles: This site and this community are justifiably very hard on the AD and the athletic department, but I will note that this time "L.A. Nights" was a success, from the uniforms to the game to everything.

Ajax: Defense was awesome. Hundley was amazing. And of course, the Mayor was rock solid. The uniforms were great as well.

3. The Bad

bruinclassof10: Matt Scott's head injury. If I were a player, I'd lose all respect for RichRod for downplaying Matt Scott's concussion last week and putting him in a position where he probably suffered two concussions in back to back games. Downplaying a head injury is not only unacceptable, but also morally reprehensible. If the NCAA was halfway competent, RichRod (not Kyle Anderson) would have been investigated.

Bellerophon: None. Unlike bruinclassof10, I don't feel bad for Matt Scott. He's a grown man. As I've said before, he's old enough to vote, be on a jury, and go fight and die for his country. Instead of sitting himself out, he chose to go with his coach's BS and downplay his head injury. RichRod is an a**hole and if I was Mora, I'd have the footage of Scott throwing up, followed by him getting knocked out by our guys this weekend clipped together and saved on his phone or iPad or whatever. I'd be playing that to every recruit's mom. Got to give Jim a big kudos for how he's handled our guy's medical issues, especially the head injuries. Oh, and Hester and Price still managed to make stupid mistakes. Fortunately, it didn't hurt us.

gbruin: Hard to find stuff. Too many penalties, but some of the PI calls were pretty weak. The two 12 men penalties were sloppy. And I though Mora left the starters in too long. The LA Nights unis need real stripes.

Odysseus: There are a few things that could be cleaned up, and I think we all know what they are but I don't want to focus on it this week. I'm sure the coaches will work on that when they watch the tape.

AHMB: The administration's failure to hype up the alternate jerseys and JetSki's record breaking night was a huge missed opportunity.

freesia39: The flag happy refs. We lived in literal interpretation of the rule book world on Saturday. Otherwise, I can't find much fault in Saturday's game - I thought we played well all around. I mean, maybe stop scoring so many touchdowns so Fairbairn could kick a longer field goal in a non-pressure situation, but, hey what can you do.

Achilles: Too many of our fans missed the game because they don't have the Pac 12 network. The same could be said for a lot of potential recruits, members of the media and so on. The P12 network's failure to make itself more available is a shame.

Ajax: If there was one area to scrutinize, it would be penalties. However, I counted at least 3 that were terrible calls. So the "bad" is more on the SFPTR's than the Bruins.

4. Game's Most Valuable Player(s)?

bruinclassof10: The UCLA Football team (with emphasis on team). Everybody from Abbot, Andrew to Zumwalt, Jordan.

Bellerophon: Jet Ski. It was his night.

gbruin: Franklin, the Offensive Line, and the entire defense, especially the D line rotation.

Odysseus: The offensive line and Coach Klemm.

AHMB: JetSki. It was his night.

freesia39: Johnathan Franklin. It was his night.

Achilles: Jetski and Eric Kendricks

Ajax: It's hard to nominate any one individual, because it was such an all-around dominating team performance.

5. Honorable Mentions?

bruinclassof10: LA Night jerseys. I'm a huge fan.

Bellerophon: Everyone else. Hats off to Jerry Johnson, who stepped it up after having a pretty lackluster season.

gbruin: Ka'imi was 9 for 9 on PAT's and made his 1 FG. Coach Mora for getting the team and coaches ready to play their asses off.

Odysseus: Hundley, Jet Ski, Marsh

AHMB: Too many to name. It was an incredible all-around performance.

freesia39: The O-Line for opening up those holes for Franklin to run through!

Achilles: Jerry Johnson took a lot of criticism for his performance last week. He made up for it a little bit with a great catch and run.

Ajax: The staff deserves huge credit for Saturday's performance. The defense was locked in and the offense is evolving.

6. What we hope gets addressed against Washington State next week?

bruinclassof10: Intensity and effort needs to be like this week in and week out. The results will not be as pretty as this week's win, but we can't have letdown games like past years.

Bellerophon: They need to come out firing on all cylinders. Washington State may be down, but we're playing in Pullman (always hard to win there for us) and they are still a dangerous team. This has all the makings of a classic UCLA let-down game, so let's see if Mora can keep his guys going on this kind of run.

gbruin: Keep the same attitude. Jump on them early, never let up.

Odysseus: The main thing is preparing for Washington State like we prepared for Arizona. It's a tough place to play, it's a long trip, it's in November in Pullman. I'm terrified. The team can't afford to look forward to the next two games. Take care of businss.

AHMB: After such an emotional high, our guys need to come out just as energized next week. Pullman is a sh*tty road trip. It's not fun, it's long, and it's cold. The staff has to make an even bigger effort to make sure our guys don't come out flat.

freesia39: Keep up the effort, even though it's going to be cold and miserable. We have to perform at this level week in and week out, no matter the circumstances. I'm not saying that we should drop 66 on them, but a consistent effort on all sides of the ball for 60 minutes. Or for 58 minutes, and then we get into victory formation.

Achilles: No let down. And let's get out of the cold healthy.

Ajax: The team needs to play up to its ability rather than down to that of WSU. The Bruins are better than WSU in all facets. That needs to show on the scoreboard.

7. The Extra Point.

bruinclassof10: Gaston Green is a classy guy. Did I mention I liked the jerseys? Also, major props to our coaching staff and players for this huge victory. Tens of thousands of Bruins fans all over the world thank the football team for making their Saturday.

Bellerophon: Seeing how sharp those uniforms are, as I mentioned earlier (link to: http://www.bruinsnation.com/2012/11/4/3599074/ucla-football-uniforms-why-do-we-still-wear-block-numbers), we need to integrate components of that uniform on a regular basis (i.e. gold helmets and pants with the L.A. Nights alternate jersey), and definitely bring back the Clarendon numbering for our regular uniforms. Make it happen Adidas!

gbruin: Wow. Really, Wow. That was a great progress report on where this team is and how far it has come. Play that way 3 more times and we're all good. That will be the key, can the Bruins bring that intensity and consistency again in the coming weeks. The way we have played since laying that egg at Cal gives me lots of reason to think that this team actually can keep this going. We'll get a good look next Saturday in the biggest trap game ever (with *$c waiting the following week).

Odysseus: Uh, can we wear the LA Nights jersey for every game? Just kidding (I think), but they looked great, and the team sure played great in them. Here's a thought -- wear them once a year for a big home game, make it a traditional thing. If we had an athletic director, we might even organize a "Navy out" or something. Also, I think we've found a punt returner in Goforth.

AHMB: It was awesome to see the Rose Bowl rocking. It was awesome to see the team put on such a good show. Hopefully we'll see more of both in the coming weeks.

freesia39: Jim Mora, stop making me like you more and more. I don't want my heart broken. Calling time out to ensure that Franklin watched Green's congratulations video - classy. Plus the unis. I know that people enjoy tradition, but if we can work tradition plus something new into some alternates (that don't look ugly) each season, all sides can be happy, from geezers to recruits that love new, flashy things. Next time put UCLA on the gloves.

Achilles: I watched on TV, but was sort of glad to hear Geoff Strand's bell in the background all night.

Ajax: The Bruins need to look at the next 3 games as a 3 game season, focusing on one game at a time (please excuse the cliche). We go 3-0, we have a shot at the Rose Bowl. We are in this.

Feel free to chime in with your thoughts about the Annihilation of Arizona and responses to the questions. Go Bruins!