UCLA Coaches and Players Talk After Home Opener

Ed Lewis at Bruin Sports Report posted a host of postgame videos. Our thanks to him as always for making these available to the fans.

Jim Mora spoke about Josh Rosen's play, and though he was clearly impressed and pleased, he cautioned that it was only one game. He said the team needs to work on cleaning up penalties, and while he was happy with the consistency on defense, there are some areas which need improvement. Mora noted they got to play a lot of young players including Soso Jamabo, Bolu Olurunfunmi, and Chris Clark, but that they haven't made plans on redshirts. He wouldn't specify why Nate Starks didn't play.

Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone was his usual jovial joking self, but he really did call a good game. When Virginia stacked the box early, he let the QB throw. Having an O Line protect him well likely provided a lot of confidence for the OC as much as the QB.

Tom Bradley's defense wasn't overly impressive at the start of the game. It was very solid against the run but was pretty soft against the pass and didn't put the kind of pressure on the QB that we expected. But in direct opposition to last season, the defense got better and better as the game progressed. The pass D will need to improve as we go forward, as Virginia isn't what we'll see with the Pac-12 offenses, but it was a good effort for a first time out.

Josh Rosen was easily the story of the game, but he took it in stride and complimented his OLine, receivers, and defense around him. He even took responsibility for the one sack. Um, I doubt it, but good call either way, Josh. He admitted he was "incredibly nervous" before the game but said that's standard for him, and once he got his hands on the ball, things settled down. He also went out of his way to say that he had things much easier Saturday than Brett Hundley did last year.

Caleb Benenoch and the whole offensive line got some measure of retribution for last year's game against Virginia. Caleb surrendered the only sack allowed by the Bruins, but the line played very very well all day. Virginia stacked the box early to stop the run, and the line protected Rosen beautifully. When the D had to drop off to respect the pass, the running game picked up. It was one of the best line performances we've seen in a very long time. Benenoch credited Coach Klemm for the line's preparation for this game.

Thomas Duarte was on the receiving end of an incredible touchdown pass from Rosen over the hands of one of the best safeties in the country.

Eldridge Massington caught 2 passes for 31 yards on Saturday and was wowed by several other throws

Kenny Clark was a beast on defense from the start of the game and the defensive line was very good against the run. Clark was also a beast on offense with a touchdown catch out of the jumbo package which led him to compliment Rosen's passing skills.

GO BRUINS!!