The No. 22 UCLA Bruins went into Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. and left with a stunning 17-15 win against the No. 13 Oregon Ducks on Saturday.
The Bruins overcame plenty of adversity in their matchup against the Ducks, but they navigated their way through it and will leave Oregon with a 5-0 record as they set their sights on making more noise in the Big Ten Conference. Here were five takeaways from UCLA's big win against the Oregon Ducks.
Turnover bonanza
Both teams struggled to hang onto the ball with each team turning the ball over three times in the first half. UCLA managed to clean up their sloppy ball management and prevented giving Oregon anymore opportunities with the ball. Oregon wasn't able to be as successful with coughing it up four more times in the second
half, including snagging the fumble in Oregon's final desperation play as time expired.
Defensive prowess
UCLA's defense led the Bruins to a victory as they held Oregon to just 58 total yards in the first half. As mentioned earlier, the Bruins were elite at snagging turnovers to dim the Ducks chances at keeping their hopes alive as they consistently made junior quarterback Dylan Raiola uncomfortable. In fact, they forced Oregon to bench Raiola in the fourth quarter and put in third-string senior quarterback Brock Thomas, who actually found more success against the Bruins than Raiola.
Despite the close game at the end, the Bruins defense deserve all of the flowers as they took gave UCLA the opportunity to take the win.
Missed opportunities
As well as the defense performed, the offense struggled mightily at crossing into the endzone. UCLA could move the ball down the field with 345-total yards, but Oregon's defense would bend but not break. Senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava put up 162-passing yards while completing 10-of-17 passes, but his ball security hindered the Bruins with two interceptions and a fumble. Iamaleava didn't play in the second half, to an injury and senior quarterback Ty Dieffenbach helmed the offense and played clean football with 43-passing yards and a touchdown while completing 3-of-6 passes.
Controlling the time
Despite the Bruins missing out on scoring, they were able to limit Oregon's chances of scoring as they kept the Ducks offense sidelined for a significant part of the game. In the first half, UCLA had about 20 minutes of offense compared to Oregon's nine minutes. The Ducks ended the game with a possession time of 20:45 with the Bruins nearly doubling their time of possession with 39 minutes, 15 seconds. The Bruins needed to control the clock to pull off an upset at Autzen Stadium and they did just that.
Wayne Knight the Heisman Trophy candidate
UCLA's running backs have been superb, but senior running back Wayne Knight has made his presence known since stepping onto the field in Blue and Gold. Knight led the backfield in carries and yards with 22-carries for 103-rushing yards and a touchdown. On top of that, the former Sun Belt Conference star snagged three catches for 12 receiving yards and touchdown. Knight has scored a touchdown in every game for UCLA and scored multiple touchdowns in four of them.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Five takeaways from the UCLA's stunning win over the Oregon Ducks
