The UCLA Bruins defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 52-38 to win their first Big Ten Conference game of the Bob Chesney era at the Rose Bowl Stadium on Saturday.
It was a warzone in Pasadena between the two teams as their offenses disposed of each other's defense for a classic shootout. UCLA came out on top as they defended their home with grit and an explosive offense that left Purdue heading home with a 1-2 record. Here were five reactions from the Bruins performance as they begin the season 3-0.
Defense: Wanted
UCLA's defense had it's worst performance three games into the Chesney era as the Boilermakers torched them throughout the game for 488 total yards and the 38 points. Other than senior linebacker Sammy Omosigho, the Bruins defense struggled to make plays
against Purdue for most of the game, but senior defensive back Rodrick Pleasant made one of the best plays of the game with an interception in the redzone to help the Bruins close out the game.
Nico Iamaleava's throwing darts
Senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava was hit plenty throughout the game and even left the game twice. Despite the Bruins needing to protect their star signal caller, Iamaleava had one of his best passing games in a Bruins uniform. He had three-passing touchdowns and 276 yards through the air while completing 19-of-31 passes. Iamaleava also helped the ground game with 55-rushing yards to help push the Bruins reach 645 total yards of offense.
Running the Knight away
UCLA's trio of senior running backs continue to torment their opponents defense as they combined for over 300-yards on the ground and four touchdowns. Wayne Knight continued to lead the the Bruins backfield as he put up a two-touchdown performance with 177-rushing yards on 18 carries. Anthony Woods and Jaivian Thomas also put up a touchdown each.
Sammy Omosigho's on fire
Omosigho terrorized Purdue's offense throughout the game and his effort gave UCLA the chances they needed to win the game. The former Oklahoma Sooner led the Bruins defense with 12 total tackles with 11 solo tackles. He also had UCLA's only two sacks and two tackles of loss of the game and forced two fumbles that were both recovered by junior defensive lineman Sahir West.
Penalty problems for UCLA
The Bruins penalties have been a problem and they weren't fixed in their first conference match of the season. UCLA had 12 penalties for 103 yards. They need to be cleaned up if UCLA wants to have any chance at winning games against some of the Big Ten's better opponents, let alone winning a conference title.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Five reactions from UCLA and Purdue's late night shootout
