All Bruins UCLA Football Players of the Game: Week 5 vs. Arizona State
Even after a 19-point loss, there is always some value in looking back and seeing what little went right.
UCLA football (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) hosted Arizona State (4-1, 2-0) on Saturday and ended up losing 42-23. Taking a look at each unit individually, here are the three student-athletes who have earned the All Bruins UCLA Football Players of the Game awards.
Offensive Player of the Week: TE Greg Dulcich
The offense was really rolling in the first half, and Dulcich was a big part of that.
One of the top tight ends in the country had five receptions for 85 yards in the first two quarters, helping UCLA convert some big third downs and keeping drives alive by getting open over the middle and on the outside. Even when the Bruins' offense completely stalled in the second half, getting shut out in the final 30 minutes, Dulcich was still giving his all.
Dulcich picked up four catches for 51 more yards in the second half, finishing the night with 136 yards on nine receptions. He was on the receiving end of 57.8% of UCLA's passing yards across the whole game, including 67.1% in the second half. When the Bruins got moving, Dulcich was almost always a part of it.
The one negative play Dulcich had was an offensive pass interference in the fourth quarter, but at that point, the game was pretty much lost anyways. When you score a whopping zero points in the second half, it's hard to find anyone who had a perfect game.
Defensive Player of the Week: S Qwuantrezz Knight
Again, it's difficult to highlight the best defensive player when the unit as a whole allowed 42 points and lost the game.
Still, Knight made some good plays and was not the reason the Bruins were total Swiss cheese yet again.
After center Duke Clemens launched a snap deep into UCLA territory for Arizona State to recover, the Sun Devils were knocking on the door, ready to take an early 7-3 lead. Knight had other ideas though, slicing into the backfield to force third down with a tackle for loss. The next play was an incomplete pass, and it became a tie game thanks in large part to Knight's nose for the ball.
Knight co-led UCLA with five tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss. Other defensive players had unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, targetings and holdings, but Knight didn't fall into the trap of making unforced errors. He also didn't get beat over the top or take bad angles on sweeps or screens.
Just one play helped Knight stand out early, and his ability to avoid shooting his team in the foot was all he needed to separate himself down the stretch.
Special Teams Player of the Week: P Luke Akers
Nicholas Barr-Mira did a nice job in the first half, hitting all three of his attempts, including one from 48 yards out. The kicker missed his only attempt in the second half, though, and coach Chip Kelly decided to go for it on 4th-and-goal later instead of giving Barr-Mira a shot at making it a six-point game.
In the return game, receiver Kyle Philips got one yard on his lone punt return that was pushed back even further by a penalty, and receiver Kazmeir Allen didn't get past the 30 on his only kick return.
Therefore – partially by default and partially because he was generally pretty good – this one goes to Akers. The Bruins' punter only booted it downfield twice, and both attempts ended up inside the 20.
Most importantly, Akers punted one away in the final seconds of the first half that bounced in front of the Sun Devils' return man and ricocheted off of him before the Bruins recovered. Linebacker Kain Medrano was the one to hop on top of it, but it wouldn't have been possible if not for Akers' long kick that bounced in the perfect spot.
That play turned into three points for UCLA heading into halftime, and while they couldn't carry that momentum into the second half, Akers still wound up having a pretty good night.
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