UCLA Football: How Oregon State Forced 3 Bruins Interceptions
Saturday was a very disappointing day for the UCLA Bruins. Not only did they lose to Oregon State, but their chances to win the Pac-12 all but disappeared in the process as well.
The Bruins struggled to contain the Oregon State offense, and the defense finally showed some vulnerability after having a very strong start to the season. But it was also the play of their true freshman quarterback that did them in.
Dante Moore heavily struggled against the Beavers, and it ended up hurting the team. He threw three interceptions in the game, including another pick-six. This one marked the third straight game where Moore threw a pick-six, and for the second time in the three games, it came back to bite the team.
Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith opened up about how his team was able to get to Moore, and how they impacted him.
“Yeah, I don’t know if it was all film study. If you can affect the quarterback and make him move his feet, get it extended. We’ve got some guys in the secondary that can catch the ball.”
The Beavers did a good job getting pressure on Moore, and it clearly got into his head. He didn’t feel comfortable throwing the ball all game, and it ended up translating into turnovers for Oregon State.
“We’re hitting the quarterback for Chats (Andrew Chatfield) and on his pick, and then Coop does a good job recognizing kind of the route, working the sideline and pseudo-two minute. So that’s probably a little bit of Coop’s film study. So it’s all combined. You got to affect the quarterback and then, when they throw it to you, you got to be able to catch it.”
Moving forward, Moore has to do a better job protecting the ball on offense. He is still learning each week, and as he gets more experience, things will become easier.
But his play of late has caused problems for this Bruins team. He has the skill set to be a successful quarterback but now needs to clean some things up.
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