All Bruins UCLA Football Players of the Game: Week 1 vs. Bowling Green
A string of mishaps in the opening quarter didn't handicap the Bruins all too much, as they still steamrolled their way to a win over the Falcons.
UCLA football (1-0) managed to take care of business against Bowling Green (0-1) on Saturday, overcoming those early mistakes to lock down the 45-17 victory. 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 Game: QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson
The Bruins' fifth-year starter admittedly did not play his cleanest game Saturday, but he come through with some massive home run plays.
With UCLA trailing 7-0 early and about to go 3-and-out for the second drive in a row to start the game, Thompson-Robinson evaded a pass rusher, won a footrace to the line of scrimmage, then turned upfield for a 68-yard touchdown run.
That wasn't only his only rushing touchdown of the game either, since he picked up another from 8 yards out when he scrambled up the middle and called out some blockers in front of him to pave the path to the end zone.
Through the air, Thompson-Robinson had a 20-yard touchdown to receiver Kazmeir Allen – who he connected with 10 times – and a 52-yard touchdown to running back Keegan Jones. Neither play was a deep bomb, but it showed how willing Thompson-Robinson was to go through his progressions and find his playmakers in space.
By the end of the day, Thompson-Robinson finished with 298 yards and two touchdowns on 32-of-43 passing, plus 87 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Taking out his two sacks for 8 yards, Thompson-Robinson rushed for 95 yards on just five attempts.
Thompson-Robinson's 74.4% completion percentage is actually a bit deflated, since he was forced to throw the ball away several times due to poor pass protection. He also fell victim to a no-call on defensive pass interference, which would have resulted in offsetting penalties and a re-do on first down.
That set of downs ended in Thompson-Robinson throwing an ill-advised strike over the middle, which was picked off by the Falcons. Two drives later, he initiated a motion late and drew a delay of game, which led to a field goal instead of a touchdown.
Those imperfections paled in comparison to the highlights, though, and Thompson-Robinson continued to show just how electric he can be on Saturdays.
Defensive Player of the Game: DB Kenny Churchwell III
UCLA's defense as a whole essentially shut down Bowling Green from start to finish, and Churchwell was a big part of that.
Churchwell led the Bruins with five total tackles and five solo tackles, and he even unleashed a jarring hit to break up a pass and force a 3rd-and-long in the second quarter when his team was still down a touchdown.
The only touchdown that UCLA's defense allowed came when Churchwell was not on the field.
Churchwell played both safety and nickel, and he appears to be a key part of what new defensive coordinator Bill McGovern was trying to do with his multiple defense. Having Churchwell out there to move around and hold down different roles makes it easier to disguise defenses, and his versatility could be useful in a possibly thin secondary.
That secondary had some other standouts, as well, namely cornerback Devin Kirkwood with his two pass breakups, safety Stephan Blaylock with his sack and defensive back Mo Osling III with his five total tackles.
If the unit can play as well as they did Saturday moving forward, that could spell many more wins for UCLA. Churchwell was not expected to be as much of a consistent contributor as he was against Bowling Green, though, so if he can replicate that performance and assert himself as the true No. 5 defensive back, the Bruins could be in for their best defensive season in years.
Special Teams Player of the Game: KOS RJ Lopez
For as much as this may seem like a "by default" award, it'd be naive to overlook one of the lone bright spots on the Bruins' weakest unit of the day.
Kicker Nicholas Barr-Mira had his first career punt blocked and recovered for a touchdown. He also missed two field goals, one of which came from a mere 28 yards out. Punt returner Jake Bobo muffed one and had some questionable decisions on his other attempts, even leaving the game with an injury due to a delayed fair catch signal. Kick returner Kazmeir Allen never got to bring the ball out of the end zone.
Even long snapper Jack Landherr IV, who did do a great job actually snapping the ball Saturday, was part of the front that blew several assignments en route to the blocked punt touchdown.
Lopez didn't do anything special, but he did his job and he did it well.
All eight of Lopez's kickoffs went for touchbacks, never giving the Falcons a chance to find a hole and steal some more points. The special teams unit as a whole cost the Bruins 16 points, so Lopez minimizing that damage should not go unnoticed.
With almost every other notable special teamer needing to either go back to the drawing board or fix one or two possible mistakes, Lopez aced his performance against Bowling Green.
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