UCLA Football: Writer Mocks Bruins' Defensive Game-Planning Against Oregon State
UCLA's defense took a step back in the team's second loss of the year against Oregon State last week due to their poor coverage on a key Beaver weapon.
Opposing tight end, Jack Velling scored twice in the contest as the key cog for DJ Uiagaleilei's passing attack, which caused Les Gehrett to criticize the Bruins' coverage against him all game long.
Sophomore tight end Jack Velling entered Saturday’s game against UCLA with a team-high five touchdown receptions. The Bruins must not have seen that statistic because they left Velling wide open for two more touchdowns. The first touchdown came late in the first quarter on a pass from freshman quarterback Aidan Chiles, who took over for starter DJ Uiagalelei on that series. On third-and-goal from the 10, Velling ran a slant route toward the sideline, caught the pass from Chiles at the 5 and ran untouched into the end zone.
Velling only had three catches on the evening, but all proved impactful, with two touchdowns that turned out to be the Beavers' final margin of victory.
UCLA did a good job of containing Oregon State to field goals early in the game thanks to turnovers from Dante Moore placing them in poor positions.
The sophomore tight end broke that trend after a 10-yard score to end the first quarter to put UCLA in a 13-point hole early in the game.
Velling capped off his evening with a 32-yard touchdown reception that all but put the game out of reach for the Bruins.
Uiagaleilei's security blanket now has seven touchdowns on the season, and UCLA's failure to cover him all game dropped them to the fringes of the AP Top 25 and a 4-2 record.
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