The UCLA Bruins had a well-rounded performance against the Rice Owls, and SB Nation's Bruins blog, Bruins Nation, had a lot of talking points about their performance.
Despite the fact that the first half was so back and forth, the Bruins certainly closed the door in the second half:
As wild and crazy the first half was, the offense was nice to watch - it actually MOVED. In the second half the defense finally picked it up, made the adjustments they needed, and pitched a shut out.
Even though the win was dominant, there's always something to improve on:
There were still too many penalties, including at least three personal fouls...The biggest concern, however, was UCLA's conversion rate on third down - converting (I believe) only one third down the entire night (but converted two fourth downs. Explain that.) If we want to reach the pre-set goal of 9 wins this year, we have to improve our third down conversion rate. I do like how we were eating up yardage as we marched down field, which should make third downs easier if it's short yardage.
UCLA next host the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Rose Bowl next Saturday.
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