UCLA Football: 5 overreactions to comeback win over Texas A&M
4. Bruins’ run game is hopeless
Fans had hopes for an improved run game heading into the season. Former five-star Soso Jamabo would finally break out for the Bruins and get back to running effectively like he did in his freshman season, right? Wrong.
Jamabo finished with just 46 yards and the team had 63 rushing yards total on 2.5 per carry. It was an ugly showing for the run game and it meant that there would be no hope for one all season long in Los Angeles. Fans were quick to rule out any possibility of improvement from Jamabo and Co.
That’s not exactly fair. Jamabo finished with only seven carries for those 46 yards, averaging 6.6 per touch. He also added a touchdown run. Bolu Olorunfunmi led the team with 10 carries although he had just 31 yards. The team also had -21 yards on sacks and fumbles for loss, so that contributed to the lack of backfield production.
Jim Mora continued to struggle with run game management, and it was obvious. Jamabo was effective when he touched the ball, but he barely fed him. The run game isn’t hopeless, but UCLA was playing with a huge deficit and was forced to pass as well. As for not feeding the hot hand, that’s on Mora.