UCLA football: 3 takeaways from upset loss at Memphis

UCLA football struggled on Saturday in its road trip to Memphis. Here are three takeaways from the upset loss sustained by the Bruins against the Tigers.

After the first play of the game, it looked like Memphis might blow their game against UCLA wide open. But the Bruins kept themselves in the contest, trading the lead back and forth in the first half. Though they were down 27-24 at halftime, Jim Mora’s team was still very much in the contest on the road.

Josh Rosen looked alternately hot and cold as he kept the Bruins in the game with several big plays. Unfortunately for UCLA fans, Rosen also kept Memphis in the game with several boneheaded throws. It was a mixed-bag effort from a player that has received plenty of Heisman hype early in the season.

One loss won’t put you out of the Heisman running entirely, but the way in which the Bruins lost might produce some lingering affects that follow the team into conference play. Rosen is a good quarterback, but he wasn’t elite, not today.

Let’s look further at Rosen and the rest of the Bruins now that they have sustained their first loss of the season. Here are three takeaways from the 48-45 Memphis upset victory over UCLA in early Saturday action.

1. Josh Rosen dropped his Heisman stock in hot-and-cold performance

Josh Rosen threw for 463 yards and four touchdowns, showcasing his arm in another huge performance to start the 2017 season. But once again Rosen also made some huge mistakes, tossing two critical interceptions as the Bruins fell to a Group of Five school on the road.

On his first interception of the season, Rosen threw across his body and right to Tim Hart. The defender took the pick 60 yards the other way for an easy score.

A second chance was granted in the final three minutes of the game, as Memphis took away zero points from Rosen’s second interception of the game. After driving down inside the red zone, the Tigers tried a fake field goal that was picked off by UCLA in the endzone.

Rosen couldn’t convert on fourth down, though, and Memphis was able to take knees and kill the clock in the final minute. He will fall off most Heisman boards this week after an inconsistent performance against an American Athletic Conference defense.

2. The UCLA secondary looked terrible against Riley Ferguson

While Josh Rosen had a rough game, it was magnified by the fact that UCLA’s quarterback was outplayed by his Memphis counterpart on Saturday. Riley Ferguson was 23-of-38 throwing the ball for 398 yards and six touchdowns against the Bruins defense, boosting his stats after two dud performances to start the 2017 season.

It is all the more impressive when put into the context of Ferguson’s slow start. He completed his first two passes for four yards and a touchdown, but then went 0-for-6 with an interception on his next four series. Other than that blip in the first half, Ferguson was nearly perfect against the Bruins defense.

It was a statement performance by a quarterback that had raised eyebrows with a marginal performance to open the year against Louisiana-Monroe. In that game against the Warhawks, Ferguson completed just 10 of his 25 attempts for 97 yards and an interception. On Saturday against a Pac-12 opponent, the Memphis quarterback more than tripled his stats.

Without a huge performance by their veteran quarterback, Memphis would never have had a chance at the upset. Ferguson stepped up in a big way to snatch the statement win for the Tigers on their home turf.

3. Memphis defense looked confident against Pac-12 opponent

While Josh Rosen was able to rack up plenty of yardage against the Tigers, Mike Norvell’s defense looked anything but nervous facing a high-powered Bruins offense. As previously mentioned, the secondary snatched two key interceptions. The defense also got through for two big sacks on Rosen as they kept pressure on the quarterback all day long.

It wasn’t necessarily the most brilliant of performances by Memphis on defense. They ultimately gave up 633 yards of offense to the visiting Bruins. But they did do enough to secure the win, forcing a fumble in addition to the two Rosen interceptions as they earned a push in turnover margin.

This was never going to be an easy contest, but Mike Norvell and defensive coordinator Chris Ball have plenty to be happy about from their defense. In the end, they were able to swat down Rosen’s desperation play on fourth down to ensure the victory.

Next: 5 Group of 5 teams that could pull upsets in Week 3

The confidence-boosting win over the Bruins will help Memphis moving forward. Once American Athletic Conference play starts, the Tigers defense will rest secure knowing that few offenses offer as big a challenge as UCLA did on their visit to the Liberty Bowl. In a crowded AAC West field, Memphis just asserted its position as the front-runner in the division. That is partially thanks to a defense that held its own against a high-powered Pac-12 offense.