UCLA Bruins Football: 5 players who earned game balls vs. Stanford

UCLA football opened Pac-12 play with a blowout loss to Stanford on the road Saturday night. Here are five players that stood out in defeat for the Bruins.

UCLA went to Stanford on Saturday hoping to begin Pac-12 play with a big victory on the road. Instead, the Bruins defense collapsed completely as the Cardinal piled up 58 points in a 24-point victory. Josh Rosen piled up yards on the road, but he threw two costly interceptions and failed to keep UCLA in the contest.

Even though they lost, though, there were several standout performances by Jim Mora’s team on Saturday. Not everyone was underwhelming in defeat. So who actually showed up at Stanford Stadium for the Bruins this weekend? Keep reading as we hand out our five helmet stickers for UCLA in Week 4.

The way that the Bruins have played so far this year, they have been perceived primarily as a passing team. That has been the case for the past few seasons, as UCLA struggled to find someone who could consistently gain yards on the ground. But Soso Jamabo offered a strong running presence on Saturday that has been lacking to this point of the season and in recent years.

After sitting out the previous week with an injury, it was uncertain whether the running back would even make the trip to the Bay Area. Not only did Jamabo, play, though, he reached 100 yards rushing for the first time in his college career. Jamabo was not only effective but also efficient, needing just a dozen carries against the Cardinal defense to reach triple digits.

A lot of the focus has been on Josh Rosen and the passing game. But if the Bruins are going to go far in Pac-12 play, they will need Jamabo to continue producing consistently. The junior tailback has the potential to provide sorely-needed balance to an air-skewed attack. He could win more helmet stickers as the season moves on with more performances like Week 4.