UCLA Football: 3 takeaways from home victory over Colorado

2. UCLA is evolving a strong pass defense as October approaches

Only one quarterback has managed to crack the code to the UCLA secondary this season. Entering the game against Colorado, the defense was giving up only 217.3 yards per game through the air. And that number was skewed by the game against Memphis, when Riley Ferguson went 23-of-38 for 398 yards and six touchdowns. If you set aside the game against the Tigers as an anomalous performance, the numbers look even more impressive.

Texas A&M managed just 89 passing yards and no touchdowns through the air as Nick Starkel and Kellen Mond combined to go just 9-of-30 at the Rose Bowl. Hawaii’s Dru Brown had the same 23-of-38 completion rate as Ferguson, but managed only 227 yards and two touchdowns. And in last week’s loss to Stanford, the trio of Keller Chryst, Ryan Burns, and K.J. Costello finished 16-of-24 for 148 yards and two scores.

Steven Montez looked more like the field rather than Ferguson when he faced the Bruins defense on Saturday night. The Colorado quarterback finished 17-of-36 for 243 yards and one touchdown. Unable to keep pace with Rosen on the stat sheet, Montez was stymied by a still-improving defense that never let him get comfortable throwing the ball.