UCLA Football: 3 Takeaways from Week 9 loss to Washington

1. UCLA is nothing without Josh Rosen

Rosen has been inching closer and closer to securing the top spot in the upcoming NFL Draft. Entering Week 9 he seems to have separated himself from the pack. His primary competition, Sam Darnold, has struggled with interceptions. Josh Allen hasn’t played well against even the lower-tiered Power 5 teams. The remaining potential draftees all have at least one knock or two that have them slotted lower in the first round.

That made it all the more troublesome when Rosen left the game with an undisclosed njury with the Bruins trailing 20-9. Freshman Devin Modster replaced him. Modster had three pass attempts to his name entering Saturday. He played reasonably well given the circumstances. Modster’s final stat line read 7-for-12 for 77 yards and one touchdown.

More information will be forthcoming regarding Rosen’s status for the rest of the season. But with NFL-aspirations an his team out of the picture in the Pac-12 race don’t expect him to hurry back if he’s not 100 percent.

Next: Latest 2018 NFL Mock Draft entering Week 9

Rosen’s absence, however long that will be, will be painful for the Bruins. It would have taken another Texas A&M-esque peformance by Rosen to come back against the Huskies. With the loss in Week 9 they fall to 4-4 with games remaining on the road against Utah and USC and at home against Arizona State and Cal. Forget the Pac-12 South, UCLA needs to start thinking about making a bowl game.