UCLA Football: 3 takeaways from meltdown at Colorado in Week 5

UCLA football fell yet again, remaining winless in 2018 with a 22-point loss on the road to Colorado. What’d we learn from the Bruins’ loss?

UCLA fell to 0-4 on the season, with Chip Kelly still searching for his first victory as head coach of the Bruins. On the road in Boulder, the Bruins fell 38-16 as the Buffaloes ran away with a blowout on Friday night at Folsom Field.

Colorado, on the other hand, opened Pac-12 play this season with a victory as they moved to 4-0 in 2018. Here are three things we learned about the two teams with wildly divergent fortunes when they met in the shadow of the Rockies in #Pac12AfterDark action to kick off Week 5 in college football.

3. Steven Montez proved too much to handle for the Bruins defense

In his second year as the full-time starter in Boulder, Colorado quarterback Steven Montez entered this contest with the Buffaloes on a 3-0 start to the season. In the first three contests of the season, Montez averaged 285 yards per game on a 73.4 percent completion rate with eight touchdowns and two interceptions.

Through the first half, Montez was nearly perfect against the Bruins defense. Montez went 13-of-15 for 131 yards and a touchdown, while adding 19 rushing yards and a touchdown on five carries. He accounted for both touchdowns as the Buffaloes held on to a 14-13 lead at the half, piloting the Buffaloes competently against a solid UCLA defense.

It was much of the same in the second half. Montez finished 22-of-26 for 237 yards and a touchdown through the air, with the quarterback adding 81 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. He was a dangerous dual-threat option that kept UCLA off balance all game.

Montez far outplayed his younger counterpart on the opposite sideline. The offense was a key reason why Colorado prevailed in this contest, and Montez was the catalyst for that turnaround.