UCLA football: 3 takeaways from huge win over No. 13 Washington State

In an effort to prove that the 3-1 start to the season with a freshman quarterback leading the way is no fluke, UCLA football needed to go out and beat a team like No. 13 Washington State on Saturday afternoon. That would be the perfect statement win.

After throwing a pick-six right before halftime to trail Washington State 10-9, the Bruins bounced back nicely in the second half to reclaim the lead, 25-17.

That’s where things stood until late in the fourth quarter. Washington State had a chance to go down and tie it up, but a failed fourth-down conversion gave the ball back to UCLA for good.

What’d we learn from this huge UCLA win?

3. Carson Steele deserves more touches

Heading into Saturday afternoon’s game against Washington State, Carson Steele hadn’t had a game in which he carried the ball more than 13 times all season long.

That changed against the Cougars.

Steele actually reached 30 carries on Saturday afternoon and had his first 100-yard game of the season, accounting for 140 rushing yards in the win.

While the offense is finally starting to gel, a lot of the success on Saturday came because of Steele’s ability to move the chains with his legs. He needs more touches. He deserves more touches. Chip Kelly needs to feed this man.