PASADENA “”mdash; The UCLA defense sang one loud redemption song Saturday night on the Rose Bowl field.
The defensive front set the tone with a vastly improved performance from a week ago, accompanied in the background by a secondary that wouldn’t let California’s big-play receivers make their plays.
As for the solo? Tevin McDonald nailed it.
A little over a week after the UCLA defense withered under the Arizona night, the Bruins responded with stellar defensive play in a 31-14 win over the Bears.
The win continued one roller coaster of a season for the Bruins (4-4, 3-2 Pac-12), who are once again within sight of a postseason bowl game.
McDonald, a redshirt freshman safety making his fifth career start, came up with three interceptions and evoked memories of former Bruin safety Rahim Moore. For him, it was about erasing memories of a 48-12 loss to Arizona.
“That game in no way shape or form defined me as a player or us as a team,” he said. “We get a win this (coming) week and nobody will remember we lost to Arizona.”
The dominant defensive performance saw UCLA force five turnovers and three sacks. Even defensive coordinator Joe Tresey caught an errant pass from Cal quarterback Zach Maynard on the sideline.
“They played fast, they had a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm,” said Tresey, beaming with joy a little over a week after his defense turned in arguably its worst performance of the year. “We just have to do it two weeks in a row now.”
The win continued an up-and-down year for UCLA that started with a loss to Houston and has alternated between wins and losses after that. Saturday, the Bruins once again responded.
Maynard passed for 199 yards but threw four picks. He also couldn’t find top receivers Marvin Jones, held to just one catch, and Keenan Allen when it mattered.
“We know what we possess,” redshirt junior defensive end Datone Jones said. “The biggest thing is executing. Our coaches give us the right calls, they give us the perfect defense to run, we have to just execute.”
The defense put in its most well-executed game of the year, and the offense reaped the benefits. Three of the five turnovers set up UCLA in the Cal red-zone, and it was easy for the offense to cash in from there.
Redshirt junior quarterback Kevin Prince ran for 163 yards on 19 carries, both career-highs, while senior running back Derrick Coleman rushed for three touchdowns.
But the day belonged to the defense, specifically McDonald.
“He’s like a hybrid Tony Dye-Rahim Moore,” Jones said. “He’s a ball hawk.”
Dye had to step into the shoes of Moore, but with Dye out for the year those responsibilities fall on the shoulders of the 19-year-old McDonald.
Saturday night he took little credit, but it was hard not to notice as he led the defense’s chorus.
“We now know that when we get down, we can face adversity,” McDonald said. “We know that much.”