UCLA vs. Bowling Green Week 1: Postgame Takeaways

Breaking down the most notable storylines that came out of the Bruins' win over the Falcons on Saturday.

The Bruins won and covered the considerable spread, but the Falcons gave them quite a bit of trouble to start.

UCLA football (1-0) beat Bowling Green (0-1) 45-17 at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. As sketchy as things looked for the Bruins early on, the final score tells a much different story, and the Falcons' luck dissipated quickly.

These are three of the biggest takeaways, narratives and questions to come out of Saturday's game.

Special teams need a reboot

Losing punter Luke Akers may be one of the most under-discussed departures of UCLA's turbulent offseason.

Akers didn't exactly stand out during his two seasons in Westwood, but the second he appeared in a game for Northwestern, he looked like one of the top punters in the nation. Meanwhile, back at the Rose Bowl, kicker Nicholas Barr-Mira took on double duty and his new endeavor did not start off on the right foot.

Barr-Mira had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown just over a minute into Saturday's contest, putting the Bruins in a hole early.

UCLA only had to punt once for the rest of the day, and Bowling Green elected not to bring any pressure, so the timing needs to be worked out before the Bruins take the field again.

Jake Bobo did not impress as the new starting punt returner either, and he does not seem like a viable replacement for Kyle Philips.

The Duke transfer called a fair catch late on his first attempt, and was sandwiched by two defenders as a result. They were flagged for kick catch interference, but Bobo was injured regardless. Before the play even began, UCLA had to burn a timeout to get Bobo a new jersey, since they missed the fact that they had two No. 9s on the field at once.

Bobo muffed his next try, setting up the Falcons for a chip shot field goal that gave them the lead. While nothing went disastrously wrong on his third return, he still elected not to call a fair catch and got a mere 1 yard on the return. Logan Loya was unavailable for the game, so maybe he'll take over when he's fully healthy.

Barr-Mira and Bobo's respective mishaps led to 10 Bowling Green points, and Barr-Mira also missed field goals from 28 and 44 yards out.

Had all those issues been cleaned up, UCLA could have won 51-7.

Offensive line needs more time to gel

The Bruins' raw offensive numbers popped off the box score, there's no denying it.

Any time a team goes for 626 yards is reason to be satisfied. After all, UCLA had only broken 625 yards in two of their previous 69 games dating back to November 2015.

Watching the game in real time, though, some issues did stand out.

Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was working with minimal time in the pocket. He was able to step up and scramble on a few occasions, but he also got sacked twice, spun out of a few more and was forced into several throwaways.

Right tackle Garrett DiGiorgio was called for a hold and an ineligible man downfield, and he was the one getting beat the most. Left tackle Raiqwon O'Neal got beat a few too many times for a Big Ten veteran with the responsibility of protecting Thompson-Robinson's blind side on his shoulders.

There was always going to be an adjustment period to life after Sean Rhyan and Alec Anderson, so this wasn't unexpected. A lot of the pressure came when the Falcons brought extra rushers, and Thompson-Robinson was generally pretty good at getting the ball out fast and finding the open man.

When higher-profile competition comes to town, though, the offensive line could be in for an even tougher challenge. Bowling Green was able to create pressure with five-man rushes, and maybe the Utahs and Oregons of the world are able to be equally disruptive with four.

That could spell trouble for Thompson-Robinson and UCLA as a whole, so DiGiorgio and O'Neal will need to find much stronger footing before Pac-12 play starts.

It should be noted, though – left guard Atonio Mafi recovered a fumble by Thompson-Robinson and pushed it ahead 7 yards for the first down. It didn't have much to do with the team's blocking or protection schemes, but it was a fun moment nonetheless.

Kazmeir Allen is the real deal

From the moment he stepped on campus, Allen was a home run hitter and big play machine.

With Kyle Philips and Greg Dulcich gone, though, Thompson-Robinson lost his two most reliable security blankets. Allen has been tasked with making up for their lost targets, and he got the job done Saturday.

Allen had twice as many catches as any other Bruin, hauling in 10 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown. His 13 targets were a career high, and he got them all over the field.

On the very first series of the game, Allen ran a jet sweep motion out of the slot, and there was plenty more where that came from, too. Even if he is just used as a decoy, Allen is effective in throwing the defense off its rhythm. 

Allen was out on the field for almost the entire game – before garbage time, of course – which is quite the departure from his gadget role the past few years. 

While he didn't get the chance to return a kickoff, Allen did take a screen pass 20-yards for a touchdown. That was actually Allen's longest grab of the game, which wouldn't have sounded believable just last year.

Fans have been crossing their fingers for Allen to become a bigger part of the offense for years, and now, their prayers have been answered. Allen could end the year with 75-plus catches if Thompson-Robinson continues to put his trust in him, and that's certainly in the cards now.

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