UCLA Football: Redshirt Senior Explains How Defense Made Second-Half Changes Vs Boise State

The Bruins finished out a mediocre year in style.

On Saturday, with future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski on hand as a present, your UCLA Bruins bested the Boise State Broncos in this year's LA Bowl, with a 35-22 come-from-behind victory.

In remarks made to the press after the game (per UCLA Communications), redshirt senior linebacker Darius Mausau spoke about how the club made some key tweaks on his side of the ball to secure a win.

“In the first half, we weren’t really playing to the standard that we set out for ourselves coming into this season," Mausau said. "Going into the locker room, this is a player-led team. Coach always says that all the time. We had our captains step up give a little speech, and that’s all we needed to kick our butts and get into the right mindset.”

Boise State (8-6) led UCLA (8-5) 16-7 at the break. A 21-0 third quarter Bruins run put UCLA up 28-16 heading into the fourth, and the club held on long enough to help sixth-year head coach Chip Kelly secure a win to close out the season.

Mausau was the defensive star of the show this weekend. The 6'1", 230-pound upperclassman paced the Bruins with his 11 total tackles (six solo) and 2.5 tackles for a loss.