This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
At a certain point, Jim Mora starts feeling that old instinct kick in.
When he sees the offensive yardage totals climb higher and higher, he starts to lose his cool.
"Coming from an NFL background, if you give up 500 total offensive yards, you're going to be sick to your stomach," he said. "You just have to adjust your thinking a bit at this level. There's going to be yards in college football, there's going to be points. It doesn't mean you accept it, it's just an adjustment."
After giving up 626 yards in a shootout with Arizona State that ended up mostly one-way, Mora said his defense was "not near where we want to be." But it's also a reality, he said, that many games in the pass-happy Pac-12 will see a lot of offense and maybe not much defense.
But where his unit has excelled is turnovers, and scoring off those turnovers. Though No. 8 UCLA gives up 450 yards per game, they also have four touchdowns off of defensive takeaways.
While Mora knows that his unit gives up yards, if they can make plays, he'll be happy.
"The right way to look at it is are you giving your plays a chance of having success, and are you asking them to do things they can do?" he said. "And you've got to depend on players to do their job on a consistent basis."
On the flip side of UCLA's defensive performance was Arizona State's turnover laden play on offense. Coach Todd Graham said he thought new starter Mike Bercovici, filling in for injured Taylor Kelly, did some nice things, but learned a harsh lesson.
"You can't turn the football over in this league and win the game, period," Graham said. "Our whole thing this week was take care of the football, don't force and plays. The errors we made on those turnovers were errors outside our system … But Mike is a great young man, he knows the mistakes he made, and I think he'll get them corrected."
Beavers working on offense
Here's a shocking statistic from last week: Oregon State didn't score a touchdown for the first time in 31 games, way back when Sean Mannion was a freshman.
Mannion, now the all-time leading passer at Oregon State, has become one of the most respected quarterbacks in the Pac-12, but without go-to guy Victor Bolden, the Beavers offense couldn't find consistency. Coach Mike Riley said he was surprised: Though OSU put up yards, they couldn't get to paydirt.
Utah can relate to his main concern: the passing game wasn't good enough.
"We had some runs, they weren't big runs, but they were steady, productive runs," Riley said. "We're usually looking for balance in our game, but we never could really establish enough protection. We've got to get the passing game up."
Riley said Bolden is questionable to play this week against Colorado, but will definitely play against USC next week.
Spruce getting rave reviews
Colorado receiver Nelson Spruce got some love from Pac-12 coaches this week after catching 19 passes for 179 yards and three scores in a losing effort against Cal. Arizona State coach Todd Graham said he couldn't "change the channel" watching the Biletnikoff Award contender, who leads the nation in receiving touchdowns.
With Spruce and the Buffs next on his schedule, Riley said he was impressed by Spruce's quickness and strength: "We'll probably need three guys to cover him."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Tribune Power Rankings
1. Oregon • Back in action against tough Arizona team
2. UCLA • Finally showed the talent we thought they had
3. USC • Defense shook off BC disappointment
4. Stanford • Need more offensive production to compete at the top
5. Arizona • Comeback kids hoping magic lasts one more week
6. Washington State • Showed great resolve in comeback road win
7. Arizona State • Tackling is a bigger issue that who plays quarterback
8. California • Golden Bears effective on the ground as well as the air
9. Washington • Offensive line didn't hold up well against tough D
10. Utah • Offensive miscues leave questions about passing game
11. Oregon State • Beavers hoping receivers get healthy soon
12. Colorado • Double overtime heart breaker showed some fire nonetheless —
Quotable
"It's crazy. You look at the Cal game, look at the Florida State game, they're just wild. They'll wear you out. You're just like, 'Oh my God, stop!"
— UCLA coach Jim Mora, a defensive-minded coach, on the offensive numbers being posted in college football