Pasadena, CA -- UCLA avoided what could have been another huge upset on Saturday night football. First USC, then Alabama, and now UCLA neared being upset. Josh Rosen struggled, throwing for just 103 yards and 3 interceptions. Paul Perkins was the savior for the Bruins, carrying 26 times for 219 yards.

"Paul's had some pretty darn good games, but what I thought was impressive about Paul was the toughness that he ran with," Mora said. "He carried people on his back, he moved the pile forward, he carried the ball a lot."

"The difference in the game was Perkins," said Cougars coach Bronco Mendenhall. "I thought he was really difficult to tackle and I thought he was a catalyst for their team. ... I think their running back was just very patient at creating holes and making us miss."

Both coaches spoke on Perkins well. He was the difference maker in this one. Rosen struggling was an understatement. He posted a QBR of 5.7 and while of course we won't make excuses for him, BYU is a solid team that really matched up well against UCLA, forcing 2 redzone turnovers by Rosen. He did finish the second half with a nice effort, throwing 6 for 8 for 54 yards and a touchdown. 

"Coming back to throw that slant-and-go to Jordan and put it right on the money . he didn't play well numbers-wise, but when it mattered he showed exactly who he is and that's exciting," Mora said.

"You guys didn't really want to think it was coming, but it was coming," Mazzone said. "We can practice situations until we are blue in the face, but quarterbacks, kids don't grow up until they can go through the experience. It was a great learning experience for him."

UCLA is definitely fortunate for having their struggling game prior to league play. They can now work on their issues and hopefully work them out to the point that they are fixed or manageable when they play a huge game at Arizona next week.

Tanner Magnum passed for 244 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Adam Hine led the rushing attack with 23 carries for 149 yards and a touchdown.

With USC losing and Bama losing, UCLA will likely move into the 5-6 range depending on how much Alabama drops. UCLA is inching their way into top-4 territory and we thought USC had that locked up, but their big loss against Stanford puts a damper on them. They still can make a run for it, with a huge effort out of Kessler the rest of the way, but now will need UCLA to drop a game. 

BYU heads to Michigan next week in a big matchup against a struggling, but confident Wolverines team.