LOS ANGELES – The first offensive play UCLA ran this season carried much promise.
The Bruins opened against Virginia with quarterback Josh Rosen dropping back and heaving a 50-plus-yard deep ball to Kenneth Walker.
The pass was dropped, as Walker lost sight of the ball in the midday sun, but the meaning of the throw was not lost on anyone in the Rose Bowl crowd. Even with a freshman behind center, UCLA’s offense wasn’t going to hesitate taking shots down the field.
But in the Bruins’ first loss of the season, a 38-23 defeat against Arizona State on Saturday, they looked like a far more conservative bunch, one that didn’t appear eager to air it out.