Jim Mora defends UCLA’s defense: ‘Yards don’t matter’

UCLA stomped Arizona State 62-27 on Thursday and bounced back into the top 10 of national polls, but its defense gave up 626 yards in the process — a record under third-year head coach Jim Mora.

In case anyone was wondering, Mora doesn’t care about that number.

“I’ve been coaching since I was 22 years old,” he said. “Played defense for four years before that. Yards has never been an issue. I doubt that I’ll change now. Most coaches I know don’t pay much attention to yards, because yards don’t matter. Points are usually what they grade you on.

“It’s the team at the end of the game with the most points that wins, not the team with the most yards. So that’s how I feel about yards.”

The 52-year-old continued by saying that judging a defense based on yards allowed is too simple given the variables that come with each game, and considering the type of prolific offenses that exist today in college football. He pointed out Florida State, which despite being the defending national champion and the No. 1-ranked team in the country, gave up 520 yards in a 56-41 win over North Carolina State.

So far this season, UCLA’s defense has instead subsisted on timely takeaways. It notched three defensive touchdowns in one quarter in a season-opening win at Virginia, then took back another interception for a score against the Sun Devils last Thursday. The Bruins are 30th in the country in turnover margin (+0.75 per game).

But the team has also been criticized for not being enough extra pressure in its pass rush, relying mostly on a stout defensive line and outside linebacker Deon Hollins — who has two of the team’s five sacks this season.

During one line of questioning on Sunday, Mora interjected: “There’s only a few people that know what the defense is supposed to be doing on every single play. It’s certainly not the announcers in the booth, and it’s very seldom the fans in the stands. It’s the coaches on the field and the players on the field. …

“I know one thing: I’ll take four defensive touchdowns.”