UCLA’s Eddie Vanderdoes to miss season after tearing ACL

UPDATE: Eddie Vanderdoes tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the season. This is just about the worst news the UCLA defense could’ve gotten in Week 1.

UCLA defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes suffered a knee injury on Saturday against Virginia, the severity of which remains unclear.

Head coach Jim Mora said that the junior’s knee had “locked up” on him during the game. Vanderdoes appeared to aggravate it when he lifted up defensive tackle Kenny Clark to celebrate the latter’s first career touchdown catch. The 6-foot-3, 305-pound defender has undergone an examination, and the team is “waiting to see” on the results.

Vanderdoes and Clark teamed up for a dominant performance against the Cavaliers, helping UCLA limit UVa to just 2.9 yards per carry. Even if he is cleared for action, Vanderdoes seems like a likely candidate to sit out on Saturday against UNLV as a precautionary measure.

Safety Randall Goforth, who was tended to by trainers in the second half, is suffering a sore neck and should be ready to practice again on Tuesday.

Notes: Josh Rosen puts up big numbers in UCLA season opener

» Josh Rosen looked very, very good in his first start at quarterback for UCLA. We wrote a bit about this elsewhere, but here are some more stats on the true freshman’s debut on Saturday versus Virginia:

— Rosen is first true freshman to start the season at quarterback for UCLA, and the seventh one to do it at any point in the season. None of them even came close to what he did.

2015: Josh Rosen v. Virginia, W 34-16 — 28/35, 351 yards, 3 TD
2002: Drew Olson @ Washington, W 34-24 — 13/27, 189 yards
2002: Matt Moore v. Stanford, W 28-18 — 7/19, 142 yards, 1 TD
1995: Cade McNown v. Oregon, L 38-31 — 12/24, 183 yards, 1 INT
1992: Ryan Fien v. Arizona State, L 20-0 — 4/7, 18 yards
1979: Tom Ramsey @ Oregon, W 35-0 — 4/6, 64 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
1974: Steve Bukich @ Washington, L 31-9 — 5/14, 78 yards, 5 INT

— Of the last 15 quarterbacks to start for the Bruins, Rosen had the highest debut-game marks in completions (28) and passing yards (351). He also tied for the lead with three touchdowns.

— Rosen went 6 for 8 for 116 yards on third downs.

— Rosen’s performance happened 1,101 days after Brett Hundley’s debut. Hundley didn’t have the same day through the air, going 21 of 28 for 202 yards, two touchdowns and a pick — but he also broke out this 72-yard scoring run on his very first snap.

Rosen’s first snap would have been a 75-yard touchdown to Kenneth Walker III, but the receiver couldn’t hang on to the ball. Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said the pass glanced off the defender’s finger, but it still looked catchable.

» Running back Myles Jack looks like he’ll still be a goal-line threat this season. He took two carries for seven yards, punching the latter in for his 11th career touchdown. Continue reading “Notes: Josh Rosen puts up big numbers in UCLA season opener” »

Recapping UCLA’s 34-16 win over Virginia to open the 2015 season

Here’s some of our coverage from UCLA’s 34-16 win over Virginia at the Rose Bowl.

» Josh Rosen’s performance answered the most pressing question of UCLA’s offseason.
» Vinny Bonsignore’s column on Rosen, and how he had fans smiling from his very first pass.
» Right tackle Caleb Benenoch gave suspended coach Adrian Klemm credit for the offensive line’s showing.
» The instant game story from the Rose Bowl press box.