A lot of folks aren’t sure there’s much defense being played in the Pac-12 but after the first half between UCLA and Arizona State, a few of those same folks might wonder just how much offense there is in the league.
A slugfest would be an apt descriptor as the two Pac-12 South rivals went to the locker room tied at 3-all in a game that was not even remotely close to being all that watchable in the desert.
The biggest development came for the Bruins however, as star quarterback Josh Rosen appeared to suffer an injury to throw his status into doubt for the rest of the game and possibly longer.
Rosen first injured his leg on a third down sack in the first quarter but did return to action over the next several series. He was sacked on a second down play the next quarter and fumbled the ball (recovered by a Bruins teammate) but did not return to the game after that. Television cameras later caught the signal-caller limping off to the locker room before the halftime whistle.
Backup Mike Fafaul came in for UCLA on the ensuing drive and completed a 25 yard pass but otherwise was as ineffective as his predecessor on a difficult night for both offenses.
Arizona State quarterback Brady White, himself playing in place of the team’s injured starter, looked very shaky in his first major game action and completed just six passes as the Sun Devils failed to convert a third down.
We’ll see if Rosen returns for the Bruins or if either team can make some adjustments on offense because that was quite a first half in Tempe and nobody who watched will likely ever speak of it again (it was that bad).