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UCLA DC Ikaika Malloe emotionally shoulders responsibility for defensive struggles
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UCLA defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe feels horrible about UCLA’s start defensively to the 2024 season.
He feels really horrible because, well, he’s the leader of the Bruin defense, and things have gotten away from UCLA’s defensive unit 4 games into the 2024 season. UCLA is 1-3 and after a 16-13 victory at Hawaii to start the season, the Bruins have simply been shredded in their past 3 games.
Malloe’s unit has allowed 42, 34 and 34 points, respectively, in those 3 games, which have been lopsided losses to Indiana, LSU and Oregon. The Indiana and Oregon losses were at home and the LSU loss was in Death Valley, and with Indiana being 5-0 and ranked 23rd in the AP Poll now, the 3 opponents who’ve done the damage to UCLA are all high quality.
But it’s still disappointing for the Bruins, who are tied for 105th nationally in points per game allowed, and especially for Malloe. And things don’t get easier. Instead, they get harder, as UCLA travels across the country to take on 7th-ranked Penn State in the FOX Big Noon feature game in Happy Valley.
“All these young kids we’re trying to spoon feed, we gotta just throw them in there, they’re going to learn by trial and error, and what a game to learn,” said Malloe. “This will teach them what it is to play against the physicality of the Big Ten.”
“I love this defense because they work so hard to try to give me what I want,” he continued, getting emotional as he spoke. “I just don’t want to let down this team. These kids play hard. The love for each other, that’s what keeps me going.”