UCLA works on getting its running game in shape as it heads to Utah

Soso Jamabo contemplated the question like he was running parallel to the line of scrimmage, waiting for an opening to emerge.

What did the UCLA tailback see when he reviewed footage of the Bruins running for 62 yards and only 2.2 yards per carry last week against Washington?

“Real disappointing,” Jamabo said, pausing for a few seconds as he considered where to go from there. “We just couldn’t get anything going.”

Then, he waited another five seconds before continuing.

“It’s been tough,” Jamabo said. “That’s all I can really say.”

Tough is a considerable improvement from last season. The Bruins are averaging 121.1 yards rushing per game, ranking No. 108 in the nation, and 4.1 yards per carry.

They aren’t the numbers UCLA wanted but they’re significantly better than the 84.3 yards per game and 2.9 yards per carry the Bruins averaged last season, when they topped 100 yards as a team in only four games and did not have a ballcarrier reach that threshold once.

UCLA, 4-4 overall, 2-3 in Pac-12 Conference play, has exceeded 100 yards rushing five times this season and run for 15 touchdowns, two more than the Bruins rushed for all of last season. Jamabo and fellow tailback Bolu Olorunfunmi have each rushed for at least 100 yards in a game this season.

Jamabo has been clutch when it counts, catching a swing pass for a first down on fourth and 10 to extend the Bruins’ final drive in their epic comeback victory against Texas A&M, and running for seven yards on fourth and sixth late in a triumph over Colorado.

But the weight of his team’s struggles was evident on his face and in his voice as he discussed what it would take for UCLA to get back to the kind of rushing production it wants heading into a game against Utah (4-4, 1-4) on Friday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. The Utes are allowing 158.8 yards rushing per game, their run defense ranking No. 57 nationally.

“We’ve got to win our one-on-one matchups and be better than the other team, that’s it at this point,” said Jamabo, who is averaging a team-high 57.2 yards rushing per game. “We can do the X’s and Os as much as we want, but we’ve just got to out-physical and out-will and out play the other team at this point.”

Jamabo acknowledged that the run game would be essential to UCLA’s success if backup quarterback Devon Modster was thrust into a starting role because of injuries to Josh Rosen. No official announcement has been made, but Jamabo sounded like he was preparing for Modster running out onto the field for the opening drive.

“We want to run the ball and have his back,” Jamabo said. “It’s going to tough on the road, it’s going to be a hostile environment, his first start, so to be able to run the ball would give a lot of confidence to the rest of the offense and him as well. So we want to get the run going, be able to protect and I think Devon will be able to make a lot of good plays out there on Friday.”

Few happy returns

UCLA has endured sustained disappointment in another area — its return game.

The Bruins are averaging 19.5 yards per kickoff return, ranking No. 95 in the nation, after averaging a middling 21.1 yards per kickoff return last season. UCLA is averaging 7.3 yards per punt return, ranking No. 66 in the nation.

Darnay Holmes has had the most success returning kickoffs, averaging 22.1 yards per return, including one that went for 54 yards.

“Our return game, like most return games, you’re a block away from hitting the big ones,” UCLA coach Jim Mora said, “but I like the way that we’re working, I like the guys that we have in the positions that we have them, I like the scheme, it’s just a matter of continuing to execute it at the highest level.”

ben.bolch@latimes.com

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