UCLA’s Jim Mora kicking himself for not giving Myles Jack the ball

After UCLA hung on to avoid an upset at Colorado last week, Coach Jim Mora began talking to a friend. The friend had a very simple message: “Give the ball to Myles Jack.”

Mora wasn’t sure what the friend was talking about, but then realized he was referring to a play late in the fourth quarter. Up by three toward the end of the fourth quarter, the Bruins elected to go for it on fourth and one from Colorado’s 22-yard line instead of going for a field goal. The logic was sound — a first down helps you burn clock, and kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn has been shaky from long distances this season.

The execution, however, was not. Instead of giving it to Jack — the all-world battering ram who won both the offensive and defensive rookie of the year in the Pac-12 last season — the ball went to defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes.

Vanderdoes was stuffed at the line, Colorado got the ball and drove down the field to tie the game, and the Bruins needed double overtime to put away a team that is winless in the Pac-12.

On Tuesday, Mora said that he was kicking himself after the game for not giving Jack the ball.

“Yeah, that’s just way too easy,” Mora said with a laugh on Tuesday. “I’m not smart enough. Myles is fun to have on our team.”

Generally speaking, Jack hasn’t made nearly the same impact on offense that he did last year. The sophomore linebacker has just 16 carries for 58 yards with two touchdowns. Last season, Jack ran for 267 yards, averaged more than seven yards a carry and scored seven touchdowns.

This year, with the emergence of Paul Perkins, Jack hasn’t been needed as much on offense anymore. Having him in an emergency role is a good problem to have.

“We go into every game with an idea that we’re going to play Myles at running back. But when Paul Perkins, Jordon James and Nate Starks are running the way they are, it alleviates the need to do that. Last year, we did it out of necessity. Any time you ask a guy to double up and really put a burden on him like that, then you’re going to take away something. And we really don’t want to take away from his development as a linebacker. The great thing is that he’s always ready and willing, and when we do stick him in there, he’s productive.”

For more Bruin observations, follow Everett Cook on Twitter @everettcook