was missing so many players on defense that it forced the Bruins to get creative.
It worked. Sort of.
The Bruins used a 3-4 formation that essentially turned defensive ends Jaelan Phillips and Keisean Lucier-South into outside linebackers … and then had to switch personnel again in the third quarter when Phillips went down with an apparent right ankle injury. Phillips was wearing a walking boot after the game.
“You can call it a 3-4, or a 5-2, whatever,” UCLA coach Jim Mora said of the No. 25 Bruins’ hybrid formation after their 48-45 loss to Memphis on Saturday at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.