ATLANTA -- UCLA head coach Jim Mora has been named The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week after leading the Bruins to the largest comeback in school history, officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl announced today.
Trailing 44-10 with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter, the Bruins scored the first of five consecutive touchdowns en route to a 45-44 come-from-behind victory. In addition to the school record, the 34-point margin marked the second largest in an FBS contest (35 by Michigan State, 2006).
"Coach Mora's Bruins certainly made a comeback for the ages," said Jim Terry, chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. "Week one of the college football season had some amazing coaching performances, but we felt that UCLA's come-from-behind victory stood out from the rest of the pack."
A number of individual performances contributed to the Bruin rally, including a career day from quarterback Josh Rosen. The junior recorded multiple personal bests, including 35 completions, 491 passing yards and four touchdown passes. Tight end Caleb Wilson (school-record 15 receptions, 208 yards receiving) and wide receiver Darren Andrews (12 receptions, 142 yards receiving) were heavily targeted. A fake spike, followed by a 10-yard Rosen toss to wide receiver Jordan Lasley, punctuated the UCLA comeback with 43 seconds remaining.
With Sunday's win, the Bruins have won 15 of 16 regular-season non-conference games during Mora's tenure. The latest win also moved Mora past Tommy Prothro into fifth place on the all-time UCLA coaching wins list with 42.
Off the field, Mora's Bruins earned an impressive Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 971 last year, as five student-athletes were earned academic honors or honorable mentions. In July, linebacker Kenny Young was named to the watch list for the Wuerffel trophy, which is awarded to the FBS player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
"Jim has been an extemporary leader both on and off the field at UCLA," said Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Chairman Percy Vaughn. "He's certainly deserving of this recognition, and we look forward to seeing the Bruins compete throughout the remainder of the season under his leadership."
The Dodd Trophy is named after legendary Georgia Tech coach Bobby Dodd, and was established in 1976 to honor the FBS football coach whose program represents three pillars of success: Scholarship, Leadership and Integrity. The award honors the coach of a team with a successful season on the field and equally as important, stresses the importance of academic excellence and desire to give back to the community.