LOS ANGELES — At the conclusion of a nearly 12-minute media session Tuesday, Ikaika Malloe’s eyes started to well up. UCLA’s defensive coordinator spoke about several topics after Tuesday’s practice, but one thing was abundantly clear: He put the onus on himself for the defensive lapses the team has experienced through the first four games of the season. “I love this defense because I feel like part of them. They worked so hard to try to give me what I want, you know,” Malloe said. “And so on the flip side, just, man, I can’t, I mean, I’ve been up since three o’clock on Sunday because I just don’t want to let down this team. These kids fight hard, man. And so I think the love for each other, that’s what keeps us going. But fundamentally, technically, technically, that’s my job. I just got to get these kids better so we can win.” After Malloe walked way from the media scrum, defensive back Bryan Addison took his place and commented on how emotional his coach got talking about the team. “Coach Malloe is one of those coaches that’s easy to play for. He’s so passionate about his players and his defense that he takes pride in what he does and what he teaches us,” Addison said. “So to see him acting like that and to see him, how passionate he is about the game, it just makes me fired up more to go play for him.” The Bruins’ defense has struggled through four games, particularly against the pass, giving up 291 passing yards per game. UCLA ranks 117th in passing yards allowed out of the 134 teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. But UCLA’s defense showed signs of improvement in the second half against Oregon on Saturday. After giving up 28 points in the first half, UCLA held Oregon scoreless in the third quarter and gave up just one touchdown in the final 30 minutes. Malloe attributed that improvement to going back to the fundamentals and playing with fewer distractions. “I guess what worked in that quarter was being simple. Really it was being able to line up and play football and then let our technique execute,” Malloe said. “I think the fourth quarter, our technique kind of fell apart a little bit, whether it would be the amount of body blows they took and eventually, you know, the aggressiveness of what Oregon did. But that third quarter, like you said, I mean, that’s something that we have to hang our hat on and kind of move forward.” Addison was also a bright spot Saturday. The former Duck had the play of the day for his new team, returning an interception 96 yards for a touchdown to end the first half. It was his first career pick-six and fifth interception overall. “A dream of mine is making one of those types of plays, but I feel like the play wasn’t something that was just going to happen versus Oregon. It was one of those types of things that we’ve been preparing for as a team,” Addison said. “He was awesome, but I knew he was going to play that way. I think this was a very emotional game for him, you know, because of his past and his transfer status from Oregon,” Malloe said of Addison. “I think he took a huge stride in terms of not just playing his position, but kind of moving himself forward and being one of the leaders of the defense now.” Defensive line changes Defensive linemen Cherif Seye and Luke Schuermann, who hadn’t played much this season, saw action Saturday against Oregon. It was the first game for Seye and second appearance for Schuermann this season. Related Articles College Sports | UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers likely to play against Penn State on Saturday College Sports | UCLA’s Ethan Garbers keeps getting hit – and the Bruins are collectively feeling the weight College Sports | Alexander: It’s a long, hard road back for UCLA football College Sports | Oregon offense has its way as UCLA drops second straight Big Ten game College Sports | UCLA receiver Kwazi Gilmer earns his first start as a Bruin In an effort to find a spark and also give Jay Toia more room to operate on the line, Malloe said both players will get an extended look against Penn State on Saturday. “Yeah, Cherif, Cherif for sure. I think Luke, we found a way to make him a pass rusher as opposed to a defensive end run stopper. I think that’s one way. We got to get (No.) 93 free. He’s eating up way too much doubles and that’s, you know, we kind of understood that,” Malloe said of Toia. “So again, I need to do a better job in terms of freeing up the guys that can make plays, which is 93, and then putting guys on the field, which I do believe can generate plays.”