Utah’s hopes of winning the Pac-12 South are on the line as the Utes face off against UCLA this Saturday. To gain more insight into what’s happening with the Bruins, The Utah Chronicle had the opportunity to talk to Matthew Joye, the football beat writer of the Daily Bruin.
UCLA is coming off of a loss against Washington State, how is the team hoping to bounce back?
The Bruins went through a roller coaster of emotions against the Cougars last Saturday … UCLA suffered perhaps its most gut-wrenching play of the season — a 21-yard game-winning touchdown pass from Washington State. That final play removed all remaining hope for the Bruins to climb back into the College Football Playoff race.
Now, considering how hard that loss was to swallow, it’s tough to predict whether the Bruins will still be ailing this Saturday. My guess is that the Bruins will come back and play hard … Jim Mora’s UCLA teams have a history of bouncing back from losses in November. In 2013, UCLA lost on Senior Day to Arizona State but came back to beat No. 23 USC on the road. Then, in 2014, UCLA lost on Senior Day to Stanford, but came back to beat No. 11 Kansas State in the Alamo Bowl.
So even though UCLA had a crushing loss last week, I don’t think that loss will have any lingering effects.
What/who on UCLA will give the Utes trouble?
Two players on offense will pose problems for the Utes: quarterback Josh Rosen and running back Paul Perkins.
Rosen has been improving each week since his three-interception game against BYU in September. In fact, Rosen has now gone 188 straight passes without throwing an interception. He has shown increased poise in each game this season, especially against the blitz, and he will need to keep that up against a solid Utah pass rush.
Meanwhile, Perkins has quietly followed up his standout 2014 season — when he won the Pac-12 rushing title — with another impressive year in 2015. Perkins’ six-yards-per-carry average ranks third among Pac-12 tailbacks, and he’s a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield as well … Perkins will not blow defenders away with his speed, but his agility makes defenders miss left and right. He’s just a very consistent and efficient back.
Defensively, UCLA’s Kenny Clark is arguably the best nose tackle in the nation … Last week against Washington State, Clark had a career-high three sacks. The Utes will need to double-team Clark, because the teams that haven’t this year have paid the price.
What/who on Utah will give the Bruins trouble?
The run, the run, the run and more of the run. Devontae Booker, Devontae Booker and more of Devontae Booker.
Seriously, I can’t stress enough how problematic UCLA’s run defense has been this year. The Bruins allowed 353 rushing yards to Arizona, 311 to Stanford and 192 to Arizona State. Even BYU, one of the most pass-heavy teams in the NCAA, had its way with the UCLA run defense, as the Cougars’ lead back — Adam Hine — ran for 6.5 yards per carry against UCLA.
The Pac-12 South is up the air, so what’s going to be the biggest storyline about this game?
Whether UCLA is going to continue shooting itself in the foot. The Bruins have an average of 8.9 penalties per game. Last week against Washington State, the Bruins had 13 penalties for 75 yards, including six false-start penalties. In addition, UCLA has held itself back with poor play-calling this year.
What does UCLA need to do to get a win?
UCLA needs to play a fundamentally sound game, bereft of penalties and poor play-calling. Also, the Bruins need to improve their field-position woes … The Bruins’ punting game will need to step up, because it will probably be used more frequently this week against a strong Utah defense.
How would a loss affect this team?
A loss would crush UCLA’s morale significantly, because if the Bruins lose this game, their Pac-12 South title hopes would pretty much go out the window … So this Utah game is huge for UCLA in terms of keeping hope alive for a fourth consecutive win over USC.
Who do you think will win and why?
I just don’t trust UCLA’s run defense enough to predict a Bruin victory. Run defense has been one of UCLA’s biggest ongoing problems this year, and Utah’s offense is built off the run.
I have Utah winning this one, 34-28.
@kbrenneisen
@mattjoye