UCLA Football Vs. ASU: Here Are 6 Key Pre-Game Stats

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

UCLA is No. 12 in total offense per game at 505.3 yards; Arizona State holds teams to 308 yards of total offense per game, good for 12th in the nation.  And if you’ve been paying attention, the central theme here is that the ASU defense has been solid so far under Todd Graham. (Although ASU fans would like to only remember things in the short-term; the same was true this time last season, but the team collapsed late.)

The Bruins’ offense has been somewhat anemic the past couple of games, and have averaged nearly 100 yards less of total offense over the past three games (409 yards per game) than their season average. Arizona State hasn’t had such a drop-off defensively — again, because we’ll keep reminding you, excluding the Oregon game — and such a fact might not bode well for a UCLA offense that hasn’t put up 600 yards of total offense against a team since doing so back-to-back against Rice and Nebraska.

Arizona State is one of the ten least penalized teams in the nation; UCLA is one of the five most penalized teams in the nation. Penalties have become a consistent issue with this Bruins team, and the numbers confirm this.

UCLA earns 8.6 penalties per game (119th in the nation) and pays for it to the tune of 80.6 yards per game (122nd in the nation). This is far worse than the 6.7 penalties per game in 2011, and though some would chalk it up to increased aggressiveness defensively, that doesn’t seem to be a good enough excuse or a worthy explanation of the disparity.

Meanwhile, Arizona State is the polar opposite: They’re only penalized 4.2 times per game, which is good for tenth-least in the nation, and those penalties only cost them 28 yards a contest, which is third-best in the country.

ASU head honcho Todd Graham seems to be the lone coach in this match-up instilling discipline penalty-wise, while UCLA head coach Jim Mora’s squad seems to be lacking this characteristic.

UCLA is sixth in the nation in sacks, and eighth in the nation in sack percentage; ASU is 112th in sacks allowed and 101st in sack percentage. UCLA’s biggest improvement over last season hasn’t been the offense; in fact, it’s been the play of the front seven, which has become one of the most aggressive in the Pac-12.

UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr has proven to be a total wreck for opposing backfields and that’s largely due to the space that the defensive line earns for him; in a 3-4 defense, the defensive linemen’s job is primarily to open up holes for the linebackers to make plays, blue-collar-esque, we know, but the line does get all the credit for what it does in the trenches, even when the UCLA secondary is getting burned.

Meanwhile, ASU quarterback Taylor Kelly has not been given the protection necessary to get comfortable in the pocket, and as a result, ASU only passes 46 percent of the time, which is 74th in the nation.

This is going to be a hell of a match-up to watch and it could be one that damns Arizona State’s chances of holding serve at home.