UCLA vs USC: Keys to Victory
UCLA vs USC
Here are the keys to victory for the Bruins when they try to defeat USC for the 3rd consecutive year this Saturday at the Rose Bowl:
Offense
A strong game from Perkins is a must for the Bruins. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
1) Get “Mr Reliable” running the ball – Paul Perkins has quietly put together a terrific season at RB for UCLA, and the Bruins need him to have another solid game against USC. Perkins has rushed for more than 4 yards per carry in every game but 1 this year (Arizona held him to 3.7 YPC). If Perkins can keep UCLA in medium 2nd and short 3rd down situations, the Trojan defense won’t be able to stop the multi-faceted Bruin offense. If Perkins is stopped regularly for little to no yardage, UCLA will end up in too many long yardage situations that will allow USC to pressure the Bruins more and force Brett Hundley into uncomfortable situations (think Virginia and Utah).
2) Spread That Ball Around – Brett Hundley is UCLA’s most dynamic play-maker since Cade McNown graced the Rose Bowl in the 90’s, and like Cade, he is at his best when he is distributing the ball around the field to UCLA’s various weapons.The offense stalls when Hundley gets locked into one receiver or he tries to do to much himself. He dominates the games where he gets 8-10 receivers involved and then takes advantage of the holes that develop as the defense is spread thin. Hundley should be slipping daggers into the Trojans defenders as they try to stop the other players, if he falls into a frontal assault Leonard Williams, Su’a Cravens and the rest of the Trojans will swallow him up. Oh, and I almost forgot… let Myles Jack loose too.
This guy needs to leave Westwood 3-0 vs USC. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
3) Continue to Protect the Defense – The Bruin’s offense were like Jekyll and Hyde in the month of October; they either scored in emphatic fashion or they walked off the field in abject failure. UCLA scored a ton of points, but 27 of 45 total drives in October ended in a 3 & out, a short non-scoring drive, a 4th down failure or a turnover. These bad drives put the UCLA defense in terrible positions throughout those games leading to losses against Utah and Oregon and struggles against Cal and Colorado. In the two November games, the Bruins have it almost completely turned around. Against Arizona and Washington there were only 3 “bad” drives out of 26 total. USC can put up points with the best teams in the Pac-12, and if the Bruins spot them field position throughout the game, the Victory Bell will be in for a cardinal paint job.
Defense
1) Stop Buck Allen – After 10 games, USC’s Junior Tailback leads the Pac-12 in rushing by 12 yards (over Perkins, who has the edge in YPC), and if the Trojans want to play to their strengths, they will attempt to establish the run through the very capable Allen. Because USC does not run any real option offense (Kessler is a drop back passer almost exclusively), the Trojan offense is most deadly when the Play-Action Pass is working off of a strong running game. USC will run out of a number of formations (including the pistol, which may be familiar to Bruin fans), but it is important that the Bruins front 7 continues their solid play and keeps Allen under his average as they did with Washington’s Shaq Thompson, Arizona’s Jones-Grigsby, Cal’s Daniel Lasco, and ASU’s DJ Foster.
The Bruin Defense needs to duplicate this picture on Saturday. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
2) No Big Plays – The Bruins have been pretty good at not giving up big plays all year long. In fact, they are the only team in the PAC-12 to not allow a play of 50+ yards on defense, and they are tied with Stanford in giving up only 3 plays over 40 yards this season. The Bruins default scheme almost all year has been a nickle defense which either uses Ish Adams or another safety as run support or locks Miles Jack onto a receiver as a defacto Dime Back. This has allowed the Bruins to keep offenses in front of them, and for most of the year the Bruins have tackled well and made teams earn points via long drives. Early in the year, the Bruin pass rush was not living up to expectations, but recently the Bruins have played better at all 3 levels of the defense. That will need to continue and they will have to get some hits on Kessler if they are planning on containing the potent USC wide receivers.
3)Win Special Teams – The Bruins have not returned a kick or punt for any real yardage for most of the year in large part because opposing teams have preferred not to give Ish Adams a chance (which is probably wise). However, the Bruins have typically benefited from better field position on kickoffs because of opponents tendencies to squib kick away from Adams. On Punts and Kickoffs, the Bruins will be facing a couple a dangerous returners themselves in Nelson Agholor and Adoree Jackson. The Bruins gave up their 1st return touchdown of the Mora era in the last game against Wahington. They had better make sure there is no repeat performance for USC.
…stay in his range, and Fairbairn has shown that he will come through…
The Kicking game may also factor large in this game.
has dug quite a hole for himself with Bruin faithful, but he has put together a pretty good season in 2014. The problem is that his range appears to be a firm 40 yards or in. Anything more is a meltdown risk. Stay in his range, and Fairbairn has shown that he will come through.