UCLA Football: Shifting From Oregon State To Washington State

UCLA Football had a great overall game against Oregon State with a 41-0 shut out, but that is in the past and it is now time to focus on the surprising Washington State Cougars.

That was a damn fine display of dominant UCLA Football last Saturday, wasn’t it Bruin fans? UCLA dismantled the Oregon State Beavers 41-0, getting their first shut out since 2007, which is something I was very excited about.

The offense was clicking on all cylinders. The defense, as battered as it has been, put out an extraordinary effort allowing only 246 yards. It might have taken a quarter to get going, but once the Bruins did, they produced 41 unanswered points in just the two middle quarters of the game.

It was a great overall effort… against the worst team in the Pac-12 Conference.

UCLA Bruins /

UCLA Bruins

Now I am not here to rain on UCLA’s shut out parade, but more to the point, I am here to state that they need to be aware of what lies ahead and not be complacent about a great game against a bad opponent.

OSU’s QB Nick Mitchell was not good against UCLA. He only completed 9 of 19 passes for 84 yards and had 3 INTs. Inaccurate does not seem to properly describe his game. The Bruins will definitely see something different this weekend.

Though it was a great win against OSU for confidence, morale and continuing to hold one’s own destiny, the Bruins have three games left that will not be easy, especially their next contest against the (SURPRISE!) North Division’s second place team, the Washington State Cougars.

Who saw this coming? Before the season, and I am guilty of this, many thought Washington State was nothing more than cellar dweller with Head Coach Mike Leach‘s job hanging in the balance. Well I guess Wazzu is showing us.

Washington State is 6-3 on the season with a 4-2 record in conference which includes victories over Oregon, Arizona and Arizona State.

…we were excited to see UCLA QB Josh Rosen throwing for more than 300 passing yards for the fourth time this season. Falk is throwing for over 400 EVERY game.

WSU is third in the conference in total offense, with polar opposite results for their run and pass game. The Cougars are last in the conference in rushing, barely gaining 91 yards a game, yet have the most potent passing game in the Pac-12. Washington State averages 407.4 yards per game, which is 70 more yards than second place Cal.

Washington State QB Luke Falk is the top passer in the nation with 3,736 total passing yards on the season which comes out to 415.1 ypg. Wow. And this weekend we were excited to see UCLA QB Josh Rosen throwing for more than 300 passing yards for the fourth time this season. Falk is throwing for over 400 EVERY game.

A great number, though that should not shock anyone, especially since the Cougars rarely run the ball. One bit of good news that Washington State is very similar to Cal, which the Bruins dominated a few weeks ago. Not to say the same thing will happen this weekend but the UCLA Football team seems to match-up well with Wazzu.

Next: Josh Rosen Throws For 300 Yards, Again

The Bruins are last in the conference in rush defense, so they will get a break in this department, but things change with the other defensive component.

UCLA is the third best pass defense team in the conference, limiting their opponents to 208 ypg. Essentially, it is a case of an unstoppable force going against an immovable object with WSU vs UCLA.

Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley will have his hands full, but it is nothing he hasn’t seen before. Despite losing several players to injury, he has a deep roster of young talent that has managed to patch together a game plan that has bent but not broken the Bruins.

That should help the confidence of UCLA who now have to refocus for what should be a very offensive-minded game. UCLA needs to shake off the OSU victory, because even though it was a great win, Washington State will not be as passive, inaccurate or undisciplined as the Beavers.