Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE
With UCLA set to kick off against Cal at 7 p.m. on Satruday, no one’s sure what kind of defensive effort to expect from the Golden Bears in Berkeley. UCLA has a potent offense, but might struggle against a decent front seven from the Bears.
Of course, UCLA is coming off a game in which the team scored 42 with ten minutes to go in the game before letting up on the gas and allowing Kevin Prince to man the game. UCLA needs to maintain its uptempo offense in order to put up a similar performance — and hopefully a better one — against the Bezerkeley Bears.
Let’s predict UCLA’s offensive stats, shall we?
QBs
Brett Hundley: 31-for-44, 331 yards, 3 passing TDs
Kevin Prince: 1-for-4, 12 yards
- Hundley throws the ball a hell of a lot in Mazzone’s offense, and were it not for being pulled out early against Colorado, he could’ve also had 300 yards for a third straight game. Hundley has flourished right in front of our eyes, and he’ll continue against Cal.
RBs
Johnathan Franklin: 23 carries, 202 yards, 1 rushing TD
Brett Hundley: 12 carries, 20 yards, 1 rushing TD
Damien Thigpen: 11 carries, 65 yards
Jordon James: 5 carries, 18 yards
Shaq Evans: 1 carry, 8 yards
Steven Manfro: 1 carry, 2 yards
- Johnathan Franklin should have a great game, even with that Cal front seven being as aggressive as it can be at times. Meanwhile, something tells me we’ll see the continued progression of Damien Thigpen, who is easily UCLA’s fastest player on the field at all times.
WRs
Jerry Johnson: 4 catches, 75 yards, 1 TD
Shaq Evans: 4 catches, 66 yards, 2 TDs
Steven Manfro: 3 catches, 40 yards
Johnathan Franklin: 3 catches, 33 yards
Joe Fauria: 2 catches, 39 yards
Jordon James: 2 catches, 33 yards
Darius Bell: 2 catches, 24 yards
Jordan Payton: 1 catch, 37 yards
- We’ve seen all season that Hundley spreads the ball out, and everyone seems to get a touch. I’m predicting the Bruins get eight different wide-outs the ball, and that’s being conservative.
Other Notes
- This clocks in at 97 plays, which seems high, but let’s remember that UCLA ran a combined 191 plays against both Houston and Nebraska. This team wins big if they run fast.
- Let’s remember that Cal sucks bad.
- I know, this is well over 650 yards of total offense, but something tells me Jeff Tedford is about to totally unravel and a huge, dominant UCLA win could seal his fate up north.
- Five touchdowns doesn’t seem like much considering the Bruins like to get six or more, but for now, this seems fair, since Cal’s front seven won’t give up too many redzone touchdowns.