Know Your Opponent: UCLA @ California

UCLA @ CALIFORNIA; Memorial Stadium in Berkeley; October 18, 2014 12:30 PM; ABC

After two rough weeks at the Rose Bowl, UCLA looks to bounce back this week on the road against big brother Cal. Here’s some info to get you ready for the game:

Series History

UCLA is 52-31-1 overall against California. If you need a tailgate trivia question, ask the score of the first game between the 2 teams all the way back in 1933. The final score was 0-0, and it stands as the only draw in the series history. The longest streak in the series is held by the Bruins with an impressive 18 game winning streak from 1972 to 1989. In fact, if you throw out the 70’s and 80’s (in which Cal won only 1 game), the series is almost dead even. More recently Cal has had the advantage. Since the fall of the last great Bruin Empire in 1998, UCLA has 6 wins to 9 losses against the Bears. In even more disturbing news, the Bruins have not won on the road against Cal since Cade did it in 1998.

The Last Bruin to Win a Game in Berkeley: The Great Cade McNown

Oski the Bear… Creepy Much? … Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

Random University of California Fact: Did you know that after a long and sordid history in Berkeley, the California mascot Oski the Bear is not allowed to flirt with girls, throw pies at opposing chancellors, nor shimmy up goalposts? I don’t know what kind of depraved and deviant acts necessitated these rules, but I always thought Oski looked a little creepy with that cardigan and Mr. Rogers strut.

Match-up This Saturday

Both teams will enter Memorial Stadium with 4-2 records. Like the Bruins, Cal is coming off of a demoralizing defeat at Washington where they lost 31-7. In that game, the Bears suffered a huge turnover early in the game when QB Jared Goff fumbled a sneak at the goal line that was returned by Washington’s Shaq Thompson 100 yards for a score. Cal Coach Sonny Dykes admitted this week in a radio interview on the Petros and Money show that he thought his team never recovered from that early momentum swing. Unlike the Bruins, Cal is exceeding all preseason expectations  and have been involved in some unbelievable high scoring and exciting games this year. In the 3 weeks prior to their loss to the Huskies, the Bears lost to Arizona on a Hail Mary 49-45, they beat Colorado in double OT 59-56 and beat Washington St 60-59 in the Air-Raid vs Bear-Raid  battle. Cal can absolutely score points in bunches, and UCLA had better to be ready to play on Saturday if they want to avoid a 3rd consecutive loss.

Keys to Victory – Step 1: Stop Daniel Lasco

Bruin Public Enemy #1: Daniel Lasco. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

Although Goff is the first Golden Bear to come to mind when thinking about Cal. The difference between last years edition of the Bear-Raid and this years model is the productivity of the running game. RB Daniel Lasco enters the game withe 479 yards, 4 touchdowns and an impressive 5.8 yards per carry. He is a tough and physical runner that refuses to be brought down by the 1st defender, and he can also catch the ball out of the backfield. The Bears offense has repeatedly took huge chunks of yardage via the pass only to finish the drive off with a 15-20 yard touchdown run by Lasco. After two weeks of failing to contain the opponents running game, the Bruins must prove they can stop Lasco. Making Cal one dimensional (like the 2013 team) will be the first key in stopping the Bears, but they also have to limit the big plays. . .

Keys to Victory – Step 2: No Big Plays

Until the Bruins were crushed by the Ducks, the much maligned Bruin defense had actually been doing a pretty good job of limiting big plays by the opponent. Cal comes into the game with 9 offensive touchdowns of 40+ yards. As was the case in the game against Arizona State, yards will not matter in this game. Goff and the Bear offense are too good to completely shut down, so the Bruins need to keep the Cal receivers in front of them and make tackles. The Bruins also need to keep Cal from big plays on special teams. UCLA has not allowed a touchdown on a punt or kickoff return in the Mora Era. However, Cal returned back to back kickoffs for touchdowns against Washington State a couple of weeks ago, so the Bruins will need to be ready.

Keys to Victory – Step 3: Stop Blitzing Just to Blitz

Embroiled DC Jeff Ulbrich was criticized in many circles despite the teams 4-0 start for not blitzing enough and not creating enough sacks. I know it goes against popular opinion, but the Bruins have played a lot better defense this year when they are NOT blitzing every down. After blitzing only around 10% through the 1st 4 games, the Bruins sent 5 or more rushers over 60% of the time against Utah. Instead of overwhelming Utah, the blitz opened lanes for the Ute running game and took the Bruins out of good tackling position many times before the snap. UCLA blitzed more last Saturday and the super savvy Ducks exploited the Bruin blitz for big plays time and time again. As listed above, the Bruins need to keep the Bears in front of them and make sure tackles. If the Bears are going to score, make them do it 3-5 yards at a time.

Ulbrich needs his defense to shut out the noise and tackle this Saturday. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Keys to Victory – Step 4: Run the Ball

One bright spot the last few weeks has been the Bruin running game. Paul Perkins is averaging 6.3 yards per carry this season, and most of that damage has been in the last 4 games. The Bruins need to continue to run the ball effectively against Cal.

Keys to Victory – Step 5: Be Efficient and Avoid the Big Turnovers 

In both losses, the UCLA offense shot itself in the foot early with huge turnovers. Hundley’s pick 6 in the 1st quarter against Utah helped dig a 14-0 hole, and Hundley’s 1st quarter fumble against the Ducks led to a 15-3 deficit to start the game. Hundley and the Bruin offense need to avoid another negative start and not put the defense behind the 8 ball early. The Bruins need to run the ball and try to gash Cal’s poor tackling secondary on the edge early with short passes and then try to exploit the deep middle of the field off of play action. Hundley is at his best when he is distributing the ball all around the field and then adding a scrambling dagger when needed. He is at his worst when he is forcing the big play.

Prediction – Bruins Break the Streaks

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Betsided

The Bruins are desperate for a win after dropping two in a row, and they will need to dig deep to win a game in a place they havnt won at since 1998. After two weeks of turmoil and a bonified sideline meltdown, the Bruins will finally tune out the noise and turn in a solid all-around effort. The Bruins will win by forcing Cal to kick field goals and staying efficient on offense.

Bruins 38 California 20