Just Sayin’, The UCLA Football Defense Is Pretty Good (Statistically and Otherwise)
The UCLA Football team has a defense that is statistically, one of the best in the nation. But she knew that would happen.
Maybe it is a little early to get too excited about the UCLA Football defense after only two games, but what they have done so far has been nothing short of, “Yeah, we know.” In all, the Bruins had looked a bit sloppy for all of two quarters (the first half against Virginia). The next six quarters looked appropriately amazing.
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In this new defensive era with DC Tom Bradley, UCLA’s defense has been expected to dominate in 2015. So far, they are not letting us down.
Aside from the 180 yards the Bruins gave up in the first half against Virginia, they have only allowed an average of 131 in the next three halves. Against Virginia, the Bruins limited the Cavaliers to only 98 rushing yards for the game. Against UNLV, they flipped it around and put the clamp down on the passing game as the Rebels could only throw for 56 yards. That has put the Bruins on the (statistical) map.
Nationally, UCLA is making a name for itself as a damn good defensive team. Take a look for yourselves:
Total Defense: 286.5 ypg, 34th in the nation
Rush Defense: 139.5 ypg, 58th in the nation
Pass Defense: 147.0 ypg, 30th in the nation
Scoring Defense: 9.5 ppg, 11th in the nation
Defensive Efficiency: 87.92, 13th in the nation
Those are some pretty decent numbers for the first two weeks. Sure the Bruins put up big numbers against a weak Rebels team, but they also managed to stifle the same Virginia Cavaliers that nearly topped the #8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Sep 12, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UNLV Rebels running back Xzavier Campbell (35) runs the ball against the UCLA Bruins during the second quarter at Sam Boyd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports
This week the Bruins get to mingle with their first ranked opponent as #20 BYU heads to the Rose Bowl and know that it will be a battle.
Currently, BYU is 55th in the nation in total yards with 446.0 ypg. In comparison, UCLA is 20th in the nation with 514.5 ypg.
Not that we are saying the Bruins will roll over the Cougars, even though they are 16 point favorites, but it is hard to think that a “freshman” quarterback who has had to rely on two Hail Mary plays to win his first two games will come up successful against the Bruins.
Still, expect UCLA Football to come out prepared on both sides of the ball as the get their third win of the season.
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