UCLA Football: UCLA Vs. BYU Early Analysis

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Sep 19, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins wide receiver Jordan Payton (9) catches a touchdown pass in the end zone during the fourth quarter of the game against the Brigham Young Cougars at the Rose Bowl. Ucla won 24-23.Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Final Analysis

This is going to be a hard game to call all the way up to game day. The expectations for both teams to win are going to be high. That alone makes this a must-win game for each. For BYU, they will get national recognition for beating a Power 5 team. For UCLA, the chance to go 3-0 against a strong Cougar team and an SEC team (pending the Bruins beat the Texas A&M Aggies in Week 1) should put them in good position in the Top 25 polls.

Either way, this is going to be a tough game to play and probably a tough game to watch. Last year it was a back and forth battle of defensive stops sprinkled in with a few key offensive plays. It should not differ this season. In all honesty, I would not be surprised if this game is a carbon copy of 2015’s game.

The interesting thing to watch for is how all the veteran players on both teams respond to the pressure of this early season game. With the BYU players, on average, being older than the UCLA players, I would not be surprised is BYU is favored in this game by six points, especially with it being in Provo.

But this is the second go-round with Rosen and I expect him and the Bruins to put up a fight.

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Prediction

UCLA 28 – BYU 27

Go Bruins!