Last season the UCLA Football team lost a nail biter to the Washington State Cougars. This year the Bruins will look for revenge but can they slow the air raid of Cougar Head Coach Mike Leach?
Once thought to be a bottom feeder of the PAC-12 North, Head Coach Mike Leach has worked hard to escape the dungeon of his division. Despite not having beat the Bruins since 2007, the Cougars came into Pasadena and pulled out a victory, stunning the then 19th ranked UCLA Football team.
The Bruins were banged up coming into the game last season especially on the defense but it was the offense who struggled to come through. Offensively the Bruins put up 14 points and had another 13 from their kicker.
Quarterback Josh Rosen may have thrown for 340 yards and a completion percentage of 76% but was unable to find the endzone while his counterpart Luke Falk threw for two scores.
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The 2016 version of this game should be a competitive one with the Cougars continuing to improve the depth of their roster and feeding off the momentum they ended the season with last year. While the Bruins don’t have the same kind of momentum, they aren’t without plenty of hype from both the media and their own players.
Next: Records and Recap
2015 Record and Recap
Washington State Cougars, 9-4 overall, 6-3 PAC-12
A season opening loss to Portland State would be a major downer for any team in the PAC-12 but the Cougars bounced back with victories over both Rutgers and Wyoming. In their PAC-12 opener the next week the Cal Golden Bears were able to outlast the Cougars 34-28.
Oregon followed next week and it turned into a shootout that lasted into double overtime with the Cougars pulling out a win behind Falk’s 500 yards and five touchdowns passing. While one game doesn’t spark a dynasty and Oregon didn’t field the teams of old last season the victory was a major step for a program that had been down in the North for so many years.
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The Cougars took that win and parlayed it into wins over both Oregon State and Arizona. Stanford loomed large next but the Cougs played them tough and lost in a close 28-30 game. There are no moral victories in football but if there were that one would be at the top of their list.
Washington State reeled off three straight victories against ASU, UCLA and Colorado before facing in state rival Washington in the annual Apple Cup. A 10-45 loss against their rival would be their largest margin of defeat all season. That loss didn’t faze them though as they took care of a very talented Miami team that features a potential first round QB in Brad Kaaya.
That type of performance to round out the end of the season has to have a lot of people in Pullman, Washington feeling very confident about this upcoming season.
Next: 3 Key Players and Stats
3 Key Players
QB Luke Falk (RS-Jr)
Last season Falk led the Cougars into Pasadena an underdog against the Bruins. He displayed a toughness bordering on unsafe as he was knocked around constantly by an aggressive UCLA defense. At one point it seemed he had been knocked out of the game and struggled to stand or walk without wobbling.
He was however cleared by the Cougar athletic staff and threw a touchdown with three seconds remaining to steal a victory. He threw for over 4,500 yards and 38 scores in 2015 and there’s no reason to think he can’t repeat that kind of performance with another year in Leach’s air raid offense.
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WR Gabe Marks (RS-Sr)
After redshirting in 2014 coming off stellar freshman and sophomore campaigns, Marks struck with a vengeance in 2015. He led the PAC-12 with 8.0 catches a game and his stat line of 104-1,192-15 would make any defensive coordinator nervous. Especially considering you knew he was coming week in and week out and couldn’t be stopped.
At 6’0″ 190lbs Marks is big enough to play outside but can kill you in the slot with his quick feet. It might be a stretch to say but the last time Leach had a receiver like this in his system was Michael Crabtree. If Marks puts together another season like last year’s, remember where you heard it first.
DB Shalom Luani (SR)
It’s been awhile since Washington State had a strong defense. That wasn’t a signature of Leach’s Texas Tech teams either. That being said, this Cougar team has playmakers across each level of the defense and have helped bring this unit really raise their game.
In the backend Luani roams the field as an enforcer, ballhawk, and emotional leader. He racked up 90 tackles, three of which were for loss and had six pass break ups. His four interceptions and two forced fumbles mean he can change the makeup of a game in an instant.
But it’s his ability to come down and really lay the wood that make him a terror on the field. Not the biggest at 6’0 205lbs, he’s drawn comparisons to the legendary Troy Polamalu with their “hair on fire” style and Polynesian heritage.
Stats
- The Washington State Cougars had five different players with at least 10 tackles for loss in 2015.
- Cougar QB Falk ranked second in the nation when it came to completion percentage (69.4) in 2015.
- Josh Rosen’s 57 attempts against WSU last season were his highest number of attempts all season. It also marked a three game slide where his completion percentage dropped under 60%.
- UCLA holds the lead all time against WSU, 39-20-1 but it was WSU who won the first match up in 1928, 28-0.
Next: Offenses Vs. Defenses
UCLA Offense vs. WSU Defense
Plenty has been made of what kind of offense the Bruins will run in 2015 but it will certainly feature more power plays. Those kind of plays are the ones the Cougars struggled to deal with, just ask Stanford, in 2015 in part because their defense is designed for speed. There are quick, penetrating players but if you run right at them they can be worn down.
The UCLA game plan needs to be a willingness to keep Rosen on a pitch count at least early on, and lean on the Cougar front seven with their run game. UCLA has a stable of backs including a hammer in freshman Jalen Starks and a slasher in Soso Jamabo. Of course this gameplan only works if the offensive line can gel but should the run game falter, the Bruins will find themselves in a shootout. Something we know Rosen isn’t opposed to.
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WSU Offense vs. UCLA Defense
If 2015 showed anything it’s that the Cougars are going to move the ball no matter who they play. Whether it was through the air or with a sneaky ground game, WSU is an offense that can’t be kept in check. The Bruins had a solid gameplan last season and tried their best to knock QB Luke Falk around and boy did they. The gameplan up front shouldn’t change too much. The defensive line should get after it but with the switch to a greater emphasis on the 4-3 there shouldn’t be a need to blitz just to bring pressure.
The Cougars also lost their most talented lineman to the NFL this past offseason and could how they replace him could help decide their season. The WSU offense is predicated on getting the ball out quickly so if the Bruins can jam on a few underneath routes, they’re going to throw the timing of this offense off which will lead to sacks and pressures. Of course Mike Leach is no fool and will force the Bruins to play in space, opening lanes for his passing attack.
Next: Final Analysis and Prediction
Final Analysis
Perhaps in years past UCLA fans would have circled this game as a win. In 2016 I don’t think there are more than 10 teams in the country that could have that type of confidence against this team. The Cougars have grown into a challenger in the North. After last season’s narrow defeat to the Cardinal and the slight decline of the Oregon Ducks, it wouldn’t be the wildest bet to have them possibly capture the North with a few lucky breaks.
Luke Falk will have another season under his belt and should know this offense like the back of his hand. He returns his top two targets and could be more driven by this possibly being his final year in college.
On the flipside, the Bruins didn’t finish the year the way they wanted to last season and last year’s loss to the Cougars was a big part of that. Look for them to play with a revitalized energy and effort against a team they should have beat and should be able to beat this year. With a superior defense and their own exceptional quarterback the Bruins can’t be counted out of any game and in fact have received plenty of votes to win the South outright.
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Prediction
The Bruins will have to make this trip up North but are the more talented team on paper and on the field. The defense will be tested but they have the athletes and the scheme to slow down this offense and have their own explosive offense to light up the scoreboard. The running backs do plenty of work but Rosen steals the glory with four short touchdown passes. UCLA wins 42-30.