UCLA Football Vs Texas A&;M: Predicting Noel Mazzone
There’s going to be some familiarity for the UCLA Football team in their season opener versus Texas A&M as the Bruin’s defense will face-off against former Bruin Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone.
UCLA Football is going to meet its past head on in the first game of the season as the Bruins take on Texas A&M on September 3. The twist in this is that the Aggie’s new Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone was the OC at UCLA last season.
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That ideally gives the Bruins an advantage with game planning, but that notion goes both ways. UCLA may have a good idea of what Mazzone will do, but the Texas A&M OC is also familiar with UCLA Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley‘s style.
UCLA may have a good idea of what Mazzone will do, but the Texas A&M OC is also familiar with UCLA’s Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley’s style.
Mazzone has a particular system to his offense. It is simple but effective when he has the right tools. Last season Mazzone was blessed with quarterback Josh Rosen and receivers Jordan Payton and Thomas Duarte to help run his offense and were quite successful.
In College Station, this system could ideally thrive as he has several good receivers, but there is a big question mark when it comes to their quarterback.
In the off-season, the Aggies had two quarterbacks to transfer as Kyler Murray and Kyle Allen wanted to take their talents elsewhere. That left the job to in-coming Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight who will take over the offense. Though he has a good track record, it is unknown how in sync with the offense he will be.
In analyzing Mazzone’s system, it is important to note that it is based on tempo and communication. Mazzone is also good at throwing in wrinkles to his game plan which he is often successful with, especially when trying to confuse defenses.
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There is no doubt he will have his offense and game plan ready by September 3, but is Mazzone ready to take on the UCLA defense?
Tom Bradley has altered his defense a bit since last season and are going to have the Bruins based in the 4-3 formation. That should help limit Texas A&M’s running game and help the pass rush, but Mazzone’s system heavily uses well-times passes and that is where the UCLA secondary is going to have to step up.
Last year the Bruins were the top passing defense team in the Pac-12 Conference and that looks to continue this season, especially as they return three out of their four starters: Fabian Moreau, Jaleel Wadood and Randall Goforth.
So in order to try to move the ball, Mazzone could opt for short yardage passing plays (though not all the time). The area Mazzone might try to exploit are the UCLA linebackers who are talented but young. They are a bit thin in terms of depth, but players like Jayon Brown, Kenny Young and Isaako Savaiinaea will bring experience and knowledge to this game.
Either way, it is going to be a battle of wills in College Station. The Bruins need to capitalize on what they have seen from Mazzone in the last few seasons and his Aggies are going to have to be smart against the UCLA D. But that is just one aspect of this game as a whole.
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Stay with Go Joe Bruin as we begin to look deeper into the season opener starting next week. Go Bruins!