The UCLA Football team is planning to start it’s season off with a bang against an SEC opponent. How do the Aggies match up against the Bruins and what can we expect to see come Saturday? Go Joe Bruin takes a closer look at the Aggie football team and how they stack up against the Bruins.
UCLA and Texas A&M are tied in the series 2-2 but haven’t faced each other since 1998 when then head coach Bob Toledo got out of Dallas with a 29-23 victory.
Matching up with an SEC opponent to open the season is a gamble that can have a huge pay off. In the minds of poll voters, a victory over the conference deemed to be the best in the land can move you up in a hurry in terms of rankings. A loss can land you in the depths of voters’ minds.
The Bruins return star quarterback Josh Rosen while the Aggies had to search the ranks of transfers for former Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight before they found their guy. Both have played in big time games but only Knight has faced the likes of an Alabama and won. The experience and athleticism that he possesses gives the Aggies hope, hope that he can help this program in more ways than one.
Related Story: Predicting Noel Mazzone
Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin has more than a few questions to answer and most aren’t of the normal season opening type. Losing his top two quarterbacks despite being considered an incredibly bright offensive mind raises questions regarding the type of program the Aggies are running and if there are issues just below the surface. How and when those potential issues come to light remains to be seen.
What can be answered is how the Aggies look when they take the field on Saturday.
Did you know: Trevor Knight had a total of 22 completions in 2015. Josh Rosen had eight games with at least 22 completions in 2015.
Next: The Texas A&M Offense
The Texas A&M Offense
As stated before, Trevor Knight will lead the Aggie attack on Saturday after winning the job earlier this Fall. Knight has the ability to scramble and make things happen with his legs in addition to having a strong arm with his three quarters delivery. At Oklahoma, Knight led a spread attack that integrated some read-option components to take advantage of his legs. He couldn’t be a better fit for the new offense in town.
Noel Mazzone left UCLA at the end of last season to take charge of the Aggie offense and he brings with him his patented high octane, high risk offense. His offense can either score you a ton of points in a hurry or leave your defense out on the field all game with its proclivity for three and outs.
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The Aggies will rely on Knight to make the correct reads and attack the perimeter or go deep with some of their speedsters outside.
A&M has a wealth of talented young receivers but perhaps their most dangerous Speedy Noil, will be suspended for the opener. That leaves the door open for electric sophomore Christian Kirk and big bodied junior Ricky Seals-Jones to see plenty of balls their way.
The ground game had not been a major strength of the team but with the arrival of Mazzone we can expect the running game to take shape in a big way.
Returning leading rusher James White only had 196 yards last season but will help ease the transition into the new offense along with Keith Ford who comes over from Oklahoma. They both will be a focal point not only rushing but catching the ball out of the backfield as well. Running backs accounted for 44 catches, 379 yards and two scores in Mazzone’s 2015 offense.
The Bruins will field a highly touted secondary and the move to the 4-3 front means there should be more consistent pressure up front. A big question though is how will the new linebackers adjust to the speed of the Aggie running backs especially in coverage?
Did you know: This Is Noel Mazzone’s fourth stint with an SEC team but only the third SEC team he’s coached on? Mazzone was with Ole Miss on two separate occasions. He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 1995-1998 and again became the offensive coordinator during the 2005 season.
Next: The Texas A&M Defense
The Texas A&M Defense
The major strength of this defense is up front. Between future NFL draft picks Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall there’s no shortage of pass rushers. Add into the mix stud defensive tackle Daylon Mack, who stands 6-1″ 320lbs, and this becomes one of the strongest groups in the SEC.
The defense is led by John Chavis who came over from LSU where he built a perennial defensive powerhouse that tamed the offenses of one of college football’s strongest conferences. The Aggies haven’t historically been known for their defense but Chavis is determined to turn that around with a hard nosed approach to this unit.
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The linebackers, although talented do not have a playmaker like Garrett or even Mack in their ranks and instead rely on the defensive line to occupy blockers while they roam freely to the ball. They are also on the smaller side and if the offensive line can get to the second level, stopping the run could become an issue. Despite spending much of the offseason looking to make weight gains, this unit still is light.
In the backend, returning leading tackler Armani Watts is a ball carrier’s worst nightmare with his range and hitting ability. However having a safety be your leading tackler means the front seven aren’t getting it done which was the story of 2015 for the Aggies. Out on the edges the defense features a familiar face in Priest Willis. Willis transferred away from UCLA in 2014 and by all accounts has looked solid this camp. He will likely see plenty of game action out on the boundary where he struggled as a Bruin.
Did you know: UCLA Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley likes ground beef and onions on his hotdogs? Odd combination.
Next: Prediction
Prediction
The Bruins come into this game as favorites but will have to overcome the fierce Aggie pass rush as well as the potentially explosive Mazzone offense.
UCLA does have an experienced, talented defense that has seen this offense every day in practice for the past few years and despite Mazzone adding a wrinkle here and there, the concepts of his plan will remain the same.
If the Bruins can control the line of scrimmage on both sides they’ll make this a very long day for the Aggies. Keeping Knight in the pocket will go a long way in forcing the Aggies to operate flawlessly which is something I don’t believe Knight can do, Sugar Bowl win over Alabama aside.
UCLA 30 – Texas A&M 20
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Go Bruins!