The UCLA Football Bruins are heading into a major showdown with a northern PAC-12 rival. While there will be plenty of great action to see on Saturday, here are two battles we think you should keep a close eye on.
Football is a team sport. Perhaps the greatest team sport there is. You need strength on both sides of the ball and in all three phases to be a really good team. There have been some teams that can outscore opponents and viable defenses be damned. This is pretty much the running joke of all Big 12 teams. Other teams, like a couple in the SEC can barely muster 10 points but will squeeze the life out of opposing offenses. The UCLA Football team isn’t capable of laying claim to either one of those at this point.
The Bruins are averaging 38 points a game and they are still 3-3 overall and 1-2 in PAC-12 play. Why? Well with a defense that gives up an average of 40.5 points a game the odds are going to be against you.
While football is such a great team sport we also have to acknowledge the fact that sometimes a guy just takes over a game or wrecks someone’s game plan almost solo. In the three UCLA Football losses those guys would probably be Memphis’ WR Andrew Miller, Stanford’s RB Bryce Love and Arizona’s Khalil Tate.
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The Bruins will be facing an Oregon team that has a more than their fare share on Saturday and if they aren’t careful the Ducks could spoil a return to the Rose Bowl and a chance to recover from Arizona.
Now don’t get me wrong. It isn’t like the Bruins don’t have some studs of their own who are capable of taking over a game and they get a healthy Jaelan Phillips back to bolster their defensive line. Still, this piece is taking a look at three potential game wreckers for the Ducks and which UCLA Football player will be responsible for keeping them in check.
Kenny Young vs. Royce Freeman
Obvious isn’t it? Yeah I know this is one everyone will think of but let me explain to you why it’s so important. Kenny Young is UCLA’s second leading tackler and thinks of himself as a leader of the defense. Young took the loss personally and made it clear he thought guys didn’t bring their A-game. You can best believe he’s going to make it his business to slow down one of the PAC-12’s better running backs.
Royce Freeman comes into this game with 797 yards rushing and 10 scores on the ground. Even against a strong run defense you’d still look to get him plenty of touches. A strong run defense this team is not. The UCLA Football defense is giving up an average of 313 yards a game on the ground and 6.6 yards per carry. That has to get Freeman licking his chops.
The Oregon offensive line’s strength is in their run blocking. Unless the Bruins gets stellar play from their DL Young will need to be ready to fill gaps to keep Freeman from getting his 230 pound frame into the secondary.
If the Bruins have any hope of winning this game they’ll need to slow Freeman. A task I’m sure Young is fired up for.