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Know Your Opponent: UCLA Football vs. Oklahoma 2018

By Mike Regalado

NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 01: The Oklahoma Sooners take the field before the game against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners defeated the Owls 63-14. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 01: The Oklahoma Sooners take the field before the game against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners defeated the Owls 63-14. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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PASADENA, CA – SEPTEMBER 01: Dorian Thompson-Robinson #7 of the UCLA Bruins passes during a 26-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats at Rose Bowl on September 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA – SEPTEMBER 01: Dorian Thompson-Robinson #7 of the UCLA Bruins passes during a 26-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats at Rose Bowl on September 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Oklahoma Defense

Oklahoma has a fantastic offense, but their defense has a lot to be desired, at least that is what we have been hearing. In 2017, Oklahoma was 60th in the nation in total yards allowed as they gave up 394.9 per game.

"DID YOU KNOW? Oklahoma leads the season series 3-1? UCLA’s only victory against the Sooners came in 2005 when Karl Dorrell’s Bruins took down Oklahoma, 41-24 at the Rose Bowl."

Against FAU, a team that was supposed to have a solid offense, the Sooners limited them to only 324 yards. Not great, but a marked improvement. The defensive line and linebackers constantly made a push forward whenever the Owls tried to run the ball, limiting their yards to 3.1 per carry. That is not good news for UCLA who has had trouble in the run game the last few years and during the Cincinnati game (the Bruins only had 144 rushing yards).

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Oklahoma’s assertiveness is something they want to have continue throughout the season, but is it possible seeing how they struggled through most games last season? Sure, it was last season, but Mike Stoops is still in charge and needs his group to improve or Oklahoma’s defensive struggles will continue and the offense will be leaned upon to make stops.

Still, they were pretty impressive all-around last weekend. For the game, they had 2 sacks and 9 tackles for a loss. I can see this continue against UCLA on Saturday. The Bruins have a patchwork offensive line which is still going through growing pains. Against Cincinnati, UCLA gave up 5 sacks and 8 tackles for a loss. Against Cincinnati.

If UCLA is giving up that much against an average team, then they are going to get swarmed by an up-and-coming defense with something to prove. They are also going to try and prove that they can shut down the mighty Kelly uptempo offense (which honestly, we are yet to see).

2018 Oklahoma Defensive Stats

Total – 324.0 | Rushing – 132.0 | Passing – 192.0 | Scoring – 20.0

Not only does UCLA need to pick up the pace, as they played slower than expected, but they are going to have to figure out how to make crucial connections. Youth and transition to a new scheme really hampered the Bruins’ chances to get yards, so if they can make those connections, they will be able to get a ton of yards and points, but that is still yet to be seen.