UCLA Football Early 2019 Schedule Preview: San Diego State Aztecs

San Diego State Special Teams

The Aztecs take a hit in the kicking department as John Baron II, whose 50 career field goals is second all-time in SDSU history, graduates after going12/17 from within 50 yards. The remarkable thing is that he was 5/5 from beyond 50. Now that is some efficiency you can’t replace, especially as redshirt freshman, Matt Araiza, is coming in to take over. Brandon Heicklen returns to keep some consistency in the punting department. He averaged 41.8 yards last year and pinned 26 of his 68 punts inside the 20.

Final Analysis

Typically, I would give San Diego State the edge when it comes to the offense, simply because they have consistency, but that is not the case this year.

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This UCLA offense has only been around a year, but that is a year more than SDSU has with their new spread. I do not discount the Aztecs ability to move the ball, but as Bruins fans know, switching offenses throw things off for a while.

The Bruins should be able to move the ball with the run, but they are going to have to find a way to get past the LBs and DBs, and that will be a difficult task.

UCLA’s defense is a big question mark, but the good thing is that they are deep, especially at linebacker. They have a solid defensive line, but they don’t have a legitimate pass rusher, which could be advantageous to SDSU.

When everything shakes out, it should be the Bruins that come out victorious, and it might be by a few touchdowns.

Prediction

UCLA 45 – San Diego State 35