Nebraska returns to action Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California where the 16th ranked Cornhuskers face the UCLA Bruins. Both teams are 1-0 on the season. UCLA defeated Rice 49-24 last week in Houston, while the Big Red rolled over Southern Mississippi in Lincoln last week by a 49-20 count. The game will be nationally televised on the Fox Network with kickoff set for 6:35 p.m. CDT.
UCLA is coached by Jim Mora Jr., whose father was a successful coach in the United States Football League and National Football League. The younger Mora was the head coach of both the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks before taking the UCLA job after last season. He is known for being a strong defensive minded coach.
The Bruins were impressive last week offensively, although Rice over the last several years has been one of the bottom defensive teams in the country. Rice has been ranked in the bottom twenty defensive teams in the nation the last decade.
Quarterback Brett Hundley (6-foot-3, 223 pounds, Freshman) was the offensive catalyst for the Bruins last week, passing for 202 yards on 21 of 28 passes (75 percent) with two touchdowns and one interception. Hundley also ran for 79 yards and had a 72-yard touchdown dash against Rice. He has the tools to cause problems for Nebraska, but the Husker defense will have some surprises in store for Hundley because of his inexperience.
UCLA ran for 368 yards against the bad Rice defense but will certainly be a challenge for the defense of Nebraska. Johnathan Franklin (5-11, 195, Sr.) ran for 218 yards and three scores last week. He is talented but the Blackshirts will slow Franklin down considerably. James Jordon (5-8, 193, So.) and Damien Thigpen (5-8, 178, Jr.) also catch the ball well out of the backfield.
The passing game was effective last week for UCLA. The Bruins will pass more down the field than Nebraska saw against Southern Mississippi. The key man to contain is tight end Joseph Fauria (6-7, 255, Sr.). Fauria is a physical presence that the Huskers will have to account for in the passing game. The top wide receivers were not a major part of UCLA's passing attack last week.
The Bruins have a very young offensive line. Three freshmen and a sophomore start up front for UCLA. the leader is right guard Jeff Baca (6-3, 295, Sr.). Watch right tackle Simon Goines (6-7, 324, Fr.) to be a rising star. As a unit UCLA averages over 6-4 and nearly 299 pounds per man from tackle to tackle. The Husker defensive front has a major edge in experience in this matchup.
Defensively, UCLA employs a 3-4 look. They gave up 358 yards last week against Rice, with 174 yards rushing and 184 yards passing. Defensive end Datone Jones (6-4, 275, Sr.) is the best playmaker up front while Owamagbe Odighizuwa (6-3, 270, Jr.) was a prized recruit that picked UCLA over Nebraska two years ago.
The top linebacker for the Bruins is Damien Holmes (6-2, 250, Sr. He needs to keep UCLA in the right alignments if the Bruins are to contain the Husker offense. Eric Kendricks (6-0, 230, So.) paced UCLA with 11 tacles last week against Rice. Cornerback Sheldon Price (6-2, 180, Sr.) had an interception last week and has the most physical skills in the UCLA defensive backfield.
The Bruins were almost as poor in special teams last week as Nebraska was. Kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn (6-0, 171, Fr.) had three extra points blocked last week. Punter Jeff Locke 6-0, 207, Sr.) averaged 43.7 yards per punt last week and handles kickoffs. Freshman Steven Manfro (5-9, 192) looks to be a threat as a kick returner for UCLA.
Nebraska will be tested on the road by UCLA, but the Huskers have a much more veteran team than the Bruins. I the Huskers limit their mistakes I look for the Huskers to post a 35-24 victory in the Rose Bowl over UCLA.
Look for my post game comments early Sunday and thanks for reading Going Deep With Doze.
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