THE THE UCLA Bruins Discussion & Predictions Thread Thread

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THE THE UCLA Bruins Discussion & Predictions Thread Thread

Post by NYCat »

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Its never too early to discuss. PAC 12 South implications are on the line. Arizona comes off of the most complete games played. Really the score doesn't it do it justice as the Pirate & his team scored a bunch of garbage time points. The run game was absent however.

Bowl eligible!?

Meanwhile UCLA looked like it was going to roll Rado. But Rado made an incredible comeback but failed to finish. Despite this UCLA looks like a fragile and beatable team with identity problems.

The game is at the Rose but PAC 12 teams on the road have been really good so far in league play.

Late game. National TV. This game big. This game is important.
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Post by SCCat »

Massive game for us
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Post by NYCat »

2012 was a horrifying game - last time Arizona visited the Rose to play UCLA.
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Post by azpenguin »

I think this series is the microcosm of RichRod's philosophy of building a program. Lose big, lose small, win small, win big. Cats take this one 34-30.

Last year UCLA did their damnedest to hand the game over on a silver platter and the Cats couldn't take it. Time to take this one; I thought this was a 2-1 UCLA chance to win this at the beginning of the year but now I think this is a 50/50 game now.
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Post by ASUHATER! »

Ugh I dunno. Brain says we get rolled because mora has rich rod's number but I don't know
i was going to put the ua/asu records here...but i forgot what they were.

i'll just go with fuck asu.
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Post by scumdevils86 »

Thankfully when I spent a ton of money to fly out to Pasadena last minute in 2012 I was so drunk by kickoff that I don't really remember any of that travesty.
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Post by Gilbertcat »

Have to wonder if UCLA held back against Colorado but I feel good next week. Road teams do well this year.
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Post by Chicat »

azpenguin wrote:I think this series is the microcosm of RichRod's philosophy of building a program. Lose big, lose small, win small, win big. Cats take this one 34-30.

Last year UCLA did their damnedest to hand the game over on a silver platter and the Cats couldn't take it. Time to take this one; I thought this was a 2-1 UCLA chance to win this at the beginning of the year but now I think this is a 50/50 game now.
Was just thinking about that theory (which was originally Bobby Bowden's) but I'm not sure if we are over that hump yet.

Right now, tonight, I think the Bruins win a close one. But maybe I'll change my mind later in the week.
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Post by PieceOfMeat »

I have this nagging suspicion that I'll have to bump my "Every. Damn. Time." thread after the UCLA game.
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Post by cats101 »

I will be there so Arizona better fucking win. That's all I know.
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Post by azthrillhouse »

I will also be there, popping my Rose Bowl cherry at long last, so they had better fucking win indeed.

p.s. thread title reminded me of this:

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and this:

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Post by Good For You »

Perfect opportunity for Ucla to bust out the midnight unis and war paint and play their game of the year.
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Post by NYCat »

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So Utah - ASU & Arizona - UCLA will be really good games, hopefully the road teams win.
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Post by Gladiator Cat »

I appears 3 teams in the South control their own destiny.

UofA, ASSU, and Utah. I don't expect anyone to win out but my goodness the South is brutal and competitive. Not even Col is a gimme. If you don't bring your "A" game Col might beat your ass on any given day.
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Post by OSUCat »

I really don't know what to make of UCLA. I wouldn't be surprised if they score 40 or 14.
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Post by EastCoastCat »

Man, we do play pretty well on the road this year so my guess this will be another friggin nailbiter down to the end. Maybe OT.

Hundley's ability to make THE play when it counts scares me.
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Post by Catstatic »

Solomon is cool as a cucumber. Last two road games: win at Autzen (still the best victory this year in the country IMO) and blowout at WSU (something Oregon, who is once again one of the top teams in the country but seemingly not so much when we played them, was not able to do.). UCLA is stumbling and bumbling a bit. Best chance for us in quite awhile.

With the kid at the controls I really like our chances.

Go Cats!!
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Re: THE THE UCLA Bruins Discussion & Predictions Thread Thre

Post by MrBug708 »

UCLA has really taken it as far as penalties being called on them and not being called on their opposing team. To the point where Mora is probably going to get fined by the PAC-12. I think UCLA has had two holds called against their opponent all year.

The run game has really been great with Paul Perkins. Special teams has been pretty good too all year. The play calling and lack of a pass rush has been poor.

Hundley isn't really running the same as he has been the past two years. He still runs, but only when you get pressure on him and he tucks his head down and runs.
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Re: THE THE UCLA Bruins Discussion & Predictions Thread Thre

Post by Saint James »

"UCLA has really taken it as far as penalties being called on them and not being called on their opposing team. To the point where Mora is probably going to get fined by the PAC-12. I think UCLA has had two holds called against their opponent all year."



:o Always the refs fault.
However, I beleive you, it is the refs fault. The PAC12 refs are horrible. However, they seem to be horrible for every team because of inconsistancy. IMO, UCLA typically gets great calls (especially in basketball :evil: ) so my attitude is Cry Me a River.

IMO front runners or schools from population centers--on average--get better calls.
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Post by Carcassdragger »

We're legit and we're going to beat UCLA.
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Post by MrBug708 »

carcassdragger wrote:We're legit and we're going to beat UCLA.
Agreed.
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Post by UAEebs86 »

Bug in early with the reverse jinx post.
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Post by PieceOfMeat »

UAEebs86 wrote:Bug in early with the reverse jinx post.
Don't worry, he can't jinx a team that already is eternally jinxed.

Just when we start to get a little momentum going....we find a way to screw up. This will probably be the game when Anu throws 4 INTs and we fumble the ball twice on top of that.
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Post by MrBug708 »

PieceOfMeat wrote:
UAEebs86 wrote:Bug in early with the reverse jinx post.
Don't worry, he can't jinx a team that already is eternally jinxed.

Just when we start to get a little momentum going....we find a way to screw up. This will probably be the game when Anu throws 4 INTs and we fumble the ball twice on top of that.
Let's hope so. But we needed double OT to beat a team who can't beat anyone to save their lives.

Plus UCLA is 1-2 at home this year. As long as you blitz, it'll be a long night for Hundley
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Post by PieceOfMeat »

MrBug708 wrote:
PieceOfMeat wrote:
UAEebs86 wrote:Bug in early with the reverse jinx post.
Don't worry, he can't jinx a team that already is eternally jinxed.

Just when we start to get a little momentum going....we find a way to screw up. This will probably be the game when Anu throws 4 INTs and we fumble the ball twice on top of that.
Let's hope so. But we needed double OT to beat a team who can't beat anyone to save their lives.

Plus UCLA is 1-2 at home this year. As long as you blitz, it'll be a long night for Hundley
Our blitzing hasn't always been effective. For example, when we blitzed WSU yesterday, they hit over the op of us several times.

We've beaten 1 good team this year, Oregon. We lost to the other good team we faced (at home) in USC. Of course we've had the well documented miracle comeback as well as the struggles against inferior teams. Frankly, while I'm loving that we are 6-1 right now, I'm still not sure just what to expect of this team overall.

It wouldn't surprise me to see us get beat by a couple of touchdowns, especially if we have a bad turnover day. It also wouldn't surprise me to see us in the game until the end, especially if UCLA has a bad turnover day.
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Post by MrBug708 »

Watching Hundley right now, the coaches don't trust him to throw it down the field more than 10 yards. Everything is about 7 yard outs or screens, though we didnt throw many screens yesterday. Perkins is about the only thing working right now
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Post by PieceOfMeat »

MrBug708 wrote:Watching Hundley right now, the coaches don't trust him to throw it down the field more than 10 yards. Everything is about 7 yard outs or screens, though we didnt throw many screens yesterday. Perkins is about the only thing working right now

Well our DB's tend to play well off the line of scrimmage, so 7 yard outs should be there most of the day. Our tackling yesterday was probably better than it has been all season, so that was nice, but if we miss those tackles against UCLA, it's going to be a long day for us.
It's long past time to bring this back to the court, let's do it with a small update:

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Post by MrBug708 »

I do hope "they give it to the freshman" more
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Post by NYCat »

UCLA -4½
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Post by Chicat »

I can't believe we are a full week away from game day and Bug is already laying the groundwork for the post game excuses.
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Post by azcat49 »

That should get a lot of action. If AZ had been favored it would have been heavy money on UCLA at home.

Have to look at the money line wager as that might be a very attractive bet
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Post by dmjcat »

The key to beating UCLA is to keep Hundley in the pocket and not let him rip off those 15 yard runs on 3rd and long. If we revert to the rush 3 drop 8 strategy I forsee a loss (too many lanes to run through for Hundley) , if we actually try to pressure Hundley we may win this one.
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Re: THE THE UCLA Bruins Discussion & Predictions Thread Thre

Post by Gladiator Cat »

The UCLA game now becomes by far the biggest game in modern UofA football history if we are talking about contending for the biggest of prizes and that being a possible PAC12 championship. Anything above that is pure gravy.

It was never going to be easy to accomplish anything like this. We were always going to have to plow through a gauntlet of very good teams to be in the hunt and this year its even more compelling with that road involving three top 25 teams we have to beat.

A nice factoid is ASSU and Utah play each other next week, so one of our three destiny teams drops off the radar at-least for that week and it becomes two teams out in front for the South. Of course this assumes our Cats beat the Bruins and move to 7-1/4-1.

We are staring down the barrel of five of the most exciting, gut wrenching, everything on the line weeks of PAC12 football ever and a win at UCLA will simply be beyond euphoric in it implications in wildcat country.

A win this week and we set up fairly nicely for the late season showdown at Utah and with ASSU. For sure two other teams in Col and Washington are very dangerous, but offer good odds in our favor.

For the record I think Utah beats ASSU next week which puts them at a huge advantage because they have no South losses at this point. Only one loss to WSU in the North. One caveat: ASSU appears to have Taylor Kelly back so they are dangerous for sure.

There are no more excuse now, every team has injuries and are banged up and bruised. Its now time for the Cats to overachieve in a super big game and lose that underachiever shackle around our ankles in a game that really counts.

RR needs to out game plan Mora, which he is more than capable of, we must contain Hundley by keeping him QB pocket bound and under pressure, and tackle like we are “Desert Swarm” tackling machines. If we do those basic things, then it lays the ground work for the rest to fall into place.

One game at a time, just win baby.............just win!
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Re: THE THE UCLA Bruins Discussion & Predictions Thread Thre

Post by Kiyama »

Yeah, the blitz is an issue for Arizona. I think in the first half we get decent pressure on QB's without blitzing... just push from our line (mostly Scooby)... but I think he and our line wears down the second half. I think we will do ok, controlling Hundley from running. If we run the balanced offense we have ran the during all our wins, we should win this game.
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Re: THE THE UCLA Bruins Discussion & Predictions Thread Thre

Post by MrBug708 »

Chicat wrote:I can't believe we are a full week away from game day and Bug is already laying the groundwork for the post game excuses.
But if I'm high on my team I'm just trolling and a huge homer.

But glad to see u complaining before things even get started.
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Post by MrBug708 »

azcat49 wrote:That should get a lot of action. If AZ had been favored it would have been heavy money on UCLA at home.

Have to look at the money line wager as that might be a very attractive bet
I think it already moved to -6
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Post by Chicat »

MrBug708 wrote:
Chicat wrote:I can't believe we are a full week away from game day and Bug is already laying the groundwork for the post game excuses.
But if I'm high on my team I'm just trolling and a huge homer.

But glad to see u complaining before things even get started.
Who's complaining? I love it.
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Post by Alieberman »

Does anyone know if we are playing the UCLA team that destroyed ASU or the UCLA team that needed OT to beat 'Rado?
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Post by azgreg »

Alieberman wrote:Does anyone know if we are playing the UCLA team that destroyed ASU or the UCLA team that needed OT to beat 'Rado?
Hope it's the later.
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Post by dc4azcats »

dmjcat wrote:The key to beating UCLA is to keep Hundley in the pocket and not let him rip off those 15 yard runs on 3rd and long. If we revert to the rush 3 drop 8 strategy I forsee a loss (too many lanes to run through for Hundley) , if we actually try to pressure Hundley we may win this one.
Kind of like how we let Halliday shred us? This from the guy who had us winning all of what 5 games this year? You continue to kill it with every post. Did Bundage play the whole game? TJG? Did Wilson get any burn?
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Post by azcat49 »

How tough is the south? Utah has wins over both LA schools yet still must play @ASSU, Oregon, @FURD and then AZ. If they run that guantlett they deserve to rep the south.

I would think we want Utah to beat the devils (duh) since there schedule is still brutal after that game. We need to find a way to win that game that historically we have lost in heartbreaking fasion (UCLA 85, USC 93, Oregon 94, UCLA 98, Oregon 07, USC 14 just to name a few I remember).

I thought it would be 4 years until we would beat UCLA again after the Mora hire. They have more talent but they seem like the high horsepower engine that is running very rough. Not sure what is wrong but I hope it continues at least for one more game
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Post by ASUHATER! »

dc4azcats wrote:
dmjcat wrote:The key to beating UCLA is to keep Hundley in the pocket and not let him rip off those 15 yard runs on 3rd and long. If we revert to the rush 3 drop 8 strategy I forsee a loss (too many lanes to run through for Hundley) , if we actually try to pressure Hundley we may win this one.
Kind of like how we let Halliday shred us? This from the guy who had us winning all of what 5 games this year? You continue to kill it with every post. Did Bundage play the whole game? TJG? Did Wilson get any burn?
Halliday did burn us. Almost 500 yards. We have one of the worst pass defenses around.
i was going to put the ua/asu records here...but i forgot what they were.

i'll just go with fuck asu.
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Post by azcat49 »

Not until it was 31-0 and then 52-16. He may have thrown for a ton of yards but he never hurt us.
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Post by OSUCat »

Well, the best thing to stop this years UCLA team seems to be not to give up the big play. Make UCLA play every down and let them screw up (call this the general arizona defense). UCLA leads in long scrimmage plays but haven't look great in most games.
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Post by OSUCat »

When a QB throws it 75 times in a leach offense, he will get yards. Our pass defense might not be great but I would never conclude that after facing a pirate coached team. It's like saying our run defense is stout because we stopped WSU from rushing.
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Re: THE THE UCLA Bruins Discussion & Predictions Thread Thre

Post by dc4azcats »

MrBug708 wrote:
azcat49 wrote:That should get a lot of action. If AZ had been favored it would have been heavy money on UCLA at home.

Have to look at the money line wager as that might be a very attractive bet
I think it already moved to -6
What's up Bug? Vegas Insider and the Wynn still have it at 4.5.

So Bug, give us the straight scoop - how do you see this game playing out and are you guys busting out the black unis again? Ucla has had Arizona's number the last 2 seasons but I think the difference in this game is Anu. He's not going to be intimidated by being on the road and playing at the Rose Bowl.

Looking at the stats the teams are pretty similar with the one big difference being sacks and sacks allowed. Arizona is 5th in the conference in getting to the QB with 19 while Ucla has 10. Arizona has given up the 2nd fewest sacks in the conference with 15 while Ucla leads the conference 26 sacks allowed.

UA's pass defense doesn't look good stats wise since both Goff and Halliday threw for a ton of yards but I thing the 4 down DL against wazzu and playing really just one LB the entire game with 6 DB's confused Halliday and didn't give him the passing lanes that he is used to being there. Parks could've had at least 3 ints just from being in the passing lanes.

Conversely, our rush D probably isn't as good as our ranking in the conference but if you've played Wazzu then it evens out for everybody at some point. Playing wazzu this week moved us up to 4th in the conference in Rush D. Ucla is #2 in the conference in rushing the ball so my guess is you come out and try to establish the run and keep the pressure off of Hundley.

Both teams want some balance on offense and it will be interesting to see who prevails in taking advantage of what the D is giving them. Should be a very interesting game.
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Re: THE THE UCLA Bruins Discussion & Predictions Thread Thre

Post by BearDown89 »

Any of you guys watched The Drive featuring UCLA on the Pac-12 Network this year? I've watched a couple episodes. I just don't find Mora that inspiring or motivating as he communicates with his team. Seems to me he speaks in cliche after cliche. All that talent and resources, but it doesn't feel like he's coaching them up. Of course, I don't know how they're editing those shows or what we don't get to see. Rich Rod comes off as much more authentic to me - a leader that a team can buy into and establish an identity with.
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Re: THE THE UCLA Bruins Discussion & Predictions Thread Thre

Post by MrBug708 »

BearDown89 wrote:Any of you guys watched The Drive featuring UCLA on the Pac-12 Network this year? I've watched a couple episodes. I just don't find Mora that inspiring or motivating as he communicates with his team. Seems to me he speaks in cliche after cliche. All that talent and resources, but it doesn't feel like he's coaching them up. Of course, I don't know how they're editing those shows or what we don't get to see. Rich Rod comes off as much more authentic to me - a leader that a team can buy into and establish an identity with.
Mora wasn't going to let them show anything inspiring or groundbreaking. The week after, there tends to be a lot of the team featured, win or lose. They are mic'ed up in the game so catch it next week.

The players love Mora though
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Re: THE THE UCLA Bruins Discussion & Predictions Thread Thre

Post by dc4azcats »

BearDown89 wrote:Any of you guys watched The Drive featuring UCLA on the Pac-12 Network this year? I've watched a couple episodes. I just don't find Mora that inspiring or motivating as he communicates with his team. Seems to me he speaks in cliche after cliche. All that talent and resources, but it doesn't feel like he's coaching them up. Of course, I don't know how they're editing those shows or what we don't get to see. Rich Rod comes off as much more authentic to me - a leader that a team can buy into and establish an identity with.
Ucla has had some big wins under Mora but this year has been a struggle in relation to the expectations. I don't know if it's the message or what but I don't think he did himself any favors by throwing Neuheisel under the bus with his comment about this is the best 2.5 year run Ucla has had in some time. While true, Neuheisel also had Kevin Craft as his QB and that was really the beginning of the end for RN. Give Mora Craft and Mora doesn't do any better than Rick did imho. The OL struggles were an issue for RN and they seem to be an issue for Mora as well.

It's easy to point to the OL for all the problems, but at the same time they have the fewest sacks in the conference. As we know all to well, if you can't pressure the QB in this conference you will get eaten alive at some point because the talent is so good at the skill positions. This is a huge key in this game because Arizona has plenty of skill at the WR position and if Anu is comfortable in the pocket he will pick Ucla apart.
MrBug708
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Re: THE THE UCLA Bruins Discussion & Predictions Thread Thre

Post by MrBug708 »

dc4azcats wrote:
What's up Bug? Vegas Insider and the Wynn still have it at 4.5.

So Bug, give us the straight scoop - how do you see this game playing out and are you guys busting out the black unis again? Ucla has had Arizona's number the last 2 seasons but I think the difference in this game is Anu. He's not going to be intimidated by being on the road and playing at the Rose Bowl.

Looking at the stats the teams are pretty similar with the one big difference being sacks and sacks allowed. Arizona is 5th in the conference in getting to the QB with 19 while Ucla has 10. Arizona has given up the 2nd fewest sacks in the conference with 15 while Ucla leads the conference 26 sacks allowed.

UA's pass defense doesn't look good stats wise since both Goff and Halliday threw for a ton of yards but I thing the 4 down DL against wazzu and playing really just one LB the entire game with 6 DB's confused Halliday and didn't give him the passing lanes that he is used to being there. Parks could've had at least 3 ints just from being in the passing lanes.

Conversely, our rush D probably isn't as good as our ranking in the conference but if you've played Wazzu then it evens out for everybody at some point. Playing wazzu this week moved us up to 4th in the conference in Rush D. Ucla is #2 in the conference in rushing the ball so my guess is you come out and try to establish the run and keep the pressure off of Hundley.

Both teams want some balance on offense and it will be interesting to see who prevails in taking advantage of what the D is giving them. Should be a very interesting game.
LA Steel uniforms, which are slightly different from the midnight jerseys.

UCLA rarely blitzes and instead relies on the front 3 getting pressuring on the QB, which has limited the amount of sacks. Your guys old DL coach, Mike Tui, is currently the "pass rush/DE coach". I dont think he'll be here next year however. The LB'ers have been generally good. They are good at getting sideline to sideline, less going out in coverage, at least Kendrick struggles more than Jack in coverage, but Jack over-pursues more than he should.

As far as getting sacks, once you rattle Hundley, he puts his head down and takes off. He usually can get some positive yards, but occasionally he gets pulled down behind the LOS, which results in the sacks. It's been his flaw at UCLA, more Kapernick than Russell Wilson an will probably keep him from ever being successful in the NFL. The coaches havent been rolling Hundley out though, which is suprising because it would buy him more time or give him a chance to run more. He doesnt usually keep the zone read. The staff was able to see that Cal couldn't stop the screens and ran it to death against them. They didnt bother to run it vs CU, which I think was arrogance on their part. The OL is finally healthy, but how effective they are based on Colorado remains to be seen.

UCLA does get big plays on D, Special Teams, their WR's, and their RB's. If you can limited most of those, Arizona should be fine. UCLA can drive the ball down the field, but mental faux pas's by Hundley, penalties, or conservative play calling generally sinks those drives. Broken tackles by Perkins or the bigger receivers usually get us extra yards.

How UCLA responds defensively remains to be seen. Oregon notwithstanding, and probably Memphis, the D has been solid enough. Against Cal, Hundley gave them three scoring drives closer than the 35. I doubt Myles Jack plays all that much. UCLA blew a 17 point lead against Colorado so getting a lead doesn't mean much right now, especially against a team like Arizona. That being said, the D is tailored more against spread offenses than traditional offenses right now.

If good Hundley shows up, I think UCLA wins. If bad Hundley shows up, Arizona will boatrace UCLA.
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