Ten weeks into the football season, UCLA has been all over the rankings, public opinion and headlines. The team has been heralded as a Pac-12 South winner and national championship contender, and then been written off as a “pretender.”
These ups and downs are far from unprecedented. Just last season, the Bruins were in this exact position – coming off two heavily-scrutinized losses and a win over the Cal Golden Bears – with the rest of the season up for grabs. UCLA then headed east to Colorado and almost lost the entire season with a near-upset in which the Bruins escaped with a three-point margin.
UCLA is determined not to let history repeat itself any further.
“Those two losses really hurt, but we’ve been there before and we know how to bounce back,” said junior receiver Thomas Duarte. “We know what spots we need to attack.”
While Colorado’s season record could not be more different from last week’s opponent, its offense scheme is similar. The Buffs have built limited success around quarterback Sefo Liufau, not unlike the Golden Bears’ reliance on quarterback Jared Goff.
Liufau is throwing a 61.5 percent completion rate with nine touchdowns on the season. A key for UCLA’s defense, which sacked Goff a total of five times last week, is that Luifau has been sacked 20 times this season. With the Bruins’ much-improved defensive performance last week, UCLA should be able to contain the Buffs well.
“We were more sound versus the run because we were more disciplined in our gap control, which you have to be to be good on defense,” said coach Jim Mora. “We tackled better, we stayed on our feet better.”
Offensively, the Bruins look to build on last week, which saw freshman quarterback Josh Rosen throw 34 completions for 399 yards. After being held to 23 points in its loss to Arizona State, UCLA has expanded its offensive production in recent weeks, averaging almost 38 points over the last two games.
“(Josh isn’t) afraid to throw the ball. He’s not afraid to throw it downfield,” said redshirt sophomore receiver Darren Andrews. “He doesn’t care if it looks like you’re covered – he’s willing to give you a shot. That’s what we like as receivers.”
