We got a chance to speak to BruinSportsReport.com publisher Edward Lewis and asked him some questions about tomorrow's game
1. We all know about Josh Rosen, who are some other names the Tigers should be concerned with on offense?
The strengths of UCLA's offense are obviously in the passing game. Tight end Caleb Wilson has become Rosen's go-to target. He caught 15 (!!) passes against Texas A&M and caught his first-ever touchdown last week against Hawaii. Receiver Darren Andrews is Rosen's second-favorite target, and he has five (!!) touchdowns in the first two games of the season. Other play-making wideouts, Jordan Lasley and Theo Howard, have each done damage in the first two games of the year as well.
UCLA's running game is very weak, but if Soso Jamabo (who missed last week for undisclosed reasons) plays, he's been known to break a long run or two every once in a while.
2. UCLA has a big game against Stanford next week. Any chance they get caught looking ahead or does Memphis have their full attention?
In past years, I would have said yes. But Stanford has devolved from UCLA's sole focus. In the early Jim Mora years, it was Stanford that prevented the Bruins from doing things they wanted to do on the national level. Now, however, coming off a 4-8 season, UCLA and Mora are just trying to prove they can be relevant on the national stage once again. And in order to do that, they need whenever and wherever they can get them. I think they're just as focused on going 3-0 as they are on beating Stanford next week, which is probably something I wouldn't have written in these last three years here in Los Angeles.
3. UCLA opponents have had success running the ball against the Bruins, why do you think they have trouble stopping the run?
UCLA's run defense scheme isn't very good given the personnel it has. It's a one-gap system where every front-seven defender is in charge of one gap. In theory, if the run goes through that gap, the player in charge of that gap should make the tackle. However, UCLA is small in the front seven (outside of middle linebacker Lokeni Toailoa, who doesn't see a whole lot of reps because he's a liability in coverage) and it's very hard for them to shed their blocks to make the tackles early in their assigned gaps. UCLA's linebackers are also not very good at being instinctual and making plays on their own. It's going to be a bug-a-boo for UCLA all year, unless, of course, UCLA sells out against the run and dares teams to beat it with the pass, like it did in the second half of the Texas A&M game.
4. How well do the Bruin fans travel, do you expect a good size to travel to Memphis?
Not very well. Usually road games with good UCLA fan attendance happen in cities where large alumni bases live (like the Cal or Stanford games in Northern California). I wouldn't imagine more than a few thousand make the trek down there this weekend.
5. What's your prediction for the game, score and all?
The 9 a.m. PT games have been a mess for UCLA over the last few years, no matter the opponent. It's just unnatural for UCLA players to be up that early and usually in hostile environments against teams aching to prove themselves against all the four- and five-star guys UCLA boasts.
That being said, Josh Rosen is on a tear like no other this year. I expect it to be a close game because UCLA has struggled just so much to stop the run. But I can't imagine Memphis is the team that puts an end to Rosen's historic start to the season. I'll go UCLA 31, Memphis 27.
1. We all know about Josh Rosen, who are some other names the Tigers should be concerned with on offense?
The strengths of UCLA's offense are obviously in the passing game. Tight end Caleb Wilson has become Rosen's go-to target. He caught 15 (!!) passes against Texas A&M and caught his first-ever touchdown last week against Hawaii. Receiver Darren Andrews is Rosen's second-favorite target, and he has five (!!) touchdowns in the first two games of the season. Other play-making wideouts, Jordan Lasley and Theo Howard, have each done damage in the first two games of the year as well.
UCLA's running game is very weak, but if Soso Jamabo (who missed last week for undisclosed reasons) plays, he's been known to break a long run or two every once in a while.
2. UCLA has a big game against Stanford next week. Any chance they get caught looking ahead or does Memphis have their full attention?
In past years, I would have said yes. But Stanford has devolved from UCLA's sole focus. In the early Jim Mora years, it was Stanford that prevented the Bruins from doing things they wanted to do on the national level. Now, however, coming off a 4-8 season, UCLA and Mora are just trying to prove they can be relevant on the national stage once again. And in order to do that, they need whenever and wherever they can get them. I think they're just as focused on going 3-0 as they are on beating Stanford next week, which is probably something I wouldn't have written in these last three years here in Los Angeles.
3. UCLA opponents have had success running the ball against the Bruins, why do you think they have trouble stopping the run?
UCLA's run defense scheme isn't very good given the personnel it has. It's a one-gap system where every front-seven defender is in charge of one gap. In theory, if the run goes through that gap, the player in charge of that gap should make the tackle. However, UCLA is small in the front seven (outside of middle linebacker Lokeni Toailoa, who doesn't see a whole lot of reps because he's a liability in coverage) and it's very hard for them to shed their blocks to make the tackles early in their assigned gaps. UCLA's linebackers are also not very good at being instinctual and making plays on their own. It's going to be a bug-a-boo for UCLA all year, unless, of course, UCLA sells out against the run and dares teams to beat it with the pass, like it did in the second half of the Texas A&M game.
4. How well do the Bruin fans travel, do you expect a good size to travel to Memphis?
Not very well. Usually road games with good UCLA fan attendance happen in cities where large alumni bases live (like the Cal or Stanford games in Northern California). I wouldn't imagine more than a few thousand make the trek down there this weekend.
5. What's your prediction for the game, score and all?
The 9 a.m. PT games have been a mess for UCLA over the last few years, no matter the opponent. It's just unnatural for UCLA players to be up that early and usually in hostile environments against teams aching to prove themselves against all the four- and five-star guys UCLA boasts.
That being said, Josh Rosen is on a tear like no other this year. I expect it to be a close game because UCLA has struggled just so much to stop the run. But I can't imagine Memphis is the team that puts an end to Rosen's historic start to the season. I'll go UCLA 31, Memphis 27.
