College Football Weekend Preview: UCLA Sits in Pac-12 South Driver's Seat

The Bruins control their own destiny if they're to advance to the conference championship game, but beating cross-town rival USC on Saturday will be no easy task.

During a week when there are few top-notch college football games, and ESPN's College GameDay chose to cover the Harvard-Yale rivalry as the site of its weekly pre-game show, USC at UCLA stands out as the top FBS game of the week.

The No. 9 Bruins (8-2) will host No. 19 USC at the Rose Bowl in the battle for the Victory Bell, televised on ABC at 7:00 p.m. CT.

As a result of Arizona State's surprising loss at unranked Oregon State a week ago, UCLA—riding a four-game winning streak—was given new life in the race for the Pac-12 South division crown.

Since losing to Utah and Oregon in back-to-back weeks, UCLA has hit its stride, particularly on the offensive side of the football, now that quarterback Brett Hundley is getting more help than ever.

Hundley has been effective all season long for the Bruins, leading the nation in completion percentage (72.1), but not until recently has he been complemented so effectively by his teammates.

The UCLA offensive line, long considered one of the team's weakest links, allowed just one sack in last week's win against a Washington defense that features three potential first round draft choices.

Not only has the offensive line stepped up its game, running back Paul Perkins has eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards on the season, averaging over 6.0 yards per carry, while Jordan Payton has emerged as the team's leading receiver, catching 58 passes for 839 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Bruins face a USC team that is similarly gaining momentum on offense with elite play from the skill positions.

Quarteback Cody Kessler boasts a highly efficient 29-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio, running back Javorius Allen leads the conference with 1,184 rushing yards and wide receiver Nelson Agholor is coming off stunning back-to-back 200-yard receiving performances.

May the best defense win.

Prediction: Motivated by a packed Rose Bowl crowd, UCLA linebackers Eric Kendricks and Myles Jack will each make an impact play, leading the Bruins to victory. 30-27, Sons of Westwood.

 

Where College GameDay Is At

Kudos to ESPN for going outside the FBS to visit a game of historical significance as Harvard hosts Yale with the Ivy League title at stake.

Harvard enters the game with an undefeated record, 9-0 overall and 6-0 in conference play, while Yale sits just a game back with 8-1 and 5-1 records. Saturday's game will be televised on NBC Sports Network at 11:30 a.m. CT.

You typically get a game breakdown in this column, but no one here is going to pretend to know anything about either of these teams.

I will, however, use this space to draw your attention to two items.

If you're uninitated to the Harvard-Yale rivalry, I can't suggest enough watching the movie Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 on the 1968 meeting between the two teams, one the best documentaries on sports, in my opinion. Hulu offers the entire film free of charge.

In one many stories you have to see to believe, actor Tommy Lee Jones was a guard on the 1968 Harvard team and was a college roommate to former presidential candidate Al Gore.

Even those who aren't hardcore fans of football will enjoy this documentary, especially history buffs. Carve out some time to watch it.

As for Saturday's game, if you're looking for a purpose to watch the game, you may want to focus on Harvard's Zach Hodges in particular.

Hodges will be playing in the NFL next year at this time, and even though he's listed as a defensive end, he's rated as the second-best outside linebacker in the senior class, according to NFLDraftScout.com.

A high-motor player, Hodges is versatile, able to play on both the right and left sides of the defense.

Hodges appears to be a disciplined run defender that plays with terrific leverage, although needs to add strength to avoid being controlled. As a pass rusher, Hodges can quickly get into an opponent's backfield, although sometimes too quickly for his own good. One sidestep by a quarterback and he can be taken out of a play.

Prediction: The pagentry will be worth your time. Enjoy.

 

The Wisconsin Connection

No coverage of Wisconsin football would be complete without mention of Melvin Gordon's record-setting performance last week against Nebraska, a 408-yard effort that represented the highest single-game rushing total in FBS history.

As a Badgers season-ticket holder for the better part of the last 15 years, I was in the stands as a fan that day and can say it was one of the most memorable games I've ever witnessed.

Gordon's big day was remarkable for two reasons: A) It wasn't against some pushover and B) it happened in just three quarters.

On the periphery of the Heisman Trophy debate all year long, Gordon instantly became one of the front-runners for the award, along with Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, a battle that might be decided over the last three weeks of the season.

After beating Nebraska, Wisconsin now controls its own destiny. Win the final two games of the season, and the Badgers will win the West division of the Big Ten and advance to the conference championship game.

This week, the Heartland Trophy is at stake as No. 16 Wisconsin (8-2) travels to Iowa (7-3) in a game televised on the ABC/ESPN2 reverse mirror, depending on where in the country you live.

Detractors will point out that Iowa hasn't beaten a ranked team yet this season, but if there's one challenge they present, its their strength in the trenches.

Left tackle Brandon Scherff will be a first round draft choice next April and likely the first offensive lineman to come off the board. Wisconsin pass rushers coming off the right edge will struggle to get anything going against Scherff, who makes pass protection look easy, doing a terrific job of anticipating a defender's move and sliding both left or right to cut him off.

On the other side of football, Iowa's three best defensive players are arguably all on the defensive line.

End Drew Ott and tackle Louis Trinca-Pasat are disruptive forces, able to get into an opponent's backfield as both have double-digit tackles for a loss this season. They benefit from attention on tackle Carl Davis, a potential Day 2 draft choice next spring.

The Wisconsin offensive line will have their work cut out for them, but if they perform anywhere near as well as they did against Nebraska, the Badgers running game should remain effective. All the offensive line has to do is get Gordon to the second level and let him do the rest.

Prediction: Walking away from Kinnick Stadium with a victory is never easy, but the nation's No. 1 rated defense will stuff the Iowa ground game, making circumstances difficult on quarback Jake Rudock. He'll be forced into a key mistake. 31-17, On Wisconsin.

 

What Happened Before Saturday

Behind an outstanding performance from quarterback Jake Waters, No. 12 Kansas State (8-2) kept its hopes alive for a Big 12 championship after beating West Virginia (6-5) 26-20 on Thursday evening.

Everyone knew coming into the game that Tyler Lockett was an outstanding receiver, and he did nothing to disappoint with 10 receptions for 196 yards, but Waters does not have to rely on Lockett for success.

Waters displayed a strong arm while connecting on numerous downfield passes, throwing for exactly 400 yards and averaging 11.3 yards per attempt.

What's even more remarkable was Water's performance despite little help around him. The Wildcats ran 29 times for merely one yard and were uncharacteristically penalized 10 times for over 100 yards, a rarity for a Bill Snyder-coached team.

If Waters and Lockett can keep up their high level of play, while getting even a modest contribution from the running game, they stand a good chance of beating one-loss Baylor in the regular season finale in two weeks.

Kansas State needs TCU to lose in order to win the Big 12, but there's hope that a suddenly revitalized Texas squad will be able to pull off the upset as they host the Horned Frogs on Thanksgiving.

 

Brian Carriveau is the author of the book "It's Just a Game: Big League Drama in Small Town America," and editor at Cheesehead TV and its "Pro Football Draft Preview." To contact Brian, email [email protected].

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Comments (4)

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FITZCORE1252's picture

November 22, 2014 at 04:22 pm

I knew Gordon should've added to the record in the 4th. Could've had 500+ yds, and that record would have stood for decades.

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aj's picture

November 22, 2014 at 06:08 pm

I think that could have been a costly decision, what if he had a Gurley like accident? He is a terrific talent, would have hated to see him injured in garbage time.

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aj's picture

November 22, 2014 at 08:54 pm

Adding on, what would you guys think if we drafted Gurley in the 3rd if he's there? That kid is a special talent, there aren't many kids made that way.

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Jusaqung's picture

February 26, 2020 at 06:13 pm

All the same, Harvard College's record was merely unattainable. This is a fantastic result! After such a game, I want to listen to https://www.bkreader.com/2019/12/07/handy-tips-for-writing-an-effective-... to participate in a team game too. Of course, I was going to use the handy tips for writing an effective college paper, but the sport is an additional motivation for me

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