UCLA Football Preview: Can the Bruin Offense Attack Southern Cal's Depleted Secondary?
UCLA will need to make the most of the fact that the Trojan secondary could be without two starters.
So, the other day in our coaching preview, I wrote about how Southern Cal’s defense has been very good this season. Personally, I think the combination of Lynn and Ryan is a big reason why the Trojan defense has played so well.
To be honest, I’m not sure whether the Assistant Head Coach for Defense or the Defensive Coordinator ranks higher on the Trojans food chain, but I also don’t think it really matters much.
What probably matters more is how well Lynn and Ryan work together, and based on the on-field results, it seems like they have worked well together this season.
Like the offense, it seems like the defense tends to operate out of multiple sets depending on the situation. That brings me to one of my biggest complaints about UCLA’s offense this season both before and after Jerry Neuheisel took over calling the offense.
To be honest, one thing I haven’t understood about either the DeShaun Foster era or Tim Skipper’s interim reign is that the Bruin offense has been very slow at calling and running plays. I would have thought that one thing Jerry would have learned is to run plays as quickly as possible because of the advantages is gives the offense over the defense. Of course, there’s the obvious advantage you get by not allowing the defense to substitute, but there’s also the fact that a faster tempo gives you the opportunity to run more plays and running more plays means you have extra chances to score. Given that and that Tim Skipper has spoken about “starting fast” ever since he took over, I’m surprised that UCLA’s offense hasn’t been quicker wen it comes to snapping the ball.
I’d feel a lot better about the Bruins’ chances of both moving the ball and getting it into the end zone if they were playing at a faster tempo. As it stands, I’m concerned that they will struggle moving the ball downfield tomorrow, and if they do that, they will also struggle when it comes to getting it across the goal line.
The saving grace for the Bruins’ offense may be the fact that Southern Cal has been giving up almost 150 rushing yards per game. UCLA’s offense has struggled the most when they have been unable to move the ball on the ground.
Let’s look at Southern Cal’s defensive personnel.
Defensive Line
Redshirt junior Devan Thompson has started every game this season at one of the defensive tackle positions. Thompson has made 30 tackles including 6.5 TFLs and three sacks. He has also broken up two passes, forced a fumble and had a quarterback hurry.
The other defensive tackle will be likely be a rotation between redshirt senior Keeshawn Silver and sophomore Jide Abasiri. Silver transferred to Southern Cal this year after playing the last two seasons at Kentucky and starting his collegiate career at North Carolina. He took over as the starter from Jide Abasiri for the Nebraska game. Silver has made 16 tackles including one TFL while Abasiri has made 21 tackles with 2.5 TFLs and two sacks. Abasiri also has two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. When Southern Cal goes to a five-man defensive line, expect to see both Silver and Abasiri at the same time.
Senior Anthony Lucas has started every game at defensive end this year. Lucas has made 34 tackles with 3.5 TFLs and three sacks. But his sack numbers don’t really demonstrate how Lucas has been a menace to opposing quarterbacks. He leads the team in quarterback hurries with seven and he has both forced and recovered a fumble.
Like the second defensive tackle, the other starting defensive end will be one of two guys. Sophomore Kameran Crawford was the starter for the first five games of the year, but then junior Braylan Shelby started the next five. Last week against Oregon, Crawford was back in as the starter. While he didn’t start the games that Shelby did, he did play in those games. So, it wasn’t like he was injured or anything. Crawford has made 30 tackles this year. He leads the team in TFLs with eight. Meanwhile, Shelby has made 24 tackles with six TFLs. Crawford and Shelby are tied for the team lead in sacks with 3.5 each.
Linebackers
The starting Mike linebacker will be Desman Stephens II. Stephens is the leading tackler for the Trojans. He’s made 77 stops this season, but just one was a TFL. He also has one QB hurry.
Eric Gentry will be the starting Will linebacker. The redshirt senior from Philadelphis is second on the team in tackles with 70 including seven TFLs and three sacks. Gentry has forced four fumbles, has hurried opposing QBs twice and has broken up one pass.
When the Trojans bring in a third linebacker, it will probably be redshirt freshman Jadyn Walker. In ten games, Walker has made 28 tackles with three TFLs.
Secondary
For eight games this season, the two starting corners have been redshirt senior DeCarlos Nicholson and redshirt freshman Marcelles Williams. Nicholson has made 34 tackles including a TFL and a sack. In addition, he’s broken up three passes and intercepted one as well. Williams has made 36 tackles and broken up three passes.
Twice this year, Braylon Conley has started at corner. The first time came against Georgia State when he started instead of Williams and the second came against Iowa when he started in place of Nicholson. Conley has made 12 tackles this season with two TFLs, and he’s broken up a pass and forced a fumble.
For most of the season, the starting safeties were Bishop Fitzgerald and Kamari Ramsey, but both players suffered lower body injuries against Iowa and missed last week’s game against Oregon. According to Sports Illustrated, it seems unlikely that Fitzgerald will play tomorrow, though I would expect Ramsey to play against his former team if he is physically able to play. Look for Kennedy Urlacher to start for Fitzgerald and look for Christian Pierce to start at the other safety spot if Ramsey doesn’t. Pierce has actually started seven games this year, either because Ramsey was hurt or starting as the nickel back.
Urlacher, whose father is the former Chicago Bear Brian Urlacher, has made 20 tackles this year with a TFL and a sack. He’s also broken up a pass and intercepted one as well. Meanwhile, Pierce is third on the team in tackles with 53 including two TFLs and a sack. He has also broken up two passes and recovered a fumble.
Of course, if Ramsey can play, he will. He’s made 27 tackles with 1.5 TFLs, and he’s broken up two passes and hurried opposing quarterbacks three times. If Ramsey can’t play, look for freshman Alex Graham to start as the nickel. While Graham has played in three games this year, he has yet to tally any stats. Regardless of who starts at quarterback for the Bruins, expect them to know to look for Graham who wears #27 in order to take advantage of the freshman’s inexperience.
Analysis
If the Trojans’ defense has an Achilles’ heel, it’s likely their depleted secondary, especially if Kamari Ramsey can’t play. Both Nico Iamaleava and Luke Duncan if he plays need to be prepared to put the ball in the air against the weaker defenders in the secondary. If they are able to do that, they may be able to score enough points to make a game out of it tomorrow.
On the other hand, if they can’t run the ball or take advantage of the depleted secondary, it could be a very long evening.
Go Bruins!!! Beat $c!!!
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