UCLA Football Preview: Is the SDSU Defense Really Good or Do They Just Have Video Game Numbers?

The Bruins will face an Aztec defense which hasn't really been challenged so far this year.

Aztec Linebacker Cody Moon makes a tackle against Ohio. The New Mexico transfer leads the team in tackles this season. (Photo Credit: Derrick Tuskan/goaztecs.com)

---

Yesterday, when we looked at how the San Diego State offense matched up against the Bruin defense, we saw how the Aztecs’ offensive strength, the rushing attack, matches up well against UCLA’s stingy run defense and how SDSU’s weaker passing game matches up better against the Bruins’ pass defense.

But that side of the ball isn’t the only one where these teams match up well.

All last year, we saw how Chip Kelly likes to use the run to set up the pass and last week’s game certainly seemed to stick to that formula.

Unfortunately, the strength of the Aztec defense is also the rushing defense. SDSU is ranked 25th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing an average of 66.7 yards per game. Meanwhile, the Bruins ran for 153 yards last week against Coastal Carolina, which ranks them 64th in the nation.

The UCLA passing game amassed 264 yards against the Chanticleers, good enough to be tied for 54th in the country, and they are ranked 55th in passing efficiency. The Aztecs are ranked 30th in passing efficiency defense.

Now, the saving grace here for the Bruins may be the fact that San Diego State’s defensive numbers may be inflated as a result of who they’ve played so far. The two teams they’ve played. Their first game was against Ohio, a MAC school, and their second was against Idaho State, which is an FCS program.

So, while the Aztec defense looks pretty good on paper, it would seem like theirT defensive numbers may be inflated based on their competition so far. They just haven’t played a team similar to the Bruins at this point in the season.

Based on the depth chart, it looks like the Aztecs will play a 3-3-5 base defense. While they may give their defensive backs different names than normal, it looks like they will run a nickel package as their base defense. Along with the different position names, the other difference would appear to be how they line up on the defensive side of the ball. Instead of “safeties,” the Aztec defense will have “warriors” as the defensive backs who aren’t corners and their nickel back is called an “Aztec.” Additionally, the two “warriors,” along with the cornerbacks, split responsibilities as “boundary” and “field,” much in the same way that South Alabama had a “Boundary Corner” and a “Field Corner” last season, with the boundary corner taking the short side of the field and the field corner being responsible for the wide side.

SDSU takes this to a new level by also designating their warriors as boundary warrior and field warrior while the “Aztec” sounds like the Husky employed by South Alabama. He could be a hybrid linebacker/safety like the Jaguars used last year, but I essentially think he will be a nickelback just like the Husky and he’s probably going to cover the slot.

I fully expect the Aztecs to cheat one or more of these three guys up to help stop the run. Why? Because the two warriors and the Aztec are three of the team’s top five tacklers so far this season. Unfortunately, the statisticians don’t distinguish between rushing tackles and receiving tackles. So, there’s no way to know whether the bulk of the trios tackles are occurring in the run game or the passing game without watching game tape and figuring that out. I’ll leave that to Chip Kelly and staff to figure out. In the meantime, be sure to check out how the defense backs react to run situations versus passing situations. If they do cheat up often enough to respond to the run, watch for the Bruins to go to some sort of play action pass which will exploit the SDSU defense for cheating up on the ball.

Let’s look at the Aztec defensive personnel.

Defensive Line

Up front, the Aztecs will start junior transfer Tupu Alualu at their only defensive tackle position. Alualu came to San Diego State after playing 2021 at Mt. SAC. He’s currently seventh on the team with five tackles including two sacks.

Seniors Garret Fountain and Daniel Okpono will lineup as the defensive ends. With five tackles, Fountain is tied with Alualu. Meanwhile on the other side, Okpono has made two tackles through two games.

Linebackers

Senior Cooper McDonald will get the start at the Sam linebacker. With 19 games starts, McDonald has the second most starts on the Aztec defense, behind only field warrior Cedarious Barfield. He also has five tackles this season.

Sophomore Zyrus Fiaseu will start at the Mike linebacker. Fiaseu became a starter midway through last season after initially being third on the depth chart. So far, he’s made six tackles this season including two TFLs and one sack.

Will linebacker Cody Moon is the guy that UCLA needs to make sure gets blocked. Not only does he lead the Aztecs in tackles with 14, he also has three QB hurries, but he doesn’t have any TFLs or sacks yet. This is Moon’s first season with SDSU after spending the past three seasons at New Mexico. He was named to the Bronco Nagurski Trophy watch list prior to the start of this season.

Secondary

The field cornerback is listed as being either sophomore Chris Johnson or senior Noah Tumblin. Tumblin got the start last week while Dallas Branch got the start in Week 1 against Ohio. Based on game performance so far, I think Tumblin will likely start even though he’s the second one listed on the depth chart. He’s tied for third in tackles with seven and he has four breakups and one interception. Johnson only has three tackles and no other significant stats so far which is why I think Tumblin will start the game.

The boundary corner will be junior Dez Malone. Malone has made five tackles this season and he’s tied with Tumblin for the team lead in pass breakups with four. He also has one interception.

Super senior Cedarious Barfield will start at the field warrior spot. Barfield has started the last eight games for the Aztecs and he’s second on the team in tackles with eight. With two interceptions, he is the only guy on the team with more than one pick.

Look for Davaughn Celestine to start as the boundary warrior. He is tied for fifth on the team in tackles with six and he’s broken up one pass.

Finally, true freshman Marcus Ratcliffe will be the Aztec. Even though he’s just a freshman, Ratcliffe is making his mark on the SDSU defense. He’s tied for third on the team in tackles with seven, making him another key guy that the Bruins will need to account for at all times.

Outlook

On paper, the San Diego State defense looks good, but I have a feeling that they may only appear to be good based on the fact that they started the season against a MAC school before playing an FCS school. That kind of schedule should allow most FBS programs to put up video game numbers, and I suspect that’s what has happened here.

I expect Chip Kelly to find ways on tape to exploit SDSU’s weaknesses and to keep going back to that well, over and over again, like only he can.

While this game has the potential to be close, I expect it to be over by halftime.


Go Bruins!!!

---

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.