UCLA Football Preview: UC Berkeley Has Run the Ball a Lot More This Season
The Golden Bears have relied on Jaydn Ott running the ball all season long as they have thrown the ball less than last season.
On paper, the offense of the UC Berkeley Golden Bears seems to be pretty similar to UCLA’s. Not only do the Bears run the ball more than they throw it, but they are also ranked similarly nationwide to the Bruins. Berkeley runs the ball 53.8% of the time while UCLA runs it 57.6% of the time. While the Bruins are ranked 15th in the nation in rushing offense, the Bears are ranked 25th and, while UCLA is ranked 70th in passing offense, UC Berkeley is ranked 76th.
That’s a big improvement to the Golden Bear rushing attack which was ranked 121st last season. It also likely means that they have been more competitive this year because they don’t have to rely on the pass to try to play catch-up offensively.
Of course, it could also be a by-product of having a redshirt freshman as the team’s starting quarterback.
Let’s look at Berkeley’s offensive personnel.
Quarterback
Fernando Mendoza took over as the Golden Bears’ starting quarterback for the Oregon State game, and he has certainly proven that he deserves to be starting. He’s completed 112 of 180 pass attempts, which is good for a 62.2% completion rate. He’s also thrown 11 touchdown passes. That means that one out of about every ten passes he completes goes for a touchdown. His longest completion went for 54 yards while he has thrown just five interceptions.
He’s also been a big part of UC Berkeley’s rushing attack. Mendoza has gained the fourth most rushing yards on the team with 172 yards gained. Unfortunately, he’s also lost more than half of his yardage gained. This brings his net gain down by 89 yards to a net gain of just 83 yards on the ground. His longest gain of the season was 16 yards and he scored twice on the ground.
Rushing Game
While Mendoza can certainly be a multi-dimensional quarterback, it would be a mistake to think that Jaydn Ott isn’t the focal point of the Berkeley running game. In fact, Ott’s 208 carries is almost as many carries as the rest of the team combined. He’s gained 1180 net yards with a season long 66 yard run and 11 rushing touchdowns.
While no other running back has gained more than 400 yards, Isaiah Ifanse is the guy who has come closest to reaching that mark, having rushed 70 times for 365 net yards. He has also been a favorite of offensive coordinator Jake Spavital on the goal line where he’s scored seven times.
Redshirt sophomore is third on the team in net rushing yards with 200 yards on 42 carries. He has scored two touchdowns. The Bears’ fourth best rusher is Jaivian Thomas who is the only other Bear with more than 100 net rushing yards. He has amassed 110 net yards and a touchdown on just 18 carries. His 6.1 yards per carry rushing average makes him the team’s most efficient runner.
Receivers and Tight Ends
Junior receiver Jeremiah Hunter has been UC Berkeley’s top receiver this season. Hunter has 50 receptions for 568 yards and five touchdowns. His longest reception of the season went for 50 yards.
Berkeley’s Trond Grizzell is a little more dangerous than Hunter, at least when it comes to gaining yards on pass plays. Hunter is averaging 11.36 yards per catch, but Grizzell leads the team with an average of 15.09 ypc. Like Hunter, Grizzell has five touchdown receptions. The big difference between Hunter and Grizzell is that Grizzell only has 33 receptions for 498 yards. He also made the longest reception of the season for the Bears with a 54-yard catch.
Taj Davis transferred to Berkeley after spending his first four seasons at Washington. Davis has made 38 receptions for 393 yards and three touchdowns this season with the Bears.
Redshirt freshman tight end Jack Endries is the fouth best receiver on the team. Endries has 29 catches for 348 yards and two touchdowns while Ott is the only other Bear with at least 20 receptions. Ott has gained 140 yards through the air and scored two more touchdowns.
While Monroe Young and Brian Hightower have totaled 140 and 101 receiving yards, respectively, the other scoring threats for the Bears are two running backs. Ifanse and Thomas have each scored once.
Go Bruins!!!
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Drove down to Pasadena for the game. Let’s leave the PAC12 with a win. Go Bruins!