And so they meet again. Almost a year since the No. 15 Stanford Cardinal threw a brick right at the face of the No. 18 UCLA Bruins’ College Football Playoff hopes, the two teams square off again for a highly anticipated matchup between last season’s Pac-12 title game combatants. Will the Bruins avenge that loss? Or will the Cardinal solidify their grip of the top spot in the Pac-12 North?
Read on for a preview of this matchup. You can also click here for a breakdown of the matchup between Missouri and Georgia.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]UCLA’s bid for perfection is now over. That’s after the Arizona State beat the Bruins in Pasadena on October 3, 38-23, to put the first dent on UCLA’s record. There’s little time for the Bruins to dwell on that loss, though, as they’re up against rival Stanford in their next game.
Leading UCLA’s charge at Stanford Stadium is Josh Rosen, who passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns with one interception in the loss to the Sun Devils. Rosen won’t have it any easier this coming Thursday, as the Cardinal do boast a sturdy defense that is third in the conference with only 198.0 passing yards allowed per game.
But things should open up for Rosen if Paul Perkins and UCLA’s backfield bounces back after generating only 62 rushing yards in the Arizona State game. Perkins is the fifth in the Pac-12 in with 577 rushing yards and third with seven rushing touchdowns. Overall, UCLA is averaging 199.4 rushing yards per game thus far this season.
Defensively, the Bruins will have to worry about Stanford’s own rushing attack. The Bruins, who are allowing 197 rushing yard per game, have been wracked with several injuries to their front seven starters, which played a big part in Arizona State going berserk on the ground, as the Sun Devils rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bruins are 10-0 SU in their last 10 road games. They’re also 4-0 ATS in their last four away from Pasadena.
After getting shocked by Northwestern in the season opener, the Cardinal have been on a tear, crushing their next four opponents by a margin of 22.5 points.
That stretch of Cardinal domination includes the team’s 55-17 annihilation of Arizona on October 3. Stanford’s offense was firing on all cylinders against the Wildcats. Quarterback Kevin Hogan completed 17 of 19 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Hogan’s great day was partly caused by Arizona’s defense that was put to shambles by Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey rushed for 156 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries against the Wildcats.
McCaffrey has been an unstoppable force on the ground of late, as he’s racked up 477 rushing yards over his last three games. Don’t expect McCaffrey to slow down against UCLA, which, as mentioned, is suffering from a slew of injuries on its defense.
On the flipside, the Cardinal can’t afford to let Paul Perkins have his way against them—again. In last season’s meeting with the Bruins, Stanford saw Perkins rush for 116, albeit in a 31-10 Cardinal win.
Stanford is third in the conference in scoring defense (19.0 points per game allowed per game) and second in rushing defense (129.60 rushing yards allowed per game).
Dating back to 2009, Stanford is 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS in its last four home games against UCLA.
