UCLA’s College Football Playoff hopes were dealt a major blow on Saturday when it suffered a gut-wrenching 48-45 loss to Memphis at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The Bruins simply had no answer for Tigers quarterback Riley Ferguson who threw for 398 yards and six touchdowns. It was a disappointing result for the Bruins who’ll surely lose their spot in the Top 25 rankings this week.
The Bruins will look to get their season back on track when they lock horns with the Stanford Cardinal this coming Saturday. For the Bruins to record the much-needed win, they will need to improve on their play on the defensive end. UCLA’s defense allowed 560 yards (398 passing yards and 162 rushing yards) in the loss to Memphis. The Bruins are 122nd in the FBS in total defense, surrendering a whopping 515.3 yards per game this season.
Injuries have played a part in their defensive malaise as the Bruins started the game against Memphis without LB Kenny Young, S Jaleel Wadoodand DT Boss Tagaloa. Freshman standout DE Jaelan Phillips joined them on the sidelines when he rolled his ankle in that loss to the Tigers. It didn’t help matters that the Bruins gave up big plays and turnovers in that ballgame. Quarterback Josh Rosen was partly to blame for that, throwing a pair of interceptions that snuffed UCLA’s momentum. You can’t pin the defeat entirely on Rosen, though, who completed 34 of 56 passes for 463 yards and four touchdowns. He’s doing his job on the offensive end, it’s time for the UCLA D to stand tall against Stanford.
The Bruins are 3-7 SU and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 road games.
Southern California hasn’t been kind to Stanford this season. The Cardinal have started their Pac-12 campaign with two disappointing defeats in this region, losing to USC (42-24) and San Diego State (20-17) in back-to-back weeks. Stanford’s D-line has been terrible these past two games, allowing a combined 494 yards on the ground. The Cardinal had difficulty stopping Aztecs running back Rashaad Penny who rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown on Saturday.
Stanford returns to Pac-12 action when it hosts UCLA on Saturday night. Momentum is with the Cardinal when it comes to this matchup as they have won each of their last nine meetings with the Bruins. One guy who needs to step up for Stanford in this clash is Bryce Love. He gained 184 yards on just 13 carries in the loss to the Aztecs, including touchdown runs of 53 and 51 yards. Love also recorded a 47-yarder that set up a field goal. He will be licking his chops at the prospect of facing a UCLA defense that’s allowing 275.0 rushing yards per game this season, 122nd in the FBS.
Stanford is 8-1 ATS in its last nine games against UCLA.
