Heading into the Pac-12 Championship Game, the good news for UCLA is that it has won three of its past five contests.@@http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/ucla-m-footbl-sched.html@@ The bad news is that those two defeats have been grossly lopsided.
On Nov. 12th, UCLA fell to Utah 31-6@@see previous@@ allowing the Utes to run rampant in the second half. The other loss, a 50-0 stomping last week at the hands of USC, speaks for itself. Yet the Bruins had little time to reflect on those losses as they enter Autzen Stadium this week as overwhelming underdogs.
“We didn’t have time to wallow in self pity,” UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel@@http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/neuheisel_rick00.html@@ said. “We had to think about the next chore, which was this game.”
Junior quarterback Kevin Prince,@@CE@@ who has struggled since filling in for injured starter Richard Brehaut@@http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/brehaut_richard00.html@@ in October, will lead UCLA’s offense. So far this season Prince is only completing 58.6 percent@@http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html#TEAM.IND@@ of his passes and has eight touchdowns versus seven interceptions.@@see previous@@
The Bruins’ most dangerous offensive weapon is running back Johnathan Franklin,@@http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/franklin_johnathan00.html@@ a speedster who has kept the team’s offense afloat in several key situations. Despite taking less than half of the team’s carries, Franklin has 912 yards (6.1 yards per carry)@@http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html#TEAM.IND@@ this year behind a porous offensive line. The rest of the team’s runners are averaging only 4.1@@changed from 4.2@@ yards per attempt on 330 attempts.@@http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html#TEAM.IND@@
UCLA will be looking to strike early and often to keep up with the Ducks’ prolific offense on Friday. Unfortunately, the Bruins haven’t really seen a true outburst this year other than a 45-point performance against Colorado.@@http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/ucla-m-footbl-sched.html@@ UCLA is currently 10th in the Pac-12 in scoring offense and 11th in passing and first downs.@@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/Football/2011-Stats/HTML/confldrs.htm@@
The Bruins’ defense has also been less than stingy this year. In particular, UCLA has struggled against the run, allowing 5.0 yards per carry and 178 yards per game on the ground (10th in the Pac-12).@@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/Football/2011-Stats/HTML/confldrs.htm@@ Considering that Oregon is averaging 291 yards rushing per game (5th in the NCAA),@@http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/1025@@ UCLA will be called upon to battle Oregon’s front line on a constant basis.
The Bruins have also struggled to pressure the passer and are 11th in the conference in sacks,@@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/Football/2011-Stats/HTML/confldrs.htm@@ with only 13 in 12 games this season.@@see previous@@ They’ve also been dismal on third down, allowing opponents to convert almost half of their attempts (49.7 percent).@@see previous@@
At best, UCLA has been inconsistent this season. Prince said it has been hard for the team to deal with the up-and-down play.
“That’s been the frustrating part. We can’t do it on a weekly basis,” Prince said.
Despite the odds being stacked against them, many of the team’s departing seniors — such as leading receiver Nelson Rosario@@http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/rosario_nelson00.html@@ — feel lucky to have an opportunity to take out Oregon.
“We lost games and sometimes it felt like, ‘When is this ever going to end?’” Rosario said to the Los Angeles Times. “That was the hardest part of my four years here. But this is a gift from the football gods. We have a chance to do what we came here to do: win a championship.”
The Bruins also have plenty of experience bouncing back from embarrassing losses, as Neuheisel@@CE@@ pointed out in his press conference on Thursday.
“We do have that experience in getting up off the mat,” Neuheisel said. “We’ve done it before. We had a very difficult loss in Tucson on a Thursday night and came back the very next outing and beat a talented Cal team and followed that up with a victory over a very talented Arizona State team.
“So we have experience under our belt to lend itself to getting up, finding yourself and playing much better football.”