For the first time in several weeks, the red-hot Oregon offense may have finally met its match with the talented UCLA defense.
 
The Bruins bring in the third-ranked defense in the Pacific-10 conference in total defense and will rely on a plethora of talented athletes to try to contain the versatile Duck squad.
 
The Bruins feature a pair of strong and dangerous redshirt senior linebackers in Reggie Carter and Kyle Bosworth. The tandem has accounted for 59 tackles, five tackles for loss and also forced one fumble.
 
“UCLA will be the best defense that we’ve faced so far,” first-year head coach Chip Kelly said. “They play extremely hard.”
 
The secondary combination of Alterraun Verner, Tony Dye and Rahim Moore has been lights-out thus far as well. Dye has recorded 27 tackles on the season, while Verner ranks fourth on the team with 24 tackles and also has tallied three interceptions.
 
“I believe Alterraun Verner is the best corner in this conference now that Walt’s not around,” Kelly said.
 
Moore, on the other hand, is the national leader in interceptions with five through the first four games, while he ranks second in passes defended with 2.25 per game.
 
Up front, the six-foot-two-inch, 300-pound junior defensive tackle Brian Price has been a force to be reckoned with as he enters the game with 13 total tackles, seven tackles for loss and two sacks. His mark of seven TFLs ranks second in the Pac-10 and 15th in the nation, while he now has 19 TFLs in his last 13 games played.
 
“I think Brian Price is the best defensive lineman in this league,” Kelly continued. “He’s a tremendous football player.”
 
Oregon offensive line coach Steve Greatwood agreed, saying UCLA’s front seven are a tough bunch of guys.
 
“Physically they’re very big,” he said. They’re not real fancy in what they do. The safeties play down in there to try and get extra hats on the ball. It’s going to challenge us to trust our technique and win the individual battles up front.”
 
Offensively, UCLA will continue to get the ball into the hands of redshirt freshman running back Johnathan Franklin, who has tallied 300 yards and three touchdowns this season, as well as dynamic wide receiver and return man Terrence Austin. Austin has pulled down 12 receptions for 151 yards and two scores, while totaling 296 yards in punt and kickoff returns.
 
“They have a couple of tall receivers,” said safety T.J. Ward. “Then Austin is a little bit smaller, quicker guy. But they have a good core. They catch the ball well and run good routes, so it’s going to be a challenge.”
 
At the quarterback position, redshirt freshman Kevin Prince will likely get the starting nod now that he has returned from a fractured jaw injury suffered in the Bruins 19-15 victory over Tennessee three weeks ago. Only recently has Prince been able to consume solid food again, after having his jaw wired shut since the injury occurred and had been limited to only liquids.
 
The unique thing about the injury was that Prince was still able to run and throw, something that is hindered by most other sports injuries. In Prince’s two games as a starter this season, he went 29 of 52 for 277 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions and posted a
2-0 record.
 
As far as special teams go, the Bruins feature one of the Pac-10’s top place kickers in junior Kai Forbath, who has accounted for nearly half of UCLA’s points this season with 43. He ranks second in the nation (first in Pac-10) in field goal percentage at 92.3, and leads the Pac-10 in field goals and scoring off of kicks.
 
“We have to be ready in all phases of the game,” Kelly said. “It’s going to be a heck of a game down there.”
 
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