The UCLA football team cannot afford another loss in the Pac-12 if they expect to have a winning season and make it to a respectable bowl game during the holidays. They have five more regular season games remaining on their schedule beginning with Saturdays’ game against No. 19 Utah at the Rose Bowl. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on Channel 11.
The Bruins come into the game with a record of 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Pac-12. At 1-3 the Bruins are just one game away from last place in the South Conference. Utah is in first place in the South with a record of 6-1 and 3-1.
If UCLA’s starting quarterback Josh Rosen is not ready to play the Bruins may have a problem. Rosen is recovering from injuries he suffered against Arizona State on October 9. His replacement, senior Mike Fafaul played well against Washington State last week but Rosen is hard to replace because he is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation.
Whoever plays quarterback may not matter if the Bruin’s running game continues to falter. Against Arizona State they ran for minus yards and against Washington State they rushed for only 43.
The strange thing about UCLA’s running game problems is coming into this season it appeared this was going to be one of their strong points. They have a good offensive line and three solid running backs.
The line has experience with tackles Connor McDermott and Kolton Miller, guards Kenny Lacy and Najee Toran and center Scott Quesesenberry. Running behind that line are Soso Jamabo, Nate Starks and Bolu Olorunfunmi.
One of the problems the running backs face is their lack of breakaway speed. They have the size but once they get past the defensive line they can’t get pass the linebackers. Hopefully for the Bruins that will change on Saturday.
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