UCLA Football: Bruins' Season on the Line vs. Oregon

Saturday’s Pac-12 football clash between preseason conference favorites, No. 18 UCLA and No. 12 Oregon, has taken on a single-game elimination feel.

Both the Bruins and Ducks come into the highly anticipated cross-divisional affair with the fresh wounds of home losses. Oregon dropped a 31-24 decision to Arizona, and UCLA fell to Utah, 30-28.

UCLA and Oregon both came into the 2014 campaign with realistic designs on the College Football Playoff. And the dream is still very much alive for both, despite losing in Week 6.

They certainly weren’t alone in being bit by an insect. College football was swarmed by a veritable infestation that saw Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas A&M and playoff long shot Brigham Young all get stung.

Bruins head coach Jim Mora may have described the landscape in the wake of an upset-mad weekend best: “There are not many teams out there that don't have a wound,” he said.

Equally as astute was Mora’s followup.

“It’s how you respond,” he said.

To keep its championship hopes intact, UCLA must respond against an opponent that hasn’t lost back-to-back games in the same season since 2007. That year was also the last in which the Ducks failed to win at least 10 games.

If there’s a bar by which others in the Pac-12 are measured, it’s Oregon. Having to measure up against the conference’s measuring stick coming off a loss excites UCLA defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

“It’s a perfect game for where we’re at right now, because we’re disappointed with what occurred [against Utah],” Ulbrich said after Wednesday’s practice at Spaulding Field.

The disappointment comes from giving up 242 rushing yards to the Utes. Sixty came on their game-winning drive moments after UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley’s touchdown pass to wide receiver Eldridge Massington gave the Bruins their only lead of the night.

USA TODAY Sports

“It was a great learning moment for our guys,” Ulbrich said. “To me, being at your best when your best is required is all about understanding the moment.”

The moment’s presenting itself Saturday, as Oregon comes in with the nation’s ninth-most prolific scoring offense—par for the course in a program that has ranked in the top 10 for points scored each of the previous six seasons.

With Lou Spanos as its coordinator, the UCLA defense saw Oregon rack up 42 points in last year’s Ducks win in Autzen Stadium.

But coming off the loss, that’s exactly the kind of challenge Ulbrich said the Bruins want to see.  

“You want a worthy opponent,” he said. “And that’s what [Oregon is] across the board.”

Conference-wide recognition of Oregon as that worthy opponent—if not the preeminent Pac-12 opponent—means the Ducks are getting teams' best shots week after week.

That’s not necessarily anything different from the last few years, but what has changed, according to Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich, is how much better the Pac-12 is as a whole.

“There’s a ton of parity in this conference,” he said on Tuesday’s conference call. “You have to be ready to rock every single snap.”

Such is the “reality” of playing in the Pac-12, as Helfrich described it. And that reality is why a win Saturday is so critical to both teams' playoff outlook.

Another topsy-turvy day like Week 6—or just season-long attrition catching up to championship contenders—could open a backdoor into the College Football Playoff for a two-loss team.

But that’s relying on variables out of each team’s hands.

“I know it’s a lot easier if you [win out],” Helfrich said. “The only way that happens is if you handle your business.”

The Maligned Line

USA TODAY Sports

If the UCLA offensive line took a step forward in its 62-27 rout of Arizona State on Sept. 25, the unit took two big strides back in the Utah loss.

Utes defenders got to Hundley for 10 sacks on Saturday night. That’s a number haunting offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone’s dreams.

He said Wednesday after practice that preparing him for Oregon could be causing him to lose sleep. But if it’s not the Ducks keeping Mazzone awake?

“I can’t sleep at night because of the 10 sacks,” he said.

Mazzone said Utah exploited “poor technique” and beat the Bruins blockers in one-on-one situations.

Offensive line coach Adrian Klemm attributed the lack of execution to a lack of confidence among the unit’s younger players—of which there are plenty. UCLA started three true freshmen a season ago, all of whom are now true sophomores.

A third second-year player, redshirt freshman Kenny Lacy, is in the current rotation.

Klemm said the line has practiced well this week but did so in preparation for Utah as well. The difference against the Ducks has to be playing as the Bruins have practiced.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

 “How you carry over [practice] to game, it’s no different,” Klemm said. “You can’t start second-guessing yourself…That comes with maturity.”

UCLA needs to demonstrate that maturity against an Oregon defense that got to Hundley for three sacks a season ago.

Ducks linebacker Tony Washington was a handful for tackle Caleb Benenoch rushing off the edge in last year’s contest. Washington beat Benenoch for a sack and a crucial strip of Hundley.

Stopping Marcus Mariota

USA TODAY Sports

When asked what in Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota’s game worries Ulbrich, the UCLA defensive coordinator said: “What doesn’t worry [me] about Mariota?”

Ulbrich cited Mariota’s ever-improving passing: The redshirt junior is completing 71.1 percent of his attempts and has 15 touchdowns with no interceptions on the season.

Of course, containing Mariota means having to be ready for as capable a runner as a passer.

Mariota has 215 rushing yards on the season and averages more than five yards per carry.

However, last week against Arizona, Ducks offensive coordinator Scott Frost opted to use Mariota as a ball-carrier sparingly. The result was just one yard gained on the ground.

I asked Ulbrich how much that impacted his defense’s prep for Mariota as a true dual-threat playmaker.

“Not much,” he said.

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise cited. Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com.