What I Didn't Know About UCLA

How much did everyone pay attention to UCLA football throughout the season? I watched them blow past Nebraska 41-21 in early September because that game was on the TV in the bar next to the one broadcasting the Hokies. Outside of that, I didn't watch much Bruins football. For my own edification, I watched UCLA's games against Stanford (L 10-24), Arizona State (L, 33-38), and USC (W, 35-14).

UCLA (9-3, 6-3) finished runner up to Arizona State (10-3, 8-1) in the Pac-12 South. The Bruins were ranked 17th in the final BCS Standings. Of the teams they played ranked in the final BCS Poll UCLA lost to no. 5 Stanford, no. 10 Oregon, no. 14 Arizona State, and beat no. 25 USC.

By a measure of traditional statistics, UCLA is a balanced and formidable opponent.

Football Outsiders F/+ advanced statistics paint an even more impressive picture of UCLA's season. UCLA ranks 13th overall, 21st on offense, 23rd on defense, and 8th on special teams. By comparison, Virginia Tech ranks 21st overall, 77th on offense, 1st on defense, and 91st on special teams.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Vegas has tabbed UCLA as the early favorite.

UCLA opens as a 7-point favorite against the #Hokies in the Sun Bowl.— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) December 9, 2013

This is what popped off the film for me.

Dual-Threat quarterback Brett Hundley will give Virginia Tech's defense fits. The Hokies need a better game plan than the one that tried to contain Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown. UCLA's bread and butter run seems to be the zone read, and Hundley has the size (6-3, 222 pounds), speed, and elusiveness to churn out big gains. The coaches also take advantage of Hundley's legs with QB draws and designed runs. Hundley has a moderate pocket presence, and improvises well. UCLA features play-action more often than not.

UCLA loves taking advantage of underneath routes. Swing passes to the running back and wide receiver screens are favorites of their play caller. The short stuff really helps Hundley get into the flow of the game. Also, their skills guys make plays in space.

Pass protection is an issue. UCLA has allowed 34.0 sacks (109th nationally), Injuries forced shuffling on the offensive line earlier in the season. Xavier Su'a-Filo, for my money UCLA's best offensive lineman, moved outside from guard to tackle. He's a three year starter. UCLA has started 3 freshman at various times throughout the season (Quessenberry, Redmond, Benenoch). The o-line is only part of the problem though. Hundley is at times indecisive, or can get caught in the backfield scrambling. Also, there were situations where 6 defenders came and the tailback was ineffective at picking up the extra man.

Unless Virginia Tech gets their punt and kick coverage right, Ishmael Adams (#24) is going to break a big return. He did it multiple times in the games I watched. He's got jets and a knack for finding the crease.

UCLA runs a 3-4 defense and their linebackers are the strength of the unit. Outside linebacker Anthony Barr (6-4, 248-pounds) won the Lott IMPACT Trophy as the defensive player having the biggest influence on his team. Barr is a big and quick defensive stalwart who finished the season with 63 tackles, 20.0 tackles for loss, and 10.0 sacks. Jonathan McLaughlin is going to have his hands full. Myles Jack won the Pac-12's Freshman Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year award. He's a sure tackler (70 on the season). Jack also got carries at tailback because of injuries. He amassed 267 yards on 37 carries (7.2 yards per carry) and scored 7 times. He's a powerful short yardage back with a high gear too. Inside backers Eric Kendricks and Jordan Zumwalt are both multi-season starters who lead the Bruins in tackles, 105 and 83 respectively.

The secondary is serviceable, but not special.

Senior defensive end Cassius Marsh (6-4, 260 pounds) started 37 games. He's disruptive as a pass rusher, and really holds his ground and ties up a blocker against the run. He comes off as a mean player on film.

UCLA may be the best team Tech's played since Alabama. UCLA was very competitive in losses to Stanford and Arizona. They also had their way with way with a hot USC. The Cardinal was only able to put UCLA away late in the 4th quarter. UCLA had the ball down 10-17 when Hundley threw a pick with less than 3 minutes in the game.

Against Arizona State, UCLA was down 33-38 in the fourth quarter. In fact, the Bruins had outscored the Sun Devils 20-3 in the second half. With 9:15 to go UCLA drove to the 6-yard-line. They had two downs to score but pressure resulted in a 1-yard loss on second down, and a 13-yard sack on third down. Of course they missed the 38-yard field goal.

In October, AP college football writer Eric Olson noted 17 true freshmen, 13 of the top 22 on the depth chart, had played for UCLA this season. The Bruins are a talented, young team that spent 2013 trying figure out how to win against top competition. Perhaps they got over the hump against USC. Regardless, it's going to be a tall order for the Hokies to leave El Paso as Sun Bowl champions.