Pac 12 Title Game: Oregon vs. UCLA, Neuheisel's Last Stand.
By Ty Duffy
On the Road Again: The Pac 12 will make alterations, but this remains a road gae for UCLA, which is unfortunate. Their last four road games – USC (50-0), Utah (31-6), Arizona (48-12) and Stanford (45-19) – do not bode well for them here.
The Offense: UCLA’s offense is not terrible statistically, but it’s predicated on the running game. That’s a problem against Oregon (1) because you must abandon it when you fall behind and (2) because they can contain well enough (see: LSU, Oregon, Stanford) to force teams to beat them another way. LSU forced turnovers. USC attacked their secondary. UCLA has no second option.
The Defense: The Bruins’ defense allows about six yards per play. Oregon will be running a large number of plays. Expect a 570-plus yard total like USC and Arizona had and flashily dressed dudes with wings running all over the place.
In the Red Zone: UCLA must keep Oregon from putting sevens or eights on the board and score a touchdown every time they have an opportunity. The Bruins are 12th in red zone offense and 11th in red zone defense.
Odd Fact: The 1983 UCLA Bruins went to the Rose Bowl after winning just six games during the regular season. That team’s quarterback? Rick Neuheisel.
Prediction: Oregon has home-field, even if they have not been able to practice on it. According to the stat boffins, UCLA is the worst team playing in a conference championship game this weekend. Lay the points.
[Photo via Getty]