UCLA hosts #8 Oregon in Pasadena Saturday at 8:00 P.M. on Fox and there’s one telling stat that pretty much indicates the Bruins are cooked, unless they play to a dramatically different standard than they have in the first three games.
First-year head coach DeShaun Foster’s squad is 1-2 after losses to Indiana in the Rose Bowl, 42-13 and LSU in Death Valley, 34-17. They’ve scored just four touchdowns in three games.
The Bruins’ leading rusher T.J. Harden has a long run of 14 yards, and as a team they rush for a paltry 60.3 yards a game. Quarterback Ethan Garbers, a 2021 transfer from Washington, throws a decent ball but he’s been sacked 8 times, forced to improvise on the run far too often. The defense surrenders 5.88 yards per play, 90th in the country, a full yard per snap more than the Ducks do at 4.79, 39th.
But one stat in particular is the killer. On both sides of the ball, Foster’s irregulars have been woeful on third down. The defense ranks dead last in the nation at stopping opponents on third down, giving up a first down 56% of the time. The Bruin offense converts only 33%, tied for 104th out of the FBS’ 134 teams.