Game 1 Planner: UCLA at Stanford: Saturday, September 1

Sacks.

Sacks and the things that go with them will be the key to UCLA’s opener against the Cardinal in Palo Alto on Saturday.

Jim Harbaugh will debut as the coach of the Cardinal in Stanford Stadium in the first of eight home games for Stanford this season. While he is considered to be an astute offensive mind, if quarterback T.C. Ostrander spends most of his afternoon running away from Bruin defensive ends Bruce Davis and Nikola Dragovic, Stanford isn’t going to get very far.

The Cardinal has three starters back from an offensive line that gave up 50 sacks last season and averaged 2.1 yards per rushing attempt. Ostrander started the last five games of the season and completed less than 48% of his passes.

At the same time, UCLA needs to keep quarterback Ben Olson upright. With Patrick Cowan lost for most of the season with a torn hamstring, Olson needs good protection from the Bruin offensive line. That shouldn’t be a problem as Stanford returns six of its front seven from last year, a unit that had only 14 sacks for the entire season.

Worth watching for:

>> Player rotation: Weather.com is forecasting a hot day in Palo Alto, with temperatures reaching 85 degrees when the game starts at 90 degrees near game’s end.

>> Osaar a star: While UCLA has a very capable receiving corps, former quarterback (and emergency quarterback for this game) Osaar Rashaan has the makings of a game breaker. At 6-4 and 216 pounds, he’ll be a load for any linebacker or safety who would have to cover him as a slot receiver.

>> Too close for comfort: UCLA always seems to play Stanford close, no matter how good or bad the Cardinal is. Last year’s 31-0 final score is deceiving; it was a 7-0 game at halftime and only 14-0 at the end of three quarters. In 2005, the Bruins needed a miracle comeback led by Drew Olson to eke out a 30-27 win in overtime. In the last 15 UCLA-Stanford games played in Palo Alto, seven have been decided by a touchdown or less and the Cardinal has won three of the last four games against UCLA at home.

Worth watching after:

Following the game broadcast on FSN Prime Ticket, "Bruins Live" will air at about 4 p.m., followed by a Fox Sports "In My Own Words" documentary with Bruin head coach Karl Dorrell at about 4:30 p.m. Dorrell was interviewed by FSN’s Michael Eaves for the program.