Game 8 planner: UCLA at Washington State, Saturday, Oct. 27

The UCLA football team is 5-2 overall, has a 4-0 mark in Pac-10 play and a seven-game conference win streak heading into Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. game at 2-5 Washington State. The Cougars are 0–4 in conference play and have lost four games overall.

A walk-over, right?

No.

Remember Utah? Notre Dame? How about last year’s game at the Rose Bowl, when the Cougars thrashed the Bruins, 37-15? Or that UCLA has lost five of its last six to Washington State and four of five in Pullman. Or that the last two times that WSU has had a four-game losing streak going into a game with the Bruins, the Cougars won, in 1997 and 2004. And:

>> WSU is 2-5, but 2-1 at home, beating San Diego State, 45-17, and Idaho, 45-28, and then losing a close game to Arizona State, 23-20, on Oct. 6. The Cougars have been pasted on the road, losing all four of its away games by at least 21 points.

>> The Bruins need to keep quarterback Patrick Cowan upright, but the Cougars have 10 sacks in their last two games against Oregon and Arizona State and 23 tackles for loss.

>> In three career games against the Bruins, Washington State quarterback Alex Brink has completed 65.3% of his passes for 759 yards and six touchdowns.

In addition, Pullman is in a rural area of eastern Washington that isn’t easy to get to (the Bruins fly into and stay in Moscow, Idaho) and the bus ride to Martin Stadium is a long one.

Should the Bruins even show up? They will and they should win. The key matchups:

(1) WSU’s defense has not been confused with the Great Wall of China. The Cougars give up an average of 161 yards a game rushing and 287 yards a game passing, as well as 36.9 points per game. Opponents have had 86 drives from scrimmage against the Cougars this season and have scored 41 times (47.7%). The Bruins should be able to move the ball.

(2) Cougar quarterback Brink has been great, completing 62.5% of his passes, but he’s usually been playing from behind. He has 18 touchdowns, but also seven interceptions and has been sacked 15 times. If the Bruins can pressure him, they could cause turnovers.

(3) WSU has been outscored in every quarter: 79-45 in the first, 74-54 in the second, just 57-56 in the third, but has fallen apart in the fourth, scoring just 17 points to 48 for its opponents.

That last note makes Saturday’s game look a bit like the Oregon State game, in which it was tight into the fourth quarter and then the Bruins exploded for a 40-14 win. Oddsmakers have the Bruins as a six-point favorite.

The game will kick off about 3:30 p.m. and will be televised live on Fox Sports West in Los Angeles with Brian Davis on the play-by-play, former WSU and NFL quarterback Mark Rypien as analyst and Michael Eaves on the sidelines. On the radio, Chris Roberts and Matt Stevens will call the game on KLAC-AM (570) and the Bruin Radio Network with Wayne Cook on the sidelines. As with all Bruin road games, we’ll have continuous in-game commentary on this blog.

Comments

[Jon Kavulic]

There should a rule. UCLA is never allowed to be ranked. Whenever we're ranked, we lose. Unranked? We win.

So, we should win today and then next week when we're ranked 24th, we better watch out.

Fire Karl Dorrell!

Hire DeWayne Walker!

GO BRUINS!