Players to Watch: No. 9 Bruins vs. No. 16 Wildcats

They look steady heading into Pac-12 play.

This week, we grade UCLA’s 24-23 win over BYU. They didn’t even win three games previous year.

Quarterback Josh Rosen (Jerry Neuheisel) Total of 710 yards passing. He threw three interceptions, two of them in the red zone.

Why Arizona Will Win Rosen is a budding superstar.

Will USC get over the first road hump of their Pac-12 schedule?

Takeaway: Hold off on all those declarations that the Cal defense is much improved. Alsadek started 11 games last reason at right guard and was a USA Today Freshman All American. Unlike Virginia and UNLV, BYU refrained from blitzing Rosen for the most part.

The Aggies (3-0) were up by four early in the second quarter before scoring 17 straight points, with two touchdown catches by Josh Reynolds, to make it 31-10 early in the third. According to UCLA’s game notes, the Bruins are 60-55 all-time against the Trojans.

The numbers speak for themselves. He is averaging seven yards per carry. Perhaps. The win at USC was impressive.

-RB Paul Perkins is running neck-and-neck with Arizona’s Nick Wilson for the Pac-12 rushing lead. UCLA has more weapons, but Arizona has four primary weapons in the Wildcats receiving corps.

That has altered the way UCLA receivers react.

Next: vs. UCLA, September 26.

“The tight end is the second read”, Payton said.

“It’s been a huge emphasis yesterday and today and it will continue to be until we get it fixed”, Poppinga added. Nine of his rushing attempts during the contest led to a first down and or a touchdown.

And, one more thing about this Saturday – No. 18 Utah plays at No. 13 Oregon.

Now coming off a humbling loss over Stanford in the Coliseum, USC faces a trip to Tempe, which has seen Arizona State dominate the previous two matchups.

Arizona is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing UCLA.

The Beavers face the Washington schools for the only time in the regular season the next week. “Going against such a big team, it’s going to be a big challenge”. Overall, it was just business as usual for UCLA’s strong defensive line. To their credit, the running game and the offensive line have both been dominant.

However, his third start has to be somewhat concerning for UCLA.

Brown and Savaiinaea were the unsung heroes of the Bruin defense on Saturday. He has run the ball four times this season, and three were scrambles. Concentration could be a key factor in this week’s game.

The Bruins had Perkins on the bench for their game-winning touchdown drive Saturday.

As for Savaiinaea, he had a standout performance that went beyond the stat sheet. It is critical for the Bruins to prepare for Arizona’s big-play defense. The junior, a former receiver, has good in coverage because of his athleticism, but his physical play has been a pleasant surprise. Moreau’s replacement – redshirt freshman cornerback Denzel Fisher – wasn’t almost as efficient. He has scored on runs of 57, 72 and 73 yards in the past two weeks. The result was a proliferation of intermediate passes by the Cougars. For example, the BYU game looked like nearly certain defeat. I think, thanks to our administration, that is exactly what we got.

The Yellow Jackets hit their first speed bump of the 2015 season in Week 3. He also returned a kickoff for a touchdown and was the only UCLA player named to the All-Pac-12 Conference first team.

On Saturday, Fuller had his first full-time opportunity as punt returner, and he made it count. “They had five rushes that accumulated for 173 yards, and everyone of them had an unblocked player that missed a tackle”. “I especially like Deon Hollins’ pass rushing chances against a much larger (and slower) Tagaloa at 6’8”. “And, you know, it felt good”.

BYU’s special teams allowed UCLA to gain field position through multiple long kick returns.