UCLA QB Rosen not concerned by crowd noise at Texas A&M

This is easily the best individual matchup of the entire game and one of the best you’ll see all weekend.

Rosen downplaying the Kyle Field crowd by saying that all noise is the same once you get past a certain point didn’t sit well with Aggies fans, who are now taking it as a challenge to rattle Rosen. Mora will also be matched against his offensive coordinator the last four years, Noel Mazzone, who moved into the same role with Texas A&M this season.Mazzone will have an experienced quarterback to guide in Trevor Knight, a graduate transfer from Oklahoma who beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to cap the 2013 season, but transferred during the off-season after he was beaten out for the starting job by Baker Mayfield. Despite (or perhaps because of) having two different elite quarterback recruits start games for them, the Aggies only managed a paltry 5.5 Yards Per Play.

“We’ll put a tight end on that side at times, and we’ll use our backs to chip him (Garrett) at times”, UCLA coach Jim Mora told the L.A. Daily News. “The best example is against Utah (last season)”.

The Gators are in the middle of a West Coast road trip that started on Friday with a game at #3 Stanford which Florida lost 1-0 in overtime.

It must have been especially infuriating for the 12th Man to watch A&M flail away on offense with a Passing Success Rate of 38.6% (good for 82nd in the country according to Football Study Hall) when they actually had a pretty solid run game, with a Rushing Success Rate of 48.0%, good for 17th in the country.

UCLA defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes was primed for a big year before he suffered a season-ending injury during a celebration in the season opener. Knight will have Christian Kirk, one of the best wide receivers in the game, at his disposal. Rosen threw for 3,668 yards as a freshman and will face a safety unit that A&M coach Kevin Sumlin is very fond of.

Josh Rosen (3) is a talented passer. UCLA defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes’ return from almost a yearlong absence should make the Bruins far less pliant. They also are playing with Knight at quarterback. He will have his head on a swivel all day, being mindful of All-SEC defensive end Myles Garrett, who comes into the season as one of the top players in college football.

Garrett was absolutely stellar as a freshman when he first arrived in College Station. He had 50 tackles and 5 1/2 tackles for losses in 2014. Just in time for UCLA to transition from bigger possession receivers to smaller deep threats.

This is a tough game to get a read on and one of Week 1’s most even matchups. A win over UCLA should quiet some of the hot seat talk around Sumlin, and in order for that to happen, the Aggies need a flawless effort from Knight and a consistent pass rush from Hall and Garrett.