Since Purdue beat Illinois this last weekend, I thought I would pull up the entire game of UCLA vs Purdue and take a look and pass along my thoughts.

The big picture? The Bruins were only leading by seven points with ten minutes left in the game, and the Boilermakers simply ran out of gas--especially on defense. (UCLA won 52-38) In the end, Purdue was intercepted at the goal line which would have tied the game. UCLA then went down and got another TD to close out the game...and I am feeling that our game could go that way--only with the Ducks making a defensive stop at the end, and beating the large 11.5 point spread.

It is so hard to judge, because the Bruins looked pretty impressive on offense. Purdue put up a ton of points on UCLA because their QB was exceptional that day, and I sense weakness in the UCLA secondary--that we can exploit if we are looking for those receivers downfield this game. The openings will be there, but we need to have confidence in them getting open, and the Oregon QB delivering it as Purdue did.

Nico Iamaleava

I see why Nico Iamaleava helped Tennessee get into the Playoffs two years ago, as he can be pretty accurate and is not afraid to throw the ball downfield. With their running game, the Play-Action really helps their receivers and TEs get separation. While that helps, I was not overly impressed with the Bruin WRs/TEs, as I would like to think that our DBs can make enough plays to slow their air attack.

The running attack is where I am most fascinated with UCLA....what were they doing? How was their blocking unique? Is that running back that good? Is their offense that special?

No, as a ton of their plays....are also ours. Inside and Outside Zone with the Counters, but UCLA blocked for these plays extremely well. The real question became...are the Bruins that good at run-blocking, or is the Purdue front seven that weak at run defense? I am going with Purdue being weaker, but frankly--it is hard to tell, and--I don't know if Oregon's defensive line will stand up and play as they are able to. The inside run defense has improved...but is it enough?

To me, that is where this game is decided; will our front seven on defense defeat enough of their blocks?

I say, "YES," but it may take awhile. UCLA is going to score points, and we need to keep our nose out front to get a lead, and answer to anything the Bruins put on the scoreboard. I am leary because so many disregarded Oregon's offense during Chip's hay-day here, as we did not have 5-Star offensive linemen...but the OL coaching was superb.

That could be happening here; UCLA could have extraordinary run-block coaching. But it will have to be proven as the game progresses.

Wayne Knight

I do believe that their Running Back, Wayne Knight, will give us grief. He is only 5'7" and hard to get to between his low-center of gravity, acceleration and jukes. Tackling him in the open field is going to be a big priority for the Ducks, to get him before he zips off. He epitomizes the Bruins to me as Nico does....they have some highly skilled players, but not enough of them yet.

This game is going to be incredibly interesting to watch in real-time, but also to watch in replay because I love to watch good blocking. It is the magic of football to me....

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Can you help a Duck-Buddy out?

Nico's QBR is in the 30s, Dylan's is 90. Nico helps lock up one defender with his running threat making it easier for the RB and blockers.

If there is a defining characteristic I see is they finish games super strong. Same was true for JMU against us. But I'm just not super worried here seeing that from a basic talent perspective Cal, SDSU and Rutgers were able to put up a bit of a fight. Maryland is the bottom feeder of the B1G. SDSU only won by 2 scores against Portland State. We've seen what Cal is.

If we play our game for 4 quarters we'll be fine, and unfortunately this will make UCLA unranked and I'm not sure they can get that ranking back later. We'll see.