Bears look to defend Berkeley against little brother UCLA

October 25, 7:43 AMCal Bears ExaminerRob Calonge

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Offense?  It certainly has been offensive in '08
(AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)

On May 23, 1919, California Governor William D. Stephens signed Assembly Bill 626 into law, which turned the State Normal School at Los Angeles into the Southern Branch of the University of California at Berkeley.  They became the second university in the state of California's history.

In 1926, their athletic teams entered the Pacific Coast Conference, but they still needed a nickname.  Enter the student council at Berkeley, who offered up the name, 'Bruins.'  A rivalry was born.  A year later, the regents renamed the University to what we all know and hate today, University of California at Los Angeles.  The 'at' has been replaced with a comma, but the rivalry hasn't changed between the two schools.

UCLA owns Cal in the rivalry (49-27-1), but recently they've had trouble getting back to being a dominant factor in the Pac-10.  Since 2003, The Bruins have a 38-32 record overall, including their 3-4 record this season.  In contrast, the Bears have a 47-23 record over the same period.  Despite the difference in fortunes, the Bears and Bruins have split their last six games - all with the home team being victorious.

Cal comes off another rough outing on the road while UCLA comes into Berkeley after an uplifting last second victory at home over Stanford.  The Bruins bring the Div I's 103rd-ranked offense and the 62nd-ranked defense into Memorial Stadium to face Cal's 31st ranked offense and defense.  The two teams will meet in Cal's annual Joe Roth Memorial Game.

Where UCLA excels is in kickoff returns (25th) and pass defense (22nd).  The problem with these great rankings are their 97th-ranked run defense and 115th-ranked run offense to go along with the 80th-ranked net punting average.  These rankings are taken from 119 teams in the Div I, so to be ranked in the 100's in any category is a huge red flag.

Cal's worst ranking is in pass efficiency (56th), which may be why the controversy over who will start has been such a big news story.  By the way, I still don't know who is starting, do you?  In fact, in Cal's pregame primer they state the following about both players:

[Nate] Longshore and Kevin Riley both saw action in Tucson - the fourth time they have played in the same game this year. Longshore ranks fifth in the Pac-10 in passing efficiency (134.2 rating), with Riley right behind in sixth (123.4). Together, they have combined to throw for 245.5 ypg and 14 touchdowns.

I'm not even sure that head coach, Jeff Tedford, knows who is starting yet.  Despite who the starting quarterback is, it's interesting to note that the Bears are ranked 12th in the country (1st Pac-10), in turnover margin.  It's interesting because the Bruins are ranked 92nd (7th Pac-10).

My partner in crime over at TFDSsports.com and colleague at the Raiders Examiner, Patrick Patterson, always says before a game, "You've gotta' stop the run and run the ball, then you have to win the turnover battle."  If Patterson is right, which I think he is, then this matchup looks like a perfect fit for Cal.

The highlight of this game will be the punting match up of the two top punters in the Pac-10.  Cal's Bryan Anger ranks first in the conference and fifth nationally in punting yardage, while the Bruins feature Aaron Perez, who ranks second in the Pac-10 and 14th nationally.

UCLA Bruins (3-4, 2-2) ; Last Week : Won vs Stanford Cardinal 23-20

Keys on Offense: The Bruins need to learn how to move the football and do it without turning it over.  As with any offense, it all starts with the leader at quarterback.  Kevin Craft brings a quarterback rating of 113.0 into the game, which is on the low-end for college quarterback ratings.  For the year, Craft has completed 147 passes on 251 attempts for a completion percentage of 58.6%, 1,518 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions.  Seven touchdowns with seven intereceptions in seven games might sound lucky if you're on a slot machine in Vegas, but for a quarterback in the Pac-10 it's not getting the job done.  If the Bruins are to have any hope at winning this game, Craft is going to have to step up his game.

One player that Craft can turn to is former Desean Jackson teammate and leading Bruin receiver, junior Terrence Austin.  Austin, listed generously at 5'11" and 161 lbs, is reportedly still harboring some resentment that coach Tedford didn't offer him a scholarship.  With 36 receptions for 363 yards and one touchdown, he ranks ninth in the Pac-10 and 118th nationally.  He'll be looking to prove that Tedford should've reunited him with Jackson a few years back.

Senior tailback Kahlil Bell leads UCLA in rushing, but the one for the Bears to watch out for is freshman runner, Derrick Coleman.  While Bell leads all rushers with 209 yards, he's only averaging 2.94 yards-per-carry.  On the other hand, Coleman has a 6.0 yards-per-carry average while rushing for 192 yards on only 32 runs.  Normally, you'd say that the Bruins need to get their running game on track, but maybe head coach Rick Neuheisel needs to just start Coleman.

The Bruins bright spots are their kickoff return team and their punter.  It'll be important for them to shine in Berkeley on Saturday.  Austin is normally the man that UCLA turns to for the kick return specialty and he has sparkled with a 23.96 return average.  Perez will need to achieve his goal of out punting Anger of Cal.  Field position could play a big part in the game, so these two players' performance is critical for UCLA.

Keys on Defense: When a team has to match up their weakness with another teams' strength, there is always a good chance that they won't fare well.  That's the dilemma that the Bruins face on Saturday when it comes to their rush defense.  They'll have to find a way to stop Shane Vereen and Jahvid Best, who can take it to the house if they are given the opportunity.  In other words, the Bruins need to limit those opportunities.  Lucky for them, they'll face a Cal offensive line that has struggled with consistency.

If UCLA can stop the Cal running game, they'll then have to contend with the pass.  Somehow, the Bruins have to find an answer for the Bears' tight end, Cameron Morrah.  Morrah leads all Cal receivers with five touchdowns, 254 yards, and 18 receptions.  When Cal needs a big play, Morrah is normally the target downfield.  For their pass defense to be effective, Korey Bosworth will have to get to the quarterback.  Brian Bosworth's nephew leads the Bruins with three and a half sacks on the year.

When the Bruins need to punt the ball, they'll face an explosive returner from Cal.  Syd'Quan Thompson has shown that he has all the abilities to change the face of a game with a good return.  UCLA has to also worry about Cal preventing a return by Thompson with their ability to block punts.  The Bears have already blocked three this season, resulting in touchdowns.

Cal Bears (4-2, 2-1) ; Last Week : Lost at Arizona Wildcats 27-42

Keys on Offense: Whoever the Bears decide to start on offense at quarterback, they'll need to play more like Joe Roth than themselves.  However, they'll be aided with both Vereen or Best running against a porous Bruin run defense.  The key for Cal is to not turn the ball over and to effectively open holes for their talented backs.  If Cal is able to run against UCLA, this game is over before it starts.  In order for that to happen, they'll have to play much better than they did last week against Arizona.  Although the Bears averaged 4.8 yards on the ground, they also took themselves out of drives with false starts, holding, and blocking penalties.  Playing in the confines of Memorial Stadium should aid them in correcting the flying flags.

Many can point to the Longshore interception for a touchdown as the reason for Cal's fall from grace last week, but the maligned quarterback faced dropped passes and many third and longs in the second half of that loss.  The Cal receivers haven't been a major factor during the season, but there have been flashes.  They'll have to do more than flash when the Bears need a big first down.

They made plays and we didn't. That's what happens when they have three plays that totaled over 150 yards. They had three explosion plays, perfect examples of explosion plays. Those are big plays and we didn't have any explosion plays. We were three-and-out or four-and-out. We were not answering with any plays of our own. Even though we answered in the first half and had a lead, you have to sustain that for four quarters. You have to be able to answer when they are making plays and we weren't able to do that. 
- Tedford on the difference between the Bears and Wildcats in last weeks' costly third quarter

Anger will look to continue his dominance in punting, while kicker Giorgio Tavecchio or David Seawright will handle the kicking duties.  Seawright, who missed last weeks' game with a groin pull, could still be out against UCLA.  Tavecchio more than proved he can do the job last week with a field goals from 40 and 42 yards.  His only miss was from 50, but it was his first ever attempted for Cal and it definitely had the distance to go 55 yards.  This could play a factor on Saturday in the later stages of the game.

Best won't be returning any kicks for Cal.  That job will again go to Jeremy Ross who averaged 21.3 on four returns last week in Arizona.  While the Bears would like to see Ross do great, they'll settle for him getting last weeks' average and not turning the ball over.

Keys on Defense: The Bears defense was chewed up last week for 179 yards on the ground by a team not known to have a strong running game.  They'll have to avoid repeating that performance a second week in a row.  Most of their trouble came with missing tackles and not getting off of blocks fast enough.  They'll get defensive tackle Tyson Alualu back at full strength to help shore up the run.

Big plays hurt the Bears more than anything last week.  One of those big plays came on a 56 yard touchdown to start the third quarter - with Thompson covering.  The Bears will need to limit these big plays to shorter gains if they intend to keep UCLA from scoring big against them.

Along with allowing over 100 yards to a receiver, the Bears defense also allowed Arizona's tight end to catch six passes for 91 yards.  Luckily, the Bears don't have to face a tight end on the level of Rob Gronkowski, but UCLA's Ryan Moya can make an impact if they can't cover him.  Moya comes into the game as the Bruins' second best receiving threat with 29 receptions, 279 yards, and three touchdowns.  The Bears need to make sure he is a non-factor or face the possibilites of a dormant Bruin passing attack coming alive.

Austin isn't as prolific on punt returns, averaging a little more than eight yards per return, but the Bears will have to be sure to protect Anger from being blocked by a squad that has already blocked three kicks this season.  As long as the Bears play as they have over the past few weeks on special teams, they'll do no worse than holding their own.

Cal Bears Examiner Prediction: In conclusion, this game hinges on whether or not the Bears defense can bounce back after a poor showing last week.  As long as the Bears keep the ball in their hands by effectively running the ball and are able to avoid big-play mistakes, like interceptions for touchdowns, they should easily hand UCLA its fifth loss of the year.

Cal 27 - UCLA 13