Rebound or Repeat? Nebraska, UCLA Each Try to Right the Ship This Week

For the second time in as many weeks, Nebraska will be taking on a team fresh off of a bye week.

This time around, it’s a UCLA team who has had about as up-and-down a season as the Huskers. The Bruins are 3-5 on the year, but it’s also important to note they started the year 0-4. Since then, they’ve gone 3-1 with a monumental upset win over then-one-loss Penn State before following that up with a second-straight win over Michigan State in convincing fashion, 38-13.

They then made it three in a row with a narrow 20-17 win over Maryland, and it had everyone in the college football world wondering if UCLA figured things out following the firing of coach Deshaun Foster after the team’s 0-3 start.

After reeling off three-straight wins, UCLA came crashing back down to earth in a 56-6 blowout loss to Indiana. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Then, however, the hammer dropped back down on the Bruins when they went on the road to undefeated Indiana, and the fellas from Bloomington didn’t take any prisoners. The No. 2 Hoosiers put it on UCLA in a hurry, eventually winning 56-6 (Nebraska knows a thing or two about a loss like that in Bloomington).

The loss sent UCLA into its bye week with a very bad taste in its mouth and a lot to think about. Unfortunately, for Nebraska, it has given yet another Big Ten team the chance to spend two weeks thinking about how to limit what the Huskers can do.

That task will be a little bit different for UCLA this week, as they now know they’ll have only one week to prepare for a completely different quarterback in Lincoln. Dylan Raiola’s injury changes everything when it comes to game planning, and interim UCLA coach Tim Skipper admitted as much during his Monday weekly press conference.

UCLA said they had to go back to game film from Nebraska's games against Akron and Houston Christian to get a feel. — UCLA said they had to go back to game film from Nebraska's games against Akron and Houston Christian to get a feel for what TJ Lateef might bring to the table on Saturday. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“(It’s) kind of an unknown as far as actual reps, but there are reps from this season that we’ve seen on film,” Skipper said, referencing back to both the Akron and Houston Christian games where Nebraska quarterback TJ Lateef saw some time. “We’ll study those reps we already have, then also high school stuff, just to get a feel for him. We know we’re going to get some unscouted looks, unscouted plays.”

Skipper said in today’s college football, you can pretty much find film on anybody at any level of football. He joked that you could probably find film of him – suggesting that he’ll make sure his team is prepared for what Lateef can do with the football come Saturday in Los Angeles.

“I’m sure there’s things he does well that they’re going to want to do that they haven’t really shown,” Skipper said. “We’ll have to adjust as the game goes. I think he’s a dual threat. He has a strong arm, and he can run. He gives problems to defenses. We’re going to have to be ready for all of it.”

With TJ Lateef's in-game experience being minimal, UCLA is expecting Nebraska to lean on running back Emmett Johnson. — With TJ Lateef's in-game experience being minimal, UCLA is expecting Nebraska to lean on running back Emmett Johnson and their strong pass defense to keep things close. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

When you have a true freshman quarterback like Nebraska will on Saturday, it’s reasonable to expect the Huskers to lean on their other strengths if NU hopes to leave UCLA with its seventh win on the year.

Through nine games, Nebraska’s shown its non-Dylan Raiola strengths have been its defense as well as running back Emmett Johnson (at least when they actually utilize him – see Minnesota). UCLA, in turn, is expecting Nebraska to slow things down for Lateef in his first full start under center for Nebraska, which means it could be a time of possession battle between the two teams.

If that is the case, that means the Bruins will need to find success the same way teams like Michigan, Minnesota and USC have – by running the ball right at that Nebraska defensive front. That means this week, he’s preparing his guys for a little bit of everything from John Butler’s typical game plan.

Nebraska's defense gave USC plenty of fits in the narrow Trojans win during NU's "Blackout" game. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“They use multiple fronts, and they have a lot of hybrid players that could play outside backer,” Skipper said. “They could be outside rushers. They’re going to create a lot of havoc that way with the people they use. They create a lot of turnovers. They’re very good on third down. They don’t give up big plays in the passing game. They’re really good about keeping people in front of them.”

However, that kind of fits into UCLA’s game plan. They might not be trying to go over the top of Nebraska’s highly-touted pass defense. Instead, they plan to play actual Big Ten football and see if the Huskers can keep up.

” We’re going to have to do what we always do – we’re going to have to win in the trenches,” Skipper said. “We’re going to try to win the time of possession battle, control the ball and take what they give us.”

The formula to beating Nebraska is out, and it's running the football. It's a plan UCLA fully expects to use Saturday. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

When it comes to slowing down Nebraska, Skipper said he’s already been instructing his defense to keep an eye on Husker running back Emmett Johnson in all situations. He thinks with a “rookie” now under center, NU offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen will likely lean on his workhorse back to keep the scoring low, and Nebraska in control.

“Thousand-yard rusher – first one we’re going to get,” Skipper said of Johnson. “He’s a legitimate baller. He can do it all, and not only you think about running backs, you just think of them running, but he’s a threat out of the backfield as a pass catcher, too. (He’s) got to be an emphasis for us. We’re going to need to know where he is at all times. He does a great job of making people miss. I’m really impressed of how he plays.”

Skipper’s praise of Johnson didn’t stop there, either.

UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper says their toughest test will likely be NU running back Emmett Johnson. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“I come from a family of running back coaches, and I’ve watched a lot of backs, and he’s one of the top guys I’ve ever seen,” Skipper said. “I think he’s a really, really good player and we’ll have our hands full with him.”

It’ll be another night game for the Huskers after their blackout with No. 23 USC last weekend. This time, however, it’s going to be in the Rose Bowl, which has admittedly been a struggle to fill for UCLA this season. When they upset nationally-ranked Penn State back on October 4, they had a reported attendance of just 39,256. There will likely be even less Saturday night when Nebraska comes to town.

Skipper knows that even if the environment won’t feel like a “big game,” that Nebraska coach Matt Rhule will have his team hungry to come out and bounce back from the tough loss to the Trojans. He’s also excited to meet NU’s head man for the first time.

The stands may be relatively empty in the Rose Bowl Saturday, but UCLA fully expects NU coach Matt Rhule's team to be ready. — The stands may be relatively empty in the Rose Bowl Saturday, but UCLA fully expects NU coach Matt Rhule to have his squad ready. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“Really good ball coach,” Skipper said of Rhule. “I like what he does watching his programs from afar, and just excited to finally meet him since he knows my brother and my brother talks so highly about him.”

The Huskers and Bruins kick off at 8 p.m. CST, and the game will be televised nationally on FOX.

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