Premier Pac-12 Showdown Between UCLA Football, Oregon Under National Spotlight
It has been 25 years since the Bruins and Ducks found themselves in this scenario, and a lot has changed since then.
UCLA football (5-2, 3-1 Pac-12) and No. 10 Oregon will be the centerpiece of ESPN College GameDay on Saturday prior to their matinee at the Rose Bowl. The last time the Bruins were the host team for GameDay, the year was 1998, and they were marching their way toward a sure-fire national title game appearance while the Ducks were only in their infancy of national relevance.
The two top-25 teams went to overtime that day, with UCLA emerging victorious, but the program has hardly ever reached those same heights in the over quarter century since.
The Bruins have not been to a Rose Bowl or any New Year's Six bowl since that season, only finishing in the AP top 25 three times. The Ducks, meanwhile, have gone to their fair share of national championship games and Rose Bowls, and coach Chip Kelly was at the helm for a good chunk of their emergence.
Fastforward to 2021 and Kelly is on the sidelines for UCLA, leading the team to what is on track to be their most successful season since 2014. As a result, Kelly's Bruins are right in the thick of things in the race for the Pac-12 title, right alongside the Ducks.
The stars aligning in the two programs' success and the implications in the conference standings are what set up Saturday's game to be featured on College GameDay, although the players are trying not to let the increased attention throw them off their routine.
"I think motivation is always the same – go out with the same kind of intensity in practice throughout the week and always the same goal in mind," said tight end Greg Dulcich. "I just think it’ll be a really fun atmosphere having GameDay there and it’ll be really exciting."
The game isn't only going to have eyes on it because of the special pregame event, however.
For one, the winner will likely be the top-ranked team in the Pac-12 with heaps of momentum and possibly a first-place division standing to boot. There will also be a lot of players suiting up Saturday that will find themselves playing on Sundays in the not-to-distant future, and competing in a premier day game in the heart of Southern California is guaranteed to draw the scouts out in droves.
Oregon linebacker Noah Sewell is making his mark as a first-year, leading the Ducks in tackles, sacks and tackles for loss and recently scooping up Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors. Safety Verone McKinley has three interceptions through six games, and cornerback Mykael Wright and center Alex Forsythe could be joining him as a mid-round pick this spring as well.
Edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux is the cream of the crop coming out of Eugene, however, and could very likely be the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson said he is well aware of the skillset and dominance Thibodeaux brings to the table – he got pressure on the quarterback on 11 of his 22 rushes against Cal in Week 7 – but that he trusts the two NFL hopefuls working up front for UCLA.
"We've got two really good tackles in Sean (Rhyan) and Alec (Anderson), and we go up against one of the best D-linemen in the country in Mitchell Agude too," Thompson-Robinson said. "Obviously it's gonna be a challenge, it's gonna give us some problems at times cause he's a really good player, but I think we'll be up for the challenge. I'll take my guys in a fight every day."
Thompson-Robinson's counterpart on the Ducks' side is quarterback Anthony Brown, a former transfer out of Boston College who does a lot of damage with his legs.
Brown is completing just 59.2% of his passes for a mere 7.9 yards per attempt, which rank No. 10 and No. 6 in the Pac-12, respectively. His 141.7 passer rating is also No. 7 in the conference, well behind Thompson-Robinson's conference-best 156.1 mark.
The Oregon crowd got fed up with Brown against Cal a week ago, booing him and chanting in support of backup Ty Thompson, only for the incumbent to put up season-highs with 244 passing yards and a 71.4% completion percentage. Brown also ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with 13 total touchdowns – eight through the air and five on the ground – compared to one interception, and is on pace to finish the season with roughly 500 rushing yards.
"He’s a kid who can beat you both running and throwing," Kelly said. "It’s an RPO-based offense, everything they do is trying to put your defense in conflict. They probably run more RPOs than anybody in the country, that’s kind of what their MO is."
Dealing with a dual-threat signal-caller is nothing new to this UCLA defense, but slowing them down hasn't exactly been a common occurrence.
Hawaii's Chevan Cordeiro put up good numbers but was largely held in check in the season opener. Arizona State's Jayden Daniels torched the Bruins for 331 total yards without taking a single sack though, and Arizona's Jordan McCloud had the Wildcats in a position to upset the Bruins before he injured his leg and left the game in the second half.
Going against Thompson-Robinson in practice is something that has helped UCLA better prepare for mobile quarterbacks, according to linebacker Ale Kaho. Studying game film from those Hawaii, Arizona State and Arizona, Kaho said, is also going to be key in turning things around against Brown.
"Learning from our past mistakes in previous games," Kaho said. "I think the biggest takeaway from that is – at least for me and our defense – is just more of a breaking down and making those tackles on mobile quarterbacks, because you know they’re shifty and can move around the pocket."
Brown was on the bench in favor of Tyler Shough when UCLA and Oregon played last year, meaning both teams will have different starting quarterbacks than they did when they played in 2020. Thompson-Robinson was out due to COVID-19 protocols, and it was backup Chase Griffin who led the Bruins to the near-upset in Eugene, losing 38-35.
Kickoff for Saturday's rematch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at the Rose Bowl.
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