UCLA's Biggest Defensive Crutch and How to Fix It

The UCLA Bruins (3-3, 3-6 Big Ten) have always had two glaring issues on the defensive side all season -- edge containment and quarterback pressure.

The Bruins haven't recorded a sack since defeating Michigan State nearly a month ago, and interim coach Tim Skipper detailed just how to fix the issue as his squad travels to Columbus to take on No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday.

ucl — Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin (10) looks at the video board during the NCAA football game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. on Nov. 8, 2025. Ohio State won 34-10. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"It's always a thing, right?" Skipper said during Monday's media availability. "And then sometimes we're dropping into coverage and things like that and playing coverage and trying to just bull rush and keep quarterbacks in the pocket. It's all a combination of things. And then it always comes down to winning your one-on-ones, right?

"You got to win your one-on-one each individual battle to get to the QB. We're doing some spy stuff in certain games also. So, it just all has to work together. There's always different challenges. Sometimes we're playing teams that have their slide in the front, so we have to read the slide and then counter the slide.

"So, there's a lot of different factors that go into it, but we'll keep doing what we're doing. Just try to keep getting better and try to apply some pressure to quarterbacks."

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith, right, meets with UCLA's interim head coach Tim Skipper after the Spartans loss on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The defensive line generating pressure has been a problem all season. Through nine games, the Bruins have only six sacks. Dual threat quarterbacks like Utah's Devon Dampier, UNLV's Anthony Colandrea and, more recently, Nebraska's TJ Lateef have punished UCLA's inability to contain the edges. Sadly, the Bruins may just be out of time to improve and compete for anything.

Sep 14, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; A pylon with the Big Ten Conference and the UCLA Bruins logos at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

UCLA Strength of Schedule Skyrockets as Bowl Game Hopes Dwindle

Starting the season with four-straight losses doesn't net a team the greatest chances at making a bowl game, but interim coach Tim Skipper immediately ripped off three wins and boosted the hope in the locker room. UCLA's chances are all but zero after Saturday's loss.

The path to three wins with three games remaining is daunting for the Bruins. According to ESPN's FPI, UCLA has the strongest remaining strength of schedule in college football, up two spots from where it ranked going into the Nebraska game.

The Bruins are the 68th-ranked team in the FPI. The index gives them the 90th-ranked game control rating, which measures the chance that the average top 25 team would control a game the way UCLA did. UCLA is also near the bottom of the sport in average in-game win probability, sitting 122nd in the country.

The index gives the Bruins a 0.1% chance of winning out in the last three games and, hence, a 0.1% chance to make a bowl game.

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UCLA Strength of Schedule Skyrockets as Bowl Game Hopes Dwindle

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