For the first time this season, the Oklahoma Sooners are heading on the road. Stop number one? The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
While the venue is grand, the opponent is…not so hot.
The UCLA Bruins are in quite a tough spot. Chip Kelly, who was hired in 2018 to try to turn things around in Westwood, finds himself 0-2 in his second season. Since Kelly has arrived, things have seemingly gotten worse.
Now, the Bruins must turn it around against the #5 team in the country, or continue to sink into the abyss.
Meet the Bruins
UCLA is a team with an anemic offense and a wet paper towel of a defense.
However, when a team is at its lowest, they go to two places: they either sink lower, or make a stand.
UCLA’s performance Saturday will tell us what type of team they will be this season. Do they have the heart to make this game close? Frankly, I don’t know if they have the talent.
Who to Watch For:
Demetric Felton, WR #10
Through two games, UCLA ranks as one of the least explosive offensive teams in college football. One has to wonder how much worse this unit would be if Demetric Felton wasn’t on the team.
Felton leads the Bruins in both receiving and rushing yards, despite being a wide receiver. Here’s the thing: both races aren’t even close. Felton has double the yards of both guys in second.
Honestly, this guy was selected in this category by default.
Why You Should Be Excited
It’s OU at the Rose Bowl, quite possibly the greatest venue in college football. How can you not be excited? Even if this isn’t the much more notable game on New Year’s Day, the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains at sunset with palm trees peeking over the ancient bowl will still be on full display. Even if you are watching at home, it’ll be a fantastic scene.
Series History (OU Leads 4-1)
This is the third game against UCLA in the Rose Bowl for the Sooners, with the last meeting in 2006 providing the one loss in the series.
Maurice Drew, UCLA’s star running back had lost his grandfather during their game against Rice. In order to honor him, he added his grandfather’s surname to his jersey.
He took the field as Maurice Jones-Drew for the first time that day against the Sooners and never looked back.
There is a ton of other OU-UCLA history, which can be found in last season’s OU-UCLA article.
The Schooner Blog 