Defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker compared Saturday’s matchup against No. 12 Cal as someone trying sneak into your refrigerator and eat all your food. Cornerback Trey Brown dubbed it a 12-round bout.
Either way, whether the game is a boxing match or a lesson in keeping intruders out of your kitchen, the Bruin defense sees it as an opportunity to prove themselves against a top-tier offense.
Golden Bear wide receiver DeSean Jackson is one of the most explosive players in the country, and the receiving corps as a whole is one of the best in the nation. Needless to say, the Bruin secondary will have their hands full.
“(Jackson’s) been making plays his whole career,” Brown said. “We know about him and we know they have a good corps of receivers, and one thing is we think we’ve got a good secondary as well. We’re very confident going into this game, and we feel like we’re going to be able to make plays.”
For Brown, who will be matched up against Jackson on Saturday afternoon, intimidation is not a factor.
“I have a great deal of confidence in myself as well as the other guys I’m surrounded by out there on the defense, and we’re ready to go,” Brown said. “We’re not scared of (anybody), and it doesn’t matter who lines up in front of us; we’re going to go out there and get the job done.”
The problem for the UCLA defense is the number of play makers that Cal presents ““ meaning keying in on Jackson too much would just open up opportunities for other players.
“He’s not the only guy you’ve got to defend,” Walker said. “They’ve got running backs, they’ve got other receivers, they’ve got two good quarterbacks, and they’ve got a real good offensive line. We’re trying to put together a total scheme to take care of all their weapons.”
As usual, the Bruin defense will take a “stop the run first” approach tomorrow as the Bears’ vaunted receivers did not draw any special treatment in practice this week.
“We prepare for every receiving corps pretty much the same,” Walker said. “We want to figure out what they’re trying to do. We want to figure out who they’re trying to get the ball to. We want to put our guys in a position to be competitive.”
Last season, the Bruins did a solid job stopping Jackson on offense, limiting him to just three catches in an ugly 38-24 loss in Berkeley.
However, the secondary gave up 17 more receptions to six other players for a total of 266 yards and three touchdowns through the air.
For Walker’s second time facing offensive guru Jeff Tedford, the lesson from that game has already been learned.
“Last year, I was really worried about their receivers,” Walker said. “Though they had a running back, you try to put Band-Aids on everything. I think everything with them starts with the run game. We’ve done a good job this year trying to make teams one-dimensional. We’ve got to continue to do that. They’ve got a very good running game. So to me, it’s stop the run first, and we have to be real smart on how we attack their passing game.”
After Oregon State upset Cal at home last week, the Bruins know the Bears will be looking to put it behind them in a big way.
“I know they’re hungry for a win,” Walker said.
“They’re going to try to go in our refrigerator, so we’ve got to keep them out.”