When cornerback Alterraun Verner and the rest of the UCLA defense travels to the Bay Area for their game against Cal this weekend, they will have to be prepared for something they have seen very little of in the past two games: the pass.
In the Bruins’ last two contests, they have had to handle two dynamic, yet vastly different, running games. Against Oregon, the Bruins saw a potent spread offense that gained 323 yards on the ground.
Last Saturday against Stanford, the Bruins faced a power running game led by Toby Gerhart, who carried the ball 27 times for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Due to the proficiency of the running game, both quarterbacks did not attempt many passes. Oregon’s Jeremiah Masoli attempted just 19 passes and completed five of them for 42 yards and a touchdown. Stanford’s Tavita Pritchard and Alex Loukas combined to attempt just 13 passes.
So, after not having many balls thrown their way in the past two games, how will the Bruin secondary stay sharp in order to be successful against a California offense that utilizes the pass with more regularity?
“It’s a good question,” Verner said. “Through practice, we get a lot of passes thrown at us, so even if we don’t get a lot of passes in the game, we still kind of go through the process of us getting balls thrown at us, trying to make plays on the ball. In the game it gets a little frustrating because with our position, it entails us getting passes thrown at us, and so that’s how we make our plays and try to help the team out.”
Thus far, the Bears have used two quarterbacks, Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley, each of whom has had success this season. Longshore has completed 54 of 91 passes for 631 yards and seven touchdowns while throwing four interceptions. Riley has completed 69 of 128 passes for 832 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions.
Heading into the game, the Bruins are preparing for both.
“Whoever they decide to play is going to be more than capable and prepared to play against us,” Verner said. “They have a strong receiving core, they have a really good tight end. They do have some good backs, so they’re definitely going to test us in the running game, but I think they’ll throw it at us to keep us honest and try to open it up more for the running game.”
Coach Rick Neuheisel said that while Riley may be more of a running threat than Longshore, he does not believe there are different packages of plays set up that depend on which one is in the game.
“I believe that they’re both talented kids,” Neuheisel said. “I think they have confidence in them. They just haven’t been as consistent as maybe the (coach Jeff) Tedford quarterbacks have been over the last several years, so that mounts in frustration. But I’m sure they’ll have a great week of practice and will be ready for the Bruins.”
STOKES HAS A SLIGHT KNEE INJURY: Neuheisel announced during his weekly press conference Monday that defensive end Reggie Stokes has a slight knee injury that caused his knee to swell up during the game on Saturday against Stanford.
If Stokes is unable to play, the Bruins will have to turn to freshman Datone Jones, putting even more pressure on an already depleted position.
“Running out of players, no question about it,” Neuheisel said. “But you can always mix and match. They let you play 11 guys, so we’ll make sure we’ve got 11 out there.”
INJURY REPORT: Running back Raymond Carter (groin) could return this weekend against Cal. … Defensive tackle Chase Moline is suffering from back spasms and is unlikely to play Saturday.