The No. 19 UCLA football team begins Pac-12 play this weekend as it hosts Oregon State.
Like the Bruins, the Beavers have added an upset over a ranked Big Ten opponent to their resume this season, beating then-No. 13 Wisconsin 10-7.
In that game, the Oregon State (1-0) defense limited Heisman hopeful running back Montee Ball to a mere 61 yards and a team that was in the Rose Bowl last season to just 207 total yards of offense.
But the Beavers will face a new Heisman candidate this weekend in Bruin redshirt senior running back Johnathan Franklin.
Franklin leads the nation in rushing with 180.3 yards per game with an average of 8.2 yards per carry.
Last weekend, UCLA (3-0) hosted Houston, but without redshirt senior guard Jeff Baca, which resulted in miscues and penalties along the offensive line against a weak Cougar defense. Even with redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Hundley ““ a more than capable scrambler ““ the offensive line had its hands full, limiting Hundley to -2 yards on the ground.
Now, against a defense that conceded only 35 net yards rushing to Wisconsin, the issues from last weekend could carry over.
However, the Oregon State defense isn’t the only one coming off a strong performance. The Bruins had five interceptions last week, and senior cornerback Sheldon Price matched the school record with three in the game. UCLA nearly shut out Houston, keeping the goose egg up on the scoreboard until late into the fourth quarter.
The Beavers are coming off a bye week with plenty of time to prepare for the Bruins. Oregon State’s first game of the season against Nicholls State was postponed because of cautionary measures with Hurricane Isaac nearby.
Compiled by Chris Nguyen, Bruin Sports senior staffer.