The headliner of UCLA’s (2-1) Saturday showdown with No. 7 Stanford (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12) is undoubtedly running back Christian McCaffrey.
He set the NCAA record as a sophomore with 3,864 all-purpose yards and finished as Associated Press Player of the Year and Heisman runner-up behind Alabama’s Derrick Henry.
The Bruins’ defensive plan will center on limiting McCaffrey, who scored four rushing touchdowns against them in Palo Alto last year.
But stopping McCaffrey is about more than focusing on one talented, versatile player.
[Related: UCLA falls to Stanford on the road 56-35]
It’s also about accounting for the offensive linemen clearing a pathway for him, a quarterback who facilitates the explosive runs with accurate downfield passes and a coaching staff who hasn’t lost to UCLA since 2008.
“They do an excellent job of using personnel groups, multiple formations,” said defensive line coach Angus McClure. “McCaffrey does a great job of reading blocks, an excellent job of keeping his eyes upfield, adjusting to the blocking, and he has a lot of confidence in his offensive line. They’re an excellent program. Their offense is fine-tuned.”
The defensive line saw similar schemes against BYU this past weekend where they put on a historic performance. Quarterback Taysom Hill was constantly pressured by “quarterback spy” Jayon Brown, and the Bruins held the Cougars to 23 yards on 25 carries in a 17-14 win.
Although players could see carry-over between the two teams, the key challenge will be the different personnel groups the Cardinal utilizes in its schemes.
Stanford is also craftier and deeper than BYU, and after losing three linemen to graduation, simply reloaded.
They had 404 yards of offense against USC last weekend, 302 from the run game.
Coaches said the key to stopping the Cardinal at the Rose Bowl would be to eliminate their run game by making sure players remained disciplined on the defensive side of the ball, something the Bruins did successfully in Provo, Utah.
“It’s hard telling them ‘be disciplined and get the quarterback,’ but they did it,” said defensive coordinator Tom Bradley. “They covered (Hill) pretty well. They kept an eye on the inside shoulder. I think our secondary, toward the end, did a good job of containing the big plays.”
UCLA tailored its defense this summer to combat the larger, more physical Stanford team.
With three games under its belt, the defense has progressed as Bradley and the coaching staff have hoped, and the players have bought into the message.
Per Pro Football Focus, the Bruins missed nine tackles in a loss to Texas A&M, and 11 in a win over UNLV.
They only missed three last Saturday.
“It reaffirms what we’re able to do as a defense. If everyone does their job, and everyone executes their assignment and plays fundamental defense, we can be excellent,” McClure said. “If guys do too much, that’s where we get in trouble. You love guys that (want to) make plays for the defense, but you have to be disciplined. … You can’t just light your hair on fire and run after the ball.”
Theo Howard
Quarterback Josh Rosen’s search for the elusive go-to-receiver continues. The sophomore threw to 14 different players against UNLV and 12 different ones against BYU.
Wide receiver Theo Howard earned playing time against the Rebels, making one catch for 15 yards, but didn’t get a nod against the Cougars.
[Related: Theo Howard stays humble as UCLA Football rebuilds offense.]
The former four-star recruit has the speed to compete at the collegiate level, but needs to learn to handle the physicality of the game and build up his confidence.
To see more time, wide receivers coach Eric Yarber said the freshman needs experience and time to develop as a blocker.
“They say youth is a disease, and the only cure is experience,” Yarber said. “I can’t just throw him out there to the wolves and not let him have success.”
Yarber cites last year’s leading receiver Jordan Payton as an example Howard could follow.
Payton, now with the Cleveland Browns, needed “five to six games” his rookie year before the game slowed down for him, according to Yarber. The wide receivers coach predicts Howard will progress roughly the same.
“If you play him one-on-ones, you see his talent, his athleticism, all the things that you recruited,” Yarber said. “But when you go into a game and you have to think about so many things … a cluttered mind equals slow feet. So we just need to declutter his mind and slow the game down for him.”
Email Dam at tdam@dailybruin.com or tweet @tueydam.