It’s hard to describe the feeling for UCLA football headed into its season opener v. Virginia Saturday.
“I really feel they’re … excited to play a game,” said coach Jim Mora.
Maybe even too excited, to the point of a bout of butterflies in their stomachs?
“There’s a lot of anxiety coming into it,” said junior cornerback Ishmael Adams. “We’re all anxious to get out on the field.”
Or is it more of a gnawing feeling?
“I’ve been itching for this week since the season ended,” said sophomore linebacker Myles Jack. “I honestly can’t wait for Saturday.”
Better yet, perhaps it’s time to stop speculating – on this game, on the Bruins’ potential this season, on just about everything.
According to junior wide receiver Jordan Payton, it’s all gotten redundant.
From this view, it seems redshirt senior defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa’s words appear to be the winner.
“I put in so much work at this point that it’s time to just go out and play,” he said.
Charlottesville, Virginia, is where No. 7 UCLA’s journey begins. On paper, the two teams appear to be polar opposites.
Virginia is coming off a 2-10 season last year and UCLA, a 10-3 one.
Virginia’s offense last season was anemic, ranking 109th in the country out of the 125 FBS teams in points per game (19.8). UCLA meanwhile, with its spread offense, seemed to run on high-octane diesel fuel toward the end of last season, finishing 20th in points per game (36.9) and ending the year with a resounding 42-12 Sun Bowl victory.
There’s also uncertainty surrounding Virginia’s No. 1 quarterback spot, as the two players competing for the position – redshirt sophomore Grayson Lambert and junior David Watford – each threw more interceptions than touchdowns last year. At UCLA, the No. 1 quarterback is a third-year starter and Heisman Trophy candidate.
Simply put, this matchup appears more to be a mismatch.
Yet Virginia does have the assets to challenge UCLA.
The Cavaliers’ secondary should be one of the nation’s best this season. Their six defensive backs have a combined 112 career starts – second-most of any secondary nationally.
At strong safety is senior Anthony Harris, who led the country in interceptions (8) last year. Opposite him, at free safety, is former five-star recruit, and consensus top-ten national prospect, freshman Quin Blanding.
If Virginia’s defense can keep its team in the game, will its offense be able to capitalize? If it is to, it will be behind its potential All-ACC running back, senior Kevin Parks.
Parks rushed for 1031 yards and 11 TDs last season. Virginia’s runs typically come up the middle, so the task of stopping Parks should belong to UCLA’s front-seven.
For Mora, who said he had “a bazillion concerns” about this game earlier in the week, Parks may as well be his biggest.
In the end, though, maybe whatever Virginia throws at UCLA is irrelevant.
“I don’t care. It doesn’t matter,” said redshirt junior wide receiver Devin Lucien of what Virginia and its defense bring to the table.
“What matters is what we’re about to do to them.”