Down the home stretch of the season, UCLA is happy to be on the road.
No. 18 UCLA (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12) puts its undefeated road record to the test Saturday against Washington (6-3, 2-3) for its last game away from the Rose Bowl this season.
A win this weekend would make this the first Bruins team to go undefeated on the road this century.
The Bruins are not the only Pac-12 team to have such success this season. UCLA is a perfect 4-0 away from home this year while the rest of the conference is a combined 27-15 in a trend that has surprised pundits and coaches alike.
“I don’t know (why Pac-12 teams have played well on the road), I can only tell you that our team, when we go on the road there’s cohesion, there’s a sense of us against them that helps us play well,” said coach Jim Mora. “We eliminate distractions, we’re all confined to the same space at the same time, and I think it just builds an energy that helps you on the road.”
The Bruins will also be aided Saturday by the absence of Huskies junior cornerback Marcus Peters. Washington coach Chris Petersen announced Thursday that the team had dismissed the three-year starter and a player Mora called an “NFL-type guy” due to yet another argument with the coaching staff following Wednesday’s practice.
Peters was suspended one game earlier this season after a sideline tantrum following a personal foul penalty in the team’s win over Eastern Washington.
In Peters’ absence, Washington may trot out three true freshman in its secondary against junior redshirt quarterback Brett Hundley, who is averaging 338.5 yards of total offense against Pac-12 defenses.
Washington’s defense may also be without star linebacker Shaq Thompson, although for a wholly different reason.
After starting the season on defense, Thompson, who collected 54 tackles and forced three fumbles, switched to running back full time two weeks ago against Arizona State.
All he has done since then is run for 272 yards while averaging 7.5 yards per carry.
Like sophomore linebacker Myles Jack a year ago, Thompson’s two-way ability has caught the attention of the college football world. Among those is defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who is fully aware his squad will have its hands full with the 6-foot-1, 228-pound converted running back.
“He presents just a different running back than we’ve seen,” Ulbrich said. “Big power back, run through tackles, finish runs, always leaning forward. But I think our guys are excited about that, excited about that challenge.”
What has proven more of a challenge for UCLA in recent weeks is throwing the ball downfield. Hundley has thrown for less than 220 yards in three of his last four contests as opposing defenses have regularly dropped seven or eight defenders into coverage in the hope of stifling the Bruins’ deep passing attack.
That is likely to hold this week as Washington has one of the most formidable defenses UCLA has seen in this season even without Thompson and Peters.
The Huskies are led up front by two candidates for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy – awarded to the nation’s top defensive player – in defensive tackle Danny Shelton and linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha, who leads the country with 15.5 sacks.
“I think these guys, from what I’ve seen on film, they can create pressure with their four guys,” said offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. “Which enables them to drop and not have to bring the extra pressure on people.”
With just three games left in the season to make up the one game difference that separates UCLA from Pac-12 South leader Arizona State, the pressure will be on the Bruins to produce Saturday.