This week, the Huskies head to the Rose Bowl to take on UCLA in a road showdown after dark! I caught up with Ben Royer of the LA Times and Orange County Register to get the lowdown on this year’s Bruins!
MS: After firing Deshaun Foster after an 0-4 start, interim head coach Tim Skipper took over, leading the Bruins to 3 straight victories, including one over Penn State. Is there serious momentum now for Skipper to lose the interim tag? Who are the names to watch for this job?
BR: Tim Skipper will not be the next head football coach of UCLA. That’s not to say that he isn’t beloved here in Westwood. Heck, if UCLA wins the final two games of the season, the last of which being a College Football Playoff-contender USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, then there’ll certainly be a lot of love for Skipper for years to come. But Skipper hasn’t earned the job through miraculous victories. College football adjusted to not just defensive play caller Kevin Coyle’s scheme, but also offensive play caller Jerry Neuheisel’s offense, which caught Penn State and Michigan State off guard.
When it comes to who will be the next UCLA head coach, that’s more of a question waiting to be answered than anything of certainty. I’ve heard serious buzz around James Madison’s Bob Chesney; however, he’s also a coach with very little, if any, West Coast ties. My understanding of the situation is that UCLA will be able to offer a competitive salary — and will likely be searching at the G5 head coach level for its next coach. I do believe Jedd Fisch, of all people, is a true option for this job and should be treated as such. But I don’t think that does anything to excite anyone in Southern California or anyone in Seattle. Keep an eye on San Diego State’s Sean Lewis and North Texas’ Eric Morris if I had any say, but that’s all speculation.
MS: Jerry Neuheisel is the interim coordinator of the Bruins offense. He has helped Nico Iamaleava improve noticeably and looks to be in line to get the full time job. What has he done differently with the scheme, and who are the major weapons on offense?
BR: Tino Sunseri’s UCLA offense had so many moving parts that when the Bruins actually snapped the ball, the team appeared behind the curve on the speed of college football and getting the ball out of Nico Iamaleava’s hands. Neuheisel has helped shore up and simplify UCLA’s offense. He’s gotten the running backs more involved in receiving/blocking roles and has opened up the game for more fringe players, such as fourth-string running back Anthony Frias II, who didn’t have a carry through the first four games of the season.
The simplicity, however, has made UCLA a little one-dimensional in recent weeks. The Bruins employed a screen-based offense with backup quarterback Luke Duncan against Ohio State, and let’s just say that it was easy to stop regardless of talent level. Sometimes, simple works. It won UCLA games against Penn State, Michigan State and Maryland, which appeared impossible early in the season.
Players to watch: Iamaleava, WR Rico Flores Jr., RB Anthony Woods. Flores is probably the most talented receiver that UCLA has, while Woods — who transferred after a redshirt year at Utah — has become the most exciting the Bruins have to offer in the backfield. A true explosive player that could be further unlocked should he choose to stay in Westwood for next season with a new coach.
MS: After Ikaika Malloe’s firing, UCLA turned to Kevin Coyle to run the defense. Coyle worked under Skipper at Fresno State while also serving as the DC for the Miami Dolphins from 2012-2015. What does he bring, and who are the players that Husky fans need to watch out for?
BR: Kevin Coyle looked like a mad scientist when he first arrived in Westwood. Not just his frizzled, grey hair and beard look, but completely reinforcing a defense that renovated what Ikaika Malloe (who was and still is beloved by players, coaches and fans at UCLA) had created. Coyle implemented a multiple look on defense, and promoted getting more players on the field rather than sticking with the older, veteran options that had seemingly stuck on the field in the early weeks. True freshmen Scott Taylor and JuJu Walls are playing serious linebacker minutes when they couldn’t sniff action outside of special teams previously. UCLA’s weak spot is the edge rush, however. UCLA is bad up front. The Bruins rank dead last in the nation in sacks per game and tackles for loss per game. That’s uh, not good.
Players to watch: Linebackers Isaiah Chisom (an Oregon State transfer) and JonJon Vaughns (who used to play both baseball and football at UCLA) are tackle machines. Safeties Cole Martin and Key Lawrence are also standout players in the secondary, especially with arguably the Bruins’ standout cornerback, Rodrick Pleasant (an Oregon transfer), sitting out of practice all week long.
MS: A full rebuild is needed for the Bruins, to clean up the mess from the Foster era. What does UCLA have in place to ensure their next coach gets off to a good start?
BR: It sounds too simple to say, but invest fully, top-down. UCLA needs everyone on board, from donors to the athletic department to the new head coach, involving the fan base. Ignoring the Rose Bowl situation, I do believe UCLA is in the right spot going forward. The Bruins have had exceptionally little trouble recruiting (arguably the only thing that DeShaun Foster succeeded with). The UCLA job gets a bad reputation. And that’s fine. I think it’s to be expected nowadays with shinier objects available to look at in modern college football.
However, I believe UCLA is an easy (dare I say) job if you do the easy stuff well and go beyond the expected in the other parts (facilities, NIL, fan outreach). Walk the walk, and UCLA’s rebuild could be a year-to-year flip to a winning record.
MS: It’s time for a score prediction! What is the score going to be for this, potentially the last hurrah for UCLA in the Rose Bowl against the Huskies?
BR: UCLA is weird, and for that, I apologize to Washington fans. Jedd Fisch coming into the Rose Bowl under the circumstances of this season, to me, screams a Bruins’ victory. With Nico Iamaleava seemingly healthy, I believe that UCLA will escape with a 35-28 victory in an exceptionally ugly football game, setting up the Bruins with a chance to play spoiler against the Trojans in a week’s time.
IF Desmond Williams Jr. can pace the Huskies’ first drive and do what other mobile quarterbacks have accomplished against the Bruins from the get-go, then all bets are off — and my prediction will be immediately for naught.
Thank you Ben, and good luck to the Bruins the rest of the way!
