UCLA Bruins vs Washington State Cougars Preview

What in the world happened last week? A l to Arizona State was already tough a pill to swallow. On top of that, potentially losing your star quarterback for an extended period to time just adds to the pain; come on football gods? What did Joe Bruin do to you? The conversation for UCLA begins and ends with the health of Josh Rosen. Going to Washington State this week, the Bruins will face a tall task from a traditional cupcake.

The UCLA Bruins currently sit at 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Pac-12 after another disappointing loss to ASU. Before the season no body predicted how bad UCLA would be so far and no expected Washington State to be a difficult game for the Bruins. The Cougars are a week removed from trampling the usually might Stanford Cardinal. Both UCLA and WSU are trending opposite directions and if the Bruins don’t have Rosen, then consider this game already over. Backup quarterback Mike Fafaul looked absolutely terrible in relief of the injured Rosen against ASU and has not given me any reason to be optimistic about this game. Jim Mora is “Hopeful” that Rosen will play, as the sophomore QB currently has a non-throwing shoulder and lower body injury. A week of practice will hopefully prepare for the hostile environment the Bruins will enter on Saturday but even if Rosen comes back the same problem will remain. The poor line play that caused Rosen to get hurt and the line play that has given UCLA one of the worst average rush yardages in the nation. When you are worse than Boston College in a statistic then your season isn’t going well.The only hope UCLA has is the stellar defense.

The UCLA defense has been one of the best in the entire Pac-12. But, something has to give in this game as Washington State and Mike Leach is a perennial offensive juggernaut. Scoring 42 against what seemed to be one of the best teams in the nation is impressive and UCLA’s defense will have to play potentially its best game in the season with no Rosen. Now, the question on everyone’s mind is, who is Mike Fafaul. The senior quarterback went 3-11 with two interceptions against ASU. In his entire career, he has had 10 completions and no touchdowns. He hasn’t inspired any confidence and if UCLA goes into the game with Fafaul under center, it will be a long day for the Bruins.

This has been the most bleak my outlook has been for a game this entire season. Without Rosen the UCLA offense is worse than it already is. Washington State is going to continue their roll against the Bruins and UCLA will fall under .500. The final score, 34-10 WSU. Changes will need to come soon for the Bruins.