#10 WASHINGTON (4-1) @UCLA (0-4)
TODAY, 4:30 PM
ROSE BOWL, Pasadena, CA
TV: FOX
RADIO: KOMO AM 1000 and FM 97.7
LINE: UW -21
For today’s preview of the Huskies’ 4:30 game against UCLA, Realdawg.com spoke with our good friend, UCLA insider Rick Kimbrel from BruinBlitz.com on the Rivals Network.
Kimbrel has been covering UCLA longer than most of us have been alive (just kidding Rick), but he’s a true veteran both of the UCLA Bruin football scene and the Southern California recruiting scene.
This week we asked Rick a few questions about what we can expect to see today when the Bruins and Huskies meet up at the Rose Bowl.
What is wrong with UCLA football right now? Is it just about a change in culture? And are fans will to be patient while Coach Kelly makes it his team?
“The Bruins are going through extreme growing pains. There massive transfers, this may or may not be because of the change of culture. The last transfer was during the week of the CU game when sophomore quarterback Devon Modster left the program. This is going to be a season of bumps and bruises with the hope of improvement week in and week out. There has been improvement though because of inconsistency at quarterback it’s kind of hard to see with the naked eye, but the defense and the offensive line have made progress. Most UCLA fans understand what is going but they aren’t happy with the slow start. They have suffered through a lot of mediocre football. They haven’t played in the Rose Bowl in January since 1999.”
And are the players back that were suspended in the pre-season?
“Yes, the last two center Boss Tagaloa and tight end Devin Asiasi returned for CU. Tagaloa made a big difference against CU. Tagaloa will only get better. He’s been a defensive lineman all of his career.”
Who are the guys on offense that Washington needs to be concerned about and who are those on defense that have stood out up until now?
“There hasn’t been a lot of consistency on offense. It has definitely been a work in progress, but true frosh Kazmeir Allen has the speed to go house-bound every time he touches the ball. Josh Kelley rushed for 124-yards against Colorado. UCLA has a talented crew of receivers led by preseason All-American tight end Caleb Wilson and junior wide receiver Theo Howard, but the passing game has been woefully inconsistent.”
Talk about the Dorian Thompson-Robinson a little bit and what he brings to the UCLA offense and where his struggles have been?
“Thompson-Robinson has a lot of talent but he is, who he is, a true red-raw freshman, learning on the job. He would have benefited with a redshirt season. He must have shown enough good things during camp for him to leapfrog all the quarterbacks who were in the program. Right now Thompson-Robinson has had accuracy issues, he’s been slow on his progressions and hasn’t seen wide open receivers, but he will get better with each snap. Everyone has to remember Thompson-Robinson only has one season of starting quarterback experience on the high school level but when the light truly turns on for him the Bruins will have an outstanding quarterback.”
You’ve been out at practices, and have been around the team, is the moral good throughout this? And do they believe they can win this Saturday?
“We’re only allowed to see the first 20 minutes of practice and don’t get to see any team stuff, but from what little we are allowed to see the team’s energy is still good. They are working really hard in practice and feel that it is just a matter of time before they notch their first win. If the guys on the team didn’t think they could win Saturday that would be sad for any competitor. Yes, they think they can win, but from where I sit that’s going to be some tough sledding.”
We want to thank Rick for joining us with this preview. And while you’re waiting for the game to start, here’s a link to our Keys to the Game article:
And of course, our staff predictions:
Kyle Waltos: UW 38 UCLA 10
Ruth Robbins: UW 34 UCLA 10
