(09-01-2021 06:04 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(09-01-2021 03:17 AM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  I’ll say up front that UH lost to a much better team. Moreover UH was poorly prepared for the game and played badly.

With that out of the way, UCLA fans probably shouldn’t assume the Bruins running game will be awesome this year just because it looked unstoppable against the Warriors. As it turns out, 8 of UH’s 9 defensive lineman — basically the entire two-deep rotation — were in Covid quarantine and held out of practice for ten days during the two weeks leading up to the game. All of them were vaccinated and none got sick but apparently they had been exposed to someone who did and were sidelined for precautionary reasons.

If that hadn’t happened I’m sure the UCLA running attack still would have been effective, but it’s not likely the Bruin running backs would have blown through the UH d-line at will like they did on Saturday.

UCLA football fans don't assume anything from one week of football. The Bruins had 244 yards rushing against Hawaii on Saturday, and they averaged 230 yards per game rushing last season. So it can probably be assumed that they have a good running attack. UCLA returned their entire offensive line from last season, so that helps as well. The defense played well, they blocked a punt and they had zero turnovers.

Against Hawaii, the Bruins spent the entire game in a full spread offense (one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers). The tight end was detached from the line of scrimmage. They ran well out of that formation and Hawaii did not adjust well defensively. Chip Kelly did not show a lot on offense, which was another way of preparing for LSU.

LOL. The Bruins could have run for 500 yards if Kelly hadn’t called off the dogs early. The o-line blocking was very effective and the RBs were impressively good at picking out lanes and breaking tackles. I don’t doubt that it’s a good running attack. My only point was that it will probably have to work a little harder against a defense that’s better prepared to play.

I was happy to see that the UCLA-UH series has been extended and that the teams will play three more times between now and 2028. Hopefully when the Bruins come to Honolulu in 2024, UH will be hosting them in a brand new stadium and will at least give them a game.