Oklahoma has two weeks to get its house in order before traveling out west to face UCLA in Los Angeles. Questions about the offensive line, and all over the defense, will need to be as close to answered as possible as the Bruins will be looking to avenge the 49-21 thrashing they took in Norman last season.
That’s not to say that there aren’t questions the Bruins will need to have answered as well. They’ll start the season at Cincinnati and then host San Diego State before Oklahoma comes calling on September 14th.
After posting a 3-9 record in his inaugural season in Los Angeles, the honeymoon could come to a quick close for Chip Kelly if the Bruins stumble out of the gate in 2019.
Will 2019 Bruins Finally Look Like A Chip Kelly Offense?
The biggest disappointment in 2018 wasn’t in UCLA’s worst start since 1943 (0-5), rather it was the ineptness of the offense. Kelly is known as an offensive genius but the Bruins were ranked 50th or worse in just about every offensive statistical category, including scoring where they were ranked 98th nationally (24.6 PPG).
Can The Running Game Carry The Team?
The sky seems to be the limit for quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson but injuries slowed his development in 2018 and as a sophomore in 2019 he’s still bound to go through a few more growing pains. Couple that with a receiving corps that looks really skinny after senior Theo Howard and you’ve got all the makings of a team that will need to establish the run game in order to get the offense to flow.
Led by center Boss Tagaloa, the interior of the UCLA offensive line is back, and so is running back Joshua Kelley who racked up 1,243 rushing yards in 2018.
You can do a lot with the running game out of the spread offense and I would expect that’s when Kelly will form his attack plan from on most given nights.
Can The Defense Get Stops?
The Bruins were next to last in the Pac 12 in both points and yards allowed per game in 2018. While there were problems on multiple levels of the defense, the main culprit was the inability to get pressure on the quarterback.
The Bruins ranked 119th nationally in sacks registering just 15 for the season to tie them with Oregon State as the worst in the Pac 12. As a result UCLA surrendered an average of 34.1 points per game with opposing quarterbacks 245.5 yards through the air while teams also averaged 199 yards per game on the ground against this defense.
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