Come on down, Justyn Martin?
It was more and more wanting that means as UCLA finalized preparations for what’s going to be a tough problem irrespective of who takes the primary snap at quarterback.
Barring a gutsy comeback from Ethan Garbers, his understudy will make his first school begin Saturday towards No. 7 Penn State at Beaver Stadium.
Garbers remained confined to an train bike midweek after being knocked out of the Bruins’ loss to Oregon final weekend with an unspecified damage, leaving his standing doubtful for the sport towards the Nittany Lions. Martin, a redshirt sophomore, took first-string snaps in apply, each repetition coveted by a participant who has thrown all of 5 passes in school.
Might Martin information the Bruins to an epic upset if he will get the nod as anticipated? Listed below are 4 extra issues to look at when UCLA (1-3 general, 0-2 Huge Ten) faces Penn State (4-0, 1-0) at 9 a.m. PDT in a recreation televised by Fox:
Subsequent man up
UCLA coach DeShaun Foster repeatedly talked about Inglewood versus Morningside in his conversations with Martin, a reference to the quarterback’s best second of glory.
In his ultimate highschool season, Martin threw 13 landing passes throughout Inglewood’s record-setting 106-0 victory over its crosstown rival. Whereas cynics may say the Bruins are the crew susceptible to being on the mistaken finish of such a rating towards the Nittany Lions provided that they’re four-touchdown underdogs, Martin actually is aware of what it’s wish to win large.
Martin has appeared on the finish of two video games this season on the Rose Bowl however has by no means confronted an setting just like the one the Bruins will discover themselves in Saturday. Foster mentioned he advised Martin that he couldn’t maintain onto the ball too lengthy towards the Nittany Lions, who’re averaging 2.75 sacks per recreation.
Operating in place
UCLA operating again T.J. Harden ran for 53 yards towards Oregon.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Related Press)
UCLA’s quarterback will want important assist from an underperforming a part of the offense.
The Bruins haven’t topped 100 yards in a recreation on the bottom this season, an enormous purpose their offense is among the many least productive in main school soccer.
However there have been some indicators of progress final weekend towards Oregon. T.J. Harden broke off 18- and 21-yard runs as a part of a season-high 53 yards. In the meantime, Keegan Jones (5.5 yards per keep it up the season) and Jalen Berger (5.1) proceed to make a case for extra carries.
One thing wants to vary. The Bruins are averaging 57 yards speeding per recreation, main solely Akron (54.6) amongst Soccer Bowl Subdivision groups.
Simply cease it
Ikaika Malloe is taking a two-pronged strategy to fixing UCLA’s protection.
“I need to do a better job in terms of freeing up the guys that can make plays,” mentioned Malloe, the Bruins defensive coordinator, “and putting guys on the field who I do believe can generate plays. I think you guys have seen just a touch of what they can do.”
Malloe mentioned he wished to assist defensive deal with Jay Toia make an even bigger impression after Oregon used a decent finish as a part of double groups to neutralize the Bruins’ greatest defensive participant.
However UCLA will want playmakers throughout the board to cease a balanced Penn State offense that’s averaging 251 yards per recreation on the bottom and 245.8 yards per recreation by the air.
The Bruins are searching for their first sack since they notched 5 of their season opener towards Hawaii.
Begin me up
UCLA’s vitality degree in apply has vacillated wildly the previous few weeks, with seemingly little correlation to outcomes.
After a number of listless practices going into the sport towards Louisiana State, the Bruins responded with their greatest half of the season. Per week later, after displaying a jolt of vitality in practices earlier than Oregon, UCLA shortly discovered itself in a 28-3 gap towards the Geese.
The vibe was as soon as once more subdued this week, the silence early in apply Wednesday damaged by a coach yelling an expletive as a part of his efforts to revitalize gamers.
Assessing the mindset of his crew after the Oregon recreation, Foster mentioned it’s what’s finished, not what’s mentioned, that counts.
“Actions speak louder than words,” Foster mentioned. “We’ve got to change our actions out there on the field, and hopefully that will fix some stuff.”
