UCLA BYU Line
Written by Jack Jones - Google +
The BYU Cougars will host the UCLA Bruins in Provo on Saturday, September 13th in what will be the third meeting between the two teams since last September. Jack Jones details the spreads on this game as well as offering his final score predictions. The early odds at Bookmaker show BYU as an 8-point favorite with a total set at 45.
BYU has done a great job of piling on the wins here lately, but it seems like the Cougars are relying on their special teams making big plays more often than they would like. Last year the Bruins lost to BYU in their the Las Vegas Bowl, 17-16 after Kai Forbath’s 28-yard field-goal attempt was blocked. Then just last week the Cougars did the same thing to another Pac-10 opponent in Washington. After a controversial 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty was called on Washington quarterback Jake Locker, the Huskies were forced to attempt a 35-yard extra point, which was then blocked by BYU to seal the 28-27 victory.
In the September 8th, 2007 matchup between these two teams Washington snapped BYU’s 11-game winning streak with a 27-17 win. First-year head coach Rick Neuheisel has told his Bruin players that this week’s game is the rubber match.
The Cougars have been on a hefty winning streak under head coach Bronco Mendenhall, coming out on top in 24 of their last 28 games, including 14 straight home victories. BYU has also won four out of their last five games against Pac-10 opponents.
The offense is led by junior quarterback Max Hall, who threw for 338 yards and three scores against the Huskies. Junior tight end Dennis Pitta was Hall’s favorite target, catching 10 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. Pitta has now caught 21 passes for 361 yards on the season.
Last year hall torched the Bruins in both games. He threw for a total of 622 yards and had four touchdowns to only one interception.
UCLA needs to be ready as this is their first game on the road, but it won’t be their first test. The first game of the year the Bruins hosted then-No. 18 Tennessee on September 1st, coming out with a 27-24 overtime win. The team had to overcome four first-half interceptions from quarterback Kevin Craft and only 29 rushing yards. Craft came through for 18-for-25 passing, 193 yards, and a touchdown to break through the early troubles.
That win moved UCLA into the top 25, but after taking last week off the team fell back out of the rankings. That should motivate the players to get back to the top 25, and to gain even more respect like they had after the win over the Volunteers. It might be tough to do since UCLA has lost 10 of its last 13 road games.
Predictions: BYU 27, UCLA 20
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