Cougars vs. Bruins: Previewing the UCLA offense

The Washington State Cougars defense will have their hands full when the UCLA Bruins high-powered offense comes for a visit to Pullman, WA on Sunday.

The Bruins have one of the better offenses in the nation and a lot of that stems from senior running back Johnathan Franklin. Franklin has rushed 180 times for 1,204 yards - good for 6.7 yards per carry. Frankin has rushed for the sixth most yards in the nation.

But as Coug Center points out, the key to the UCLA improvement on offense has been Brett Hundley's growth at quarterback. The Bruins run over half of the time on offense, but they are a bit successful no matter whether they are passing or running.

The Bruins have been successful on 46 percent of their plays, which has been enough for them to stay in manageable down and distance situations, leading to a 41 percent third-down conversion rate.

The Cougars' defense will have their hands full with Franklin. The defense yields around 5-yards per carry and the Bruins garner over five yards per rush. Even if the Bruins only handled the run, they might have trouble with the pass. As Coug Center points out, the Cougars lost overwhelmingly to Utah last week and that doesn't bode well for Saturday.

The Cougars had their chance to face a one-dimensional offense last week, and failed miserably. There will be no such luxury on Saturday, as the Bruins excel in all areas.

Even if the Cougars can stuff Franklin, stopping Hundley will be a task as well. The quarterback completes 68 percent of his passes for a tune to eight yards per attempt. He likes to hook up with enormous tight end Joseph Fauria. Fauria only has 347 yards on 27 catches, but the 6'7, 255 monster man has eight touchdown catches on the year.