UCLA football will open its season with a matchup against Bowling Green at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. The Bruins are coming off an 8-4 year, while the Falcons went 4-8 in 2021. Here is this week’s scouting report from Sports staffer Gavin Carlson – who is making his scouting report debut.
Bowling Green’s offense
Offensive scheme: Multiple
Run-pass percentage: 52.4% pass, 47.6% rush
Strength: None
Weakness: Run Game
X-factor: WR Tyrone Broden
Unlike a few of their Pac-12 counterparts, the Bruins will start their season off with a good old-fashioned cupcake game.
While No. 11 Oregon opens the season in Athens, Georgia, against the defending national champions, and No. 7 Utah begins its campaign at Florida, UCLA will square off in Week 1 of the 2022 season against a Bowling Green team that went 2-6 in the Mid-American Conference last year.
The Falcons scored a lackluster 21.4 points per game last season – good for second-worst in the conference and among the bottom 20% of teams in the nation – and there’s no reason to think they’ll be any better this time around.
They’re poor in every aspect.
When you rank in the bottom quarter in your conference in both rushing and passing, it’s hard to blame one weakness more than another. That being said, the Bowling Green rushing offense is exceptionally bad.
The offense managed to rush 19 times for nine yards in a game against South Alabama last season. That says about all you need to know.
The Falcons ranked dead last in their conference in rushing in 2022 after averaging 102.3 yards on the ground per contest – the next lowest was 115.7. Bowling Green’s mark ranked 120th out of 130 FBS schools in the nation – most of which play much stronger defenses – and they averaged 3.3 yards per rush, which ranked only a few slots higher.
The argument could even be made that those run totals overestimate the ability of Bowling Green’s ground game, as the numbers are slightly boosted by a 221-yard team rushing performance in a 56-44 track-meet victory over Buffalo. The team topped 150 yards rushing only one other time in 2021.
Sure, the Falcons don’t have top-tier playmakers to hand the ball off to, but a weak run-blocking offensive line is largely to blame for their struggles. Even in a rare win last season against Murray State, the line showed why Bowling Green’s rushing numbers were among the worst in the country.
It’s hard to find many videos with as many unblocked defenders in the backfield as the ones on this surprise third-and-6 run call.
As for the Bowling Green passing game, it can’t be worse than its last-place rush offense, but the team’s 214.8 passing yards per game output still ranked ninth in the MAC. The Falcons’ 6.3 yards per attempt was even worse at second-to-last.
Despite ranking fifth in passing yards per game in the MAC, quarterback Matt McDonald had the lowest quarterback efficiency rating in the conference at 121.2. The lack of outside weapons and his own inferior arm talent limit the overall passing offense.
McDonald did rank second on the team in rushing touchdowns with his four scores coming in just one shy of his starting running back’s five. A pair of the quarterback’s rushing touchdowns came in a shocking upset win on the road over Minnesota, though the offense still only scored 14 points in that contest.
If this offense has an X factor, it might be McDonald’s occasional rushing touchdown or the simple fact that its best wide receiver, Tyrone Broden, is a towering 6 feet, 7 inches.
Nonetheless, it’s safe to say new UCLA defensive coordinator Bill McGovern’s unit should get off to a fast start in 2022.
Bowling Green’s defense
Defensive scheme: Base 3-4
Strength: Forcing turnovers
Weakness: Consistency
X-factor: LB Darren Anders
Darren Anders is Bowling Green’s best player by far, but that severely understates his talent.
He’s also one of the most underrated defenders in the country.
After ranking second in the MAC in tackles with 124 in 2021, the 6-foot, 230-pound inside linebacker is on the Butkus Award watch list and the Pro Football Network All-American First Team heading into 2022.
Anders makes up for being slightly undersized by having great instincts and an ability to read the run game. When he’s unblocked, he has the speed and pursuit ability to make plays in the backfield.
Anders and fellow linebacker Brock Horne led the team in tackles in 2021 and have a tendency to crowd the line of scrimmage before the snap when anticipating a run. They’ll likely do the same when they match up against senior running back Zach Charbonnet at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
While their aggressive nature is probably necessary to make up for a subpar defensive roster overall, it does play a role in the defense’s inconsistency.
Bowling Green’s defense may have held Minnesota to just 10 points in the aforementioned upset win last season, but it also gave up 222 rushing yards and 44 points to Buffalo and ranked ninth in the MAC in points allowed.
Though its best defender is primarily a run-stopper at inside linebacker, Bowling Green’s pass defense is probably the team’s best asset.
The Falcons’ 186.3 passing yards allowed per game were the lowest in the MAC, and they were able to force 12 interceptions in 2021 – good for third in the conference.
In its win against Minnesota, the Bowling Green defense forced two interceptions in the final three minutes of the game to seal the win.
Unlike their offense, the Falcons’ defense can make some things happen.
But like any other aspect of this team, the pass defense is inconsistent and can still be overpowered. Bowling Green gave up 325 passing yards, four passing touchdowns and 55 points against Eastern Michigan amid a streak of six straight games allowing 34 or more points.
Though UCLA’s passing offense has some question marks of its own heading into 2022, it’s still certainly better than Eastern Michigan’s.
The Falcons were worse than their MAC counterparts in most phases of the game in 2021. They should be worse than the Bruins at just about everything when the two sides meet to start their seasons in 2022.
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