The gridiron isn’t exempt from the laws of physics.
Even on the football field, an unstoppable force colliding with an immovable object is no rare occurrence.
Such a meeting now awaits the Bruins.
Returning to action from its bye week, UCLA football (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) will host No. 13 Washington State (4-0, 1-0) on Saturday afternoon in Pasadena. The Bruins – riding a premier defense – are welcoming one of the country’s highest-flying offenses with the chance to break even in Pac-12 play.
It was anything but a cancellation of forces when the two squads last squared off four years ago – a true shootout that wound up as the highest-scoring game in conference history. Trailing 49-17 with 6:52 left in the third quarter, UCLA rattled off four consecutive touchdown drives before eventually emerging with a 67-63 victory.
Now, Washington State boasts the nation’s No. 5 offense, the highest-ranked group that UCLA has faced this season. But the Bruins have their own top-10 unit – the No. 8 total defense in the country.
“They have a different offense than normal – they really come out and throw the ball a lot more,” said redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Keanu Williams. “It will really be a challenge in the sense of getting the call, backfield set, executing the call, then repeating at a high level.”
Steering the high-powered Cougar offense is Cameron Ward, who has excelled in the team’s new air-raid scheme to the tune of 13 passing touchdowns against zero interceptions. The quarterback completes nearly 75% of his passes, but also isn’t afraid to use his legs as he leads all Cougars in rushing attempts.
Although Ward will likely be without his primary weapon wide receiver Lincoln Victor because of an ankle injury, Washington State’s balanced passing attack gives him two other 300-plus yard pass catchers to target.
All that offensive success comes back to whom the Cougars have built around, coach Chip Kelly said.
“They’ve done a really nice job of playing to Cam’s strengths. He can beat you both with his legs and with his arm – he keeps a lot of plays alive,” Kelly said. “They spread you out. They make you cover one-on-one and put you on islands at times.”
Attempting to contain Ward will be the UCLA defense, which has yet to allow multiple touchdowns to an opponent. The unit is coming off its finest performance of the 2023 campaign, having limited then-No. 11 Utah to 219 yards of offense and one touchdown – both season lows.
The Bruins failed to intercept quarterback Nate Johnson in that outing but have continued to disrupt offensive possessions. They squeezed three fumbles out of the Utes and notched multiple turnovers against each of their three nonconference foes.
Opposing Ward, UCLA can become the first team this season to intercept him.
“We’ve seen plays of a lot of teams trying to get after him. They just needed to execute,” said redshirt senior defensive lineman Carl Jones Jr. “I feel like we’re going to do the same – just get after him.”
The ideal winning formula goes beyond that in Kelly’s mind.
“Don’t allow him to complete one pass,” Kelly said. “That would be a really good Saturday.”
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