Cal Favored By 3 Over UCLA

NFL News - October 16th, 2009 - Written by Scott

In Pacific 10 action on Saturday, UCLA will host California as both teams attempt to recover from losses in their past two games. After the UCLA Bruins and the California Golden Bears started the season 3-0, they were looking toward successful years out of their teams. Now, both schools are looking to get back on the winning track. Cal lost to USC 30-3 two weeks ago and UCLA lost to Oregon 24-10. Both teams are not out of their conference race, but a loss would probably put them out of contention.

California began the season with a potent offense, but the past two games have left them searching for answers. They have only scored 6 points in their last two games, after averaging 48 in their first three. Quarterback Kevin Riley has been ineffective as of late. On the year, he has passed for 1,020 yards and 5 touchdowns. Highly talented running back Jahvid Best has not been the same lately. Teams have been stacking the defensive line and forcing the Bears to go to the air. He has 514 yards and 8 touchdowns on the year, but only 102 yards in the past two games. Verran Tucker leads their group of receivers with 213 yards. The offense must start clicking if they are to turn their season back around.

The Bears defense has been run over the past two weeks. They are allowing too many long drives and it starts to take a toll on their defensive unit. They have done a great job in forcing turnovers and have 11 so far this season. The Cal defense will need to continue their strong pass rush this week (18 sacks on the year) and hope that their offense will finally come to life.

The UCLA offense is going through growing pains right now and have three freshman and four sophomores on their first team. They are only averaging 282 yards per game which ranks 114th in the nation. Quarterback Kevin Prince has regained the starting position after missing two games due to an injury. He has thrown for 358 yards and 2 touchdowns. Their rushing attack has not been where it needs to be either. Johnathan Franklin is their leader in the backfield with 332 yards and 3 touchdowns. Taylor Embree and Terrance Austin are their leaders in receiving and have combined for 363 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Bruins' offense has only scored more than 20 points twice this year and will need to do it once again this week.

The Bruins also have been run over in their past few games on defense and have allowed 395 yards on the ground. The must find a way to stop Best who is due for another breakout game. They also need to pressure Riley and force him into bad decisions.

California will be favored by 3 over UCLA according to BetUS sportsbook. The over/under is set at 44.

To discuss this and other NFL related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums/