Bruins ready to take on familiar faces at Arizona UP NEXT
When UCLA looks across the field tonight, there will be several familiar faces on the Arizona sideline.
Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch was hired to be UCLA’s offensive coordinator in 2017 and finished out the season as interim head coach after Jim Mora was fired. Chip Kelly then took over the program.
Defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen joined the Wildcats for the 2022 season after spending one season as a defensive line coach for Kelly and the Bruins.
Nansen, a Long Beach Jordan graduate, also has a history of playing against UCLA. The former Washington State linebacker broke his jaw during his senior year and returned for the UCLA game.
“I forgot all about it but I was going home to play in front of my family,” Nansen said. “That’s what I remember the most and any time you got a chance to play in the Rose Bowl, that’s one of those places you remember. It was a fun day.”
Safety DJ Warnell Jr., defensive back Martell Irby and defensive linemen Tyler Manoa and Tiaoalii Savea make up the four UCLA transfers now playing for Fisch.
Certainly the Bruins (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12), ranked No. 19 in the first College Football Playoff poll of the season, won’t forget last year’s game with the Wildcats. Ranked No. 9 and one win away from a showdown with crosstown rival USC for a likely Pac12 title game berth, UCLA had its hopes derailed in a 34-28 upset. It was Arizona’s first victory over UCLA at the Rose Bowl since 2010.
WHEN UCLA HAS THE BALL >> Running backs TJ Harden and Carson Steele must help establish the run early while trying to hold on to the ball.
Arizona (5-3, 3-2) has drastically improved its rush defense over the past year. The Wildcats are allowing 100.4 rushing yards per game this season — which ranks 17th in the country — after allowing 202.5 yards last year.
Nansen will look to use his time working with Kelly as an advantage this week.
“It’s going to be a whole different world that we are getting into,” Nansen said. “Chip’s offense has so many different things you have to prepare for, but after a couple of series you will have a better idea of what they’re in and we can start settling in and play. … He will throw everything at you.”
Servite grad Jacob Manu leads Arizona with 67 tackles to go with 3.5 sacks. Fellow linebacker Justin Flowe, an Upland alumnus, has 39 tackles and a fumble recovery.
The Bruins have turned the ball over several times in the first half of various conference games this season, including four last week against Colorado. Steele fumbled the ball twice while quarterbacks Ethan Garbers and Collin Schlee
Today: UCLA at Arizona, 7:30p.m., FS1
each threw an interception to Buffs defensive back Travis Hunter.
It will be important for the Bruins to overcome their turnover woes and capitalize on each possession to produce an early lead.
The Wildcats’ defense has forced at least one fumble in every game this season other than last week’s game against Oregon State. The Arizona secondary didn’t have an interception until recording two against Washington State on Oct. 14. WHEN ARIZONA HAS THE BALL >> UCLA needs to continue to put opposing offenses on their heels. Edge rusher Laiatu Latu was responsible for three of the Bruins’ seven sacks against Colorado. Gabriel Murphy has complemented Latu up front, adding 23 tackles (11 for losses) and five sacks this season.
The Bruins’ front seven has been largely credited for holding the opposition to just 277.5 yards per game, which ranks 10th in the country, and an FBS-best 63.1 rushing yards per game.
“Those guys are really active,” Wildcats offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll said. “They have the ability to play in their gap and they can get out of their gap and still make plays . ... They are all over the field.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Noah Fifita, another Servite product, has served as a calm and poised leader for Arizona following Jayden de Laura’s ankle injury Sept. 23 against Stanford.
Facing four Top 25 opponents in five weeks, Fifita almost led the Wildcats to victories over No. 7 Washington and No. 9 USC, then delivered wins over No. 19 Washington State and No. 11 Oregon State. In that stretch, Fifita completed 111 of 149 passes (74.5%) for 1,152 yards, 11 TDs and three interceptions, and was voted Pac-12 freshman player of the week three times.
“They can both make unscheduled plays, which makes them both really dangerous,” Kelly said of Arizona’s dual-threat quarterbacks. “Noah seems like he’s got a really good grasp of that offense.”
Receivers Tetairoa McMillan and Jacob Cowing have served as primary targets for the Wildcats and have combined for more than 1,000 yards through the first eight games.
“They are going to play a form of shell coverage where they’ll have four defensive backs across the back end not give you a chance to get any of those layer routes in there and will try to take away a bunch of things,” Carroll said of the Bruins. “We just have to know how to attack it and run the ball against them too.”
Jonah Coleman has served as the lead back for the Wildcats, rushing for 488 yards and three touchdowns.