UCLA football cannot overlook Jake Haener, Fresno State

Coach Chip Kelly and No. 13 UCLA (2-0) person an accidental to decorativeness their 2021 nonconference slate with a 3rd consecutive triumph Saturday erstwhile the Bruins instrumentality connected Fresno State astatine the Rose Bowl.

A triumph would besides assistance rewrite the nonconference struggles the Bruins faced nether Kelly earlier this season, losing their archetypal six nonconference games, including a nonaccomplishment to the Bulldogs successful 2018.

Fresno State (2-1) returns to Pasadena with a roster that features six Pac-12 transfers, including 2 from UCLA.

The Bulldogs produced 108 points successful their 2 wins (over Connecticut and Cal Poly) this play and kept the crippled adjacent with No. 4 Oregon earlier falling 31-24.

When UCLA has the ball:

While the tally crippled has been the driving unit of the Bruins’ discourtesy successful the archetypal 2 games, the passing crippled showed a glimpse of what it could beryllium against LSU.

Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw touchdown passes to 3 antithetic receivers, including choky extremity Greg Dulcich.

If Fresno State’s crippled program is to dilatory down Dulcich, Kelly isn’t disquieted astir it.

“It depends however the defence defends you,” Kelly said. “If they’re going to triple-team Greg past we conscionable won’t propulsion to him.”

Kelly is assured successful his discourtesy and consenting to set based connected what the defence presents to maximize the Bruins’ opportunities.

“We person a program going in,” Kelly said. “Then we volition spot however that program expresses itself arsenic the crippled goes on.”

The Bruins did person the vantage of a bye week up of Saturday’s game. While determination are nary caller injuries to report, a timetable for halfway Sam Marrazzo remains unclear.

Marrazzo has practiced with the squad but has not participated successful a crippled since helium was injured successful the 2020 play finale against Stanford.

Thompson-Robinson and halfway Jon Gaines II enactment an accent connected drawback exchanges passim the bye week, aft a fewer went down the backmost successful the crippled against LSU.

When Fresno State has the ball:

Quarterback Jake Haener has the imaginable to origin problems for the Bruins. Haener has completed 74% of his passes this play and leads the FBS with 1,009 passing yards.

“He’s a truly bully quarterback,” UCLA linebacker Jordan Genmark Heath said. “He’s explosive and not acrophobic to propulsion those 50-50 balls. We conscionable person to bash our job.”

The secondary inactive needs to enactment connected limiting large plays aft allowing 2 40-yard passing touchdowns against LSU successful its past outing.

The Bruins indispensable incorporate and overwhelm Haener, who has besides shown the quality to usage his feet to widen a play and people arsenic a shot carrier.

Linebacker Mitchell Agude has been disruptive for the Bruins’ defence this season, forcing 4 fumbles, though UCLA didn’t retrieve immoderate of them.

“We emotion Mitch ever since helium got here,” Kelly said. “He’s stepped successful close distant and he’s precise dedicated successful everything helium does. He sets the code for the occurrence we are having connected defence due to the fact that of however hard helium plays.”

UCLA indispensable capitalize connected those escaped balls to bounds Haener’s opportunities and clip with the football.

Center Bula Schmidt whitethorn beryllium asked to commencement again astatine halfway this week, aft Matt Smith was ruled retired past week owed to injury.

But the biggest interest could beryllium the Bulldogs’ rushing attack. The squad has not had a 100-yard rusher this season, contempt having Ronnie Rivers and Jordan Mims carrying the ball. Rivers rushed for implicit 900 yards successful 2019.