No. 16 LSU Big Favorites Against UCLA

The No. 16 LSU Tigers (2-1) will host the UCLA Bruins (1-1) on Saturday afternoon.

Bruins Take A Beating

The Bruins are coming off a painful Week 2 loss to Indiana, in which the team was crushed 42-13 in its Big Ten debut. It was the Hoosiers’ largest road victory against a Big Ten team since 2001 and a morale-crushing blow for a UCLA squad that is already facing subpar expectations this season.

The Bruins’ run game has been underwhelming, to say the least. The team is averaging 83.5 rushing yards per game, ranking them 122nd out of 134 Division 1 football programs.

The defense has also been less than stellar. Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke completed 25 of his 33 pass attempts for 307 yards against UCLA’s secondary. The Bruins defense also failed to sack him at any point in the game.

LSU Bounces Back

The Tigers have returned to form after a season-opening loss to USC, winning their last two games.

Despite the slow start to the season, head coach Brian Kelly believes the Tigers ultimately have what it takes to succeed.

After falling behind 17-0 in the second quarter, the Tigers pulled off an unlikely victory against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday. LSU’s rushing offense has been lackluster this season, but freshman running back Caden Durham had a stellar performance on Saturday. He ended the game averaging a whopping 8.9 yards per carry.

However, Kelly still believes there is room for improvement when it comes to his team’s play on third downs.

Durham was thrust into the lineup in light of senior running back  John Emery Jr.’s ACL injury. After the latter returned for his sixth year at LSU, he will now likely miss the rest of the season. However, the Tigers are positive he can still act as a mentor for the team.

Emery Jr. has been cleared to travel with the squad going forward.

Key Takeaways

The Tigers will enter Saturday’s game carrying some sizable momentum.

If LSU can take advantage of UCLA’s lackluster offense and defense, it looks to be a potentially easy victory for Kelly and his team.