Can the Huskers Bounce Back After the USC Heartbreaker?

Nebraska is coming off one of the toughest, most gut punch losses in recent memory (and friends, that is saying something). After losing to both USC and UCLA last season, the Huskers will look to get at least one against the state of California as they travel to LA to take on the Bruins at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night. 

I talked to Kevin Balaji, host of the Bruin Source Podcast, to get the UCLA perspective on the upcoming game. 

INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN BALAJI, HOST OF THE BRUIN SOURCE PODCAST

UCLA has had a wild ride this season, from starting 0-4, to firing DeShaun Foster, to now winning three of their last four games. How are Bruin fans feeling about this season?  

It’s been a wild ride of a season. UCLA fans weren’t expecting anything amazing but the start of the season was surprising even for us and I think it was the right time to move on from Deshaun Foster. It was always gonna be an uphill battle for him. The worry at that point was this was gonna be a miserable slog of a season and the next three games provided a spark of hope that just injected a bit of joy and optimism and made it fun to watch finally. Well, then the Indiana game happened, but I guess Indiana is doing that to everybody.

Interim Head Coach Tim Skipper clearly deserves a lot of credit for the Bruins’ turnaround, as does interim Offensive Coordinator Jerry Neuheisel. Is one or both of those guys on the short list to be the next head coach? 

Tim Skipper deserves a lot of credit for injecting a lot of joy that we just talked about. He’s a very positive guy, his in-game coaching decisions have mostly been on point, a lot of expected positive value decisions, fourth down decision-making, or when to go for field goals or touchdowns. He’s timed in the nice trick plays on special teams, which has made things a lot more fun and exciting. At this point, I would say it would take a lot for him to get the full-time gig. UCLA football has just been through a lot and if you’re going with an unproven coach, he’s probably going to have to really defy expectations if he’s gonna have a legitimate chance. UCLA’s got a whole search committee with Adam Peters, the GM of the Washington Commanders, Bob Myers, who is the GM of the Golden State Warriors and now is also a special assistant to the Washington Commanders, and super agent Casey Wasserman, who runs the Wasserman Group.  This group has a track record of finding high-performing coaches, and right now Tim Skipper would really have to finish the season strong to get consideration. That probably looks like upsetting Ohio State and/or definitely beating USC.

Either way, he deserves a head coaching spot somewhere. Jerry Neuheisel deserves a chance as OC somewhere as well, perhaps at UCLA depending on who the next coach is.

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava is having a strong season, completing over 63% of his passes for 1,468 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s also rushed for nearly 400 yards and four more TDs. Do you feel he’s been as good as advertised for the Bruins? 

To say Nico came in with hype would probably be underselling it. The hope for (UCLA) fans was that we would be able to catch lightning in a bottle and this offense would overachieve en route to a season that might exceed our expectations – obviously, that’s not how it started.

Since Jerry Neuheisel is taken over, he’s played much better, largely assisted by offensive line play that has looked far beyond what it was the first three weeks in the early part of the season. It was borderline unsafe for Nico to be back there, but now he’s got a run game around him. The receivers are making a few more plays and Nico has been very dangerous with his legs. He’s definitely a big-time athlete that looks the part of an NFL quarterback. He’s obviously not there yet. Nebraska fans can probably relate with how Dylan Raiola has progressed over time, but the talent is there and is going in the right direction.

The offense clearly took a leap once Skipper and Neuheisel took over. What are they doing differently? 

Jerry Neuheisel completely simplified the offense. Tino Sunseri was a first time offensive coordinator to start the year and he had some nice designs and good intentions, but the players clearly weren’t understanding what he was looking for, and it wasn’t an offense geared to their strengths. 

Against Penn State he simplified the offense completely and turned it into a box count offense, which is very simple to execute for the players as it just sends the ball wherever leverage is and wherever the numbers are favorable. The results were one of the feel good stories in college football so far this season, and it continued against Michigan State and against Maryland. The run game and offensive line play in those first 3 games since the change surprised every Bruins fan beyond our wildest dreams. However, signs have been there the last two games that Jerry might have started to get scouted a bit – a lot of stuff that was working for the run game those first three weeks definitely did not work against Indiana. Nico Iamaleava was a completely different player in those three games that we won, he struggled a lot against Indiana, but I guess, again, Indiana is doing that to everybody. They really beat us upfront. Jerry’s true test is really going to start happening this weekend because now there’s a full four games of tape on him and you know that Matt Rhule and Nebraska have got it all in their plan.

What should the Nebraska Common Fan know about UCLA’s defense? Strengths and weaknesses? 

I think it’s fair to say UCLAs secondary is where its strengths are. They’ve not got much of a pass rush, which was known going into the season. UCLA has made their bread with decent defensive tackle play, and sending an extra man for pressure. Tackling was miserable early in the year, but since the coaching changes has improved drastically. 

It’s a solid defense in the last several games, Indiana not withstanding. But there is no pass rush to speak of, which means it’s always vulnerable if a team can establish any sort of run.

What have you seen from Nebraska and does it make you feel better or worse about UCLA’s chances on Saturday night?

Man, heartbreaker last week against our rivals. The elephant in the room is Raiola’s injury, no idea how that changes Nebraska’s offense long term. 

Hard to feel good or bad about UCLA’s chances as the team has been so up and down. Is this the team that started 0-4, won 3 straight, lost 56-6 to Indiana, or some combination of the three?

UCLA wins if ______.

If it can establish the run and control the clock. That’s what UCLA did well during its winning streak.

Nebraska wins if ______.

It wins the turnover battle and keeps UCLAs offense in the mud. How Jerry responds to his first bad game will be critical.

Final score prediction? 

I don’t want to overreact to a drubbing at the hands of Indiana. I’ll say the Bruins get back on track here and eke out a close one.

24-20 UCLA.

Author’s note: Thanks to Kevin Balaji, host of the Bruin Source Podcast, for sharing his expertise with the Common Fans. Both the Common Fan Podcast (Nebraska) and the Bruin Source Podcast (UCLA) are members of The College Huddle, the largest fan-led online college sports podcast community, made up of one podcast from each fan base represented.