UCLA is carrying some momentum for the first time in its inaugural Big Ten Conference season.
The Bruins will look to ride that steam into Saturday afternoon’s game against Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb.
UCLA (2-5, 1-4) posted a season high in points and notched its first-ever league win as a Big Ten member with a 35-32 victory at Rutgers on Oct. 19. The victory, highlighted by Ethan Garbers completing 32 of 38 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns, sent the Bruins into their bye week on a high note.
“We’ve got to keep building on each week,” offensive lineman Garrett DiGiorgio said. “We’re starting to gain confidence (along the offensive line), and I think it became a personal matter of … we’re tired of letting (the quarterback) get hit.”
UCLA has allowed 20 sacks this season. Keeping the defense away from the quarterback is still a work-in-progress for the Bruins, who yielded three sacks to Rutgers.
Nebraska (5-3, 2-3), which has 23 sacks for the season, will look to leverage its pass-rush and get back on the winning track amid a two-game losing streak.
Since running to a 5-1 start, the Cornhuskers absorbed an ugly 56-7 loss at then-No. 16 Indiana on Oct. 19. They regrouped to give preseason Big Ten favorite Ohio State a tough game last week before dropping a 21-17 decision to the No. 4 Buckeyes.
Last Saturday’s loss was closer to Nebraska’s style, however. The Cornhuskers have thrived when setting the tone defensively, limiting opponents to an average of 7.4 points per game in their wins.
Teams have averaged 36 points a game in Nebraska’s three losses, with Ohio State’s 21 falling on the low end.
“The standard was set even higher on Saturday (vs. Ohio State),” Huskers defensive lineman Ty Robinson said at Tuesday’s press conference. “What’s great is that everyone now gets to see that standard, and everyone knows what it practices during the week in practice.”
