UCLA Football Injury Report: Coach Mum On Status Of Star Defender For Week 9 Opponent

An opposing starter has been sidelined for weeks.

Fresh off a 42-7 shellacking of the 2-5 Stanford Cardinal on Saturday night, your 5-2 UCLA Bruins will have their work cut out for them next week when they square off against a starry, but struggling, 4-3 University of Colorado Buffaloes program desperate for a win following a bye.

One big advantage on the Bruins' end could be the mysterious continued absence of a key component for the Buffs' defensive attack.

During his presser following his own team's 46-43 double overtime loss to Stanford on October 13th, Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders seemed to offer a fairly minimal update on the status of defensive linebacker Juwan Mitchell when asked why he didn't play during the defeat. 

“Ask him [Juwan Mitchell] what happened. Next guy,” Sanders said. 

It sure seems like the Buffs could have used Mitchell's services, as Colorado lost that game in unique fashion, having led Stanford by 29 points in the game's first half.

Mitchell had been a critical element of Colorado's defense in the weeks prior, as his 31 tackles throughout September (20 solo, 11 assisted) had paced the club prior to the team's 27-24 October 7th win over the Arizona State University Sun Devils. He hasn't suited up for one snap in October.

Wilton Jackson of Sports Illustrated speculates that, judging by the tone and tenor of Sanders' answer to a question regarding Mitchell's whereabouts, the 6'1", 235-pound transfer out of the University of Tennessee could be missing time due to a possible disciplinary issue. 

One wonders if Colorado will expedite his punishment to avoid a possible drop to a .500 record against an ascendant UCLA program. Time will tell.

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