Keys to a UCLA Limiting Iowa's Offense

In the upcoming UCLA vs. Iowa matchup, one major thing needs to be prioritized if the Bruins want to walk away victorious.

Oct 19, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Ethan Garbers (4) throws the ball during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes head to UCLA to face the Bruins on Friday in what is shaping out to be an exciting matchup to watch.

The Bruins are sitting at a 3-5 overall this season and rank 14th in the conference. In their most recent game, they defeated Nebraska in a 27-20 victory to make it two straight. With Saturday having been an upset victory, there is a world where the Bruins can defeat the Hawkeyes and ride this wave of winning momentum.

The major focus for the Bruins heading into Friday should be how to stop Iowa's offense with their defense. Iowa, in three of their last four games, has scored 40 points or more and has kept its opponent's offense fairly quiet.

To compare, on defense, the Bruins have let their opponents score more than they would like and haven't given their offense a chance to catch back up. Certain defensive stars in last week's victory were Carson Schwesinger, Kain Medrano and K.J Wallace. The three combined for 24 of the team's 62 total tackles (38.7%).

Switching focus on Iowa, UCLA will be looking for its defensive line to continue its success and prevent the Hawkeyes from making plays down the field, primarily in the running game.

Iowa loves to run the ball rather than to pass. The team has 2,002 rushing yards compared to its 1,203 receiving yards so far this season. Of the rushing yards, a team-leading 1,279 come from running back Kaleb Johnson, who averages 7.5 yards per attempt.

In order for the Bruins to have success and limit the running game, their priority should lie with halting Johnson from any form of offense -- any rushing Iowa does for that matter.

To keep themselves in the game, the Bruins also need to have a heavy mix of positive rushing and passing yards. A team total of 591 rushing yards compared to 1,882 receiving yards is behind the number of Iowa's, which may be leading to the Hawkeyes' success and the Bruins' early struggles.

Bruins quarterback Ethan Garbers will need to increase his completion rate of 65.3 percent, with a mixture of handing off the ball to rushing yards team leader T.J. Harden and looking deep for receivers Moliki Matavao and team leader in average yards per reception, Rico Flores Jr., to keep the game close and competitive.

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