UCLA vs. LSU Week 1: Storylines to Watch

Here are the five biggest narratives to keep an eye on before, during and after the Bruins' game against the Tigers

UCLA football is scheduled to kick off its Week 1 game against LSU on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

Even with the season starting against Hawaii a week ago, this has been the more anticipated game, both by fans and the national media, all offseason long. A win over the Rainbow Warriors marked a rare positive early showing by the Bruins, but the Tigers pose a much more daunting threat in more ways than one.

Heading into the Week 1 matchup, here are the most pressing questions we want to have answered by the final whistle.

Can Thompson-Robinson rebound?

To be frank, quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson did not play well Saturday against Hawaii.

Thompson-Robinson practically said it himself after the game.

Do I need to play better? 10000%. Do we have the best RB duo in the country? DAMN RIGHT. Great TEAM win! Back to the practice field. #TunnelVision

— 🦋 (@DoriansTweets) August 28, 2021

The fact of the matter is that 10-of-20 passing for 130 yards, a touchdown and a 121.1 passer rating is not going to cut it against LSU. Taking into account he's going against maybe the best cornerback duo in the country in Derek Stingley Jr. and Eli Ricks, bouncing back from that kind of performance against a Group of Five team is going to be all the more difficult.

Still, Thompson-Robinson put up season-low passer ratings in the openers of each of the past two seasons – counting only the games he completed in full. By that logic, Thompson-Robinson will take, at the very least, a minor step up, and considering he didn't have any turnovers or back-breaking plays against Hawaii, that would only mean good things for the Bruins.

Exactly how much Thompson-Robinson needs to produce in order to lead his team to a win remains to be seen, but the Bruins will surely need more than they got out of him a week ago.

How many fans will show up?

One of the major storylines following Saturday's win over the Rainbow Warriors didn't have anything to do with what went down on the field.

Instead, many people were focused on the near-record-low 32,982 reported attendance, and the fact that far fewer than that actually appeared to show up. UCLA's poor turnout at the Rose Bowl had been a topic of discussion in recent years, and the COVID-19 pandemic threw an additional wrench into that.

Looking ahead to the LSU game, anywhere from 15,000 to 25,000 Tiger fans are reportedly going to roll through Pasadena. That alone will provide a far bigger attendance boost than the Hawaii fans did, but now the question becomes will UCLA be able to get more butts in seats than LSU?

Playing a virtual away game in your own home stadium can be distracting enough on the field, not to mention the stain it would represent on the program and its fanbase moving forward. UCLA and the Pac-12 have long been the target of jokes and mockery when it comes to their fans and their place in the modern college football landscape.

That could either be silenced or heightened depending on how many Bruin fans show up come Saturday night.

Who will lead the way in the Bruin backfield?

Zach Charbonnet didn't just set the Hawaii defense ablaze last week, he also took over the internet.

The Michigan transfer running back was the talk of the college football world after he put up 106 yards and three touchdowns on just six carries. Charbonnet's highlights made the rounds from several different angles, each new one only adding to his of his tackling-breaking aura.

Not to be overlooked, however, was Brittain Brown, who also tallied a touchdown to go along with his 78 yards and 6.0 yards per carry.

Brown was listed as RB1 on the two-deep depth chart released by the team Monday, and despite the gap in production, he clearly held that position a week ago – he had 13 carries to Charbonnet's six. Considering the fact he was the incumbent who had a solid 543 yards on 6.6 yards per carry in seven games in 2020, Brown was expected to start over Charbonnet.

At the same time, Charbonnet was not supposed to be this good, this fast. The two could split time evenly down the middle, or they could both have short leashes that lead to the other one getting more touches.

Both Charbonnet and Brown boast similar physical traits and play styles, so coach Chip Kelly will be able to rotate the pair on a whim all night long. 

How will the defense handle Johnson?

Max Johnson is not a Heisman candidate, nor is he a future first round pick.

He is, however, better than Hawaii's Chevan Cordeiro and stands to be one of the most physically difficult and unique quarterbacks UCLA will have to corral this fall.

Johnson has proven to be a viable high-volume option for LSU, seen in the Tigers' two wins against Florida and Ole Miss to round out last season. Johnson averaged 43.5 attempts per game in those two contests, posting a 55.1% completion percentage and a 140.7 passer rating to go along with his six touchdowns through the air and two more on the ground. LSU won when it put the ball in Johnson's hands regardless of his efficiency, that much was clear last year.

He is not a top-tier playmaker, but he gets the ball out of his hands fast and knows when to tuck and run and break tackles when his first read isn't there. That makes Johnson a relatively simple-minded quarterback, so press coverage and aggressive blitz packages could throw him off his game.

That's exactly what UCLA used to get in Cordeiro's head, but it might not be that simple against Johnson. The latter has 4 inches and 30 pounds on the former, and the Bruins already struggled to finish tackles on Cordeiro.

UCLA's quarterback spy, whether that be striker Qwuantrezz Knight, linebacker Jordan Genmark Heath, linebacker Kain Medrano or raider Bo Calvert, is going to be on top of their game, both in reading plays and completing tackles on first contact.

Which player will stand out most to NFL scouts?

Scouts from the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans were present at last Saturday's game versus Hawaii, and those are just the ones we saw checking in for credentials two hours before kickoff. With LSU coming to the West Coast, there will likely be representatives from most, if not all, NFL teams to get a first-hand look at who projects to be the best pro.

Stingley is already projected to be a top-10 pick, so he would be the easy choice for who stands out the most to these scouts.

Looking elsewhere, though, left tackle Sean Rhyan could help solidify a first round grade of his own, while Thompson-Robinson can play well enough for teams to consider taking a shot on him in the later rounds. Players like Knight and defensive end Mitchell Agude, who have not taken the traditional path to the NFL, may impress teams enough to get put on their boards and draw more attention as the season goes on.

LSU also has receiver Kayshon Boutte and cornerback Eli Ricks who can leave for the NFL in 2023, and Charbonnet could very well put together an encore performance that makes NFL staffs further mock Jim Harbough for letting him leave Michigan.

There is a lot of top-end talent taking the field Saturday, and in a few years' time, a bunch of them will be playing on Sundays. 

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