UCLA Football: Carson Steele Approaching Stanford Game with Full Respect

Each game needs to be taken seriously no matter the opponent.

As the UCLA Bruins prepare for their match-up with the Stanford Cardinal this weekend, they know they can't overlook them. After dropping their second game of the season last week, UCLA has to come into each game with a win-or-go-home mindset.

Their loss to Oregon State highlighted some issues for the Bruins, and now they need to correct them before taking the field against Standford. Stanford stormed back last week to take down the upstart Colorado Buffalos on the road, so they have shown they can play with some of the better Pac-12 teams. UCLA can't take them for granted this week, and it seems that they won't.

Running back Carson Steele spoke with reporters about the upcoming match-up and gave thoughts on what could make Stanford a challenge for this Bruins team.

“They’re a really sound defense. A lot of people will try to take them for granted and stuff like that just with their record and stuff but overall, you know it’s still a packed team. It’s still a great defense, great offense and just like you saw last week you know they came back from a really big game on a good team so you know it’s definitely you know a big fight. We got to come back and be 1-0 this week.”

Per Carson Steele via Bruin Report Online YouTube Channel

Steele understands that the Bruins missed an opportunity last week and that the team doesn't want to make the same mistake again against Stanford. The Cardinal have shown that they are capable of taking down some good teams, and UCLA doesn't want to be the next one in their way.

One key for the Bruins will be to get the running game going to start. They didn't do this against Oregon State, and it came back to bite them. Steele has been great for the Bruins this year, putting up 523 yards on 93 carries with three touchdowns. It could be a big day for the offense if they can get him into a rhythm early on.

The Bruins must come out strong in the game and set the tone early on. They don't want to find themselves in a dogfight with this club toward the end of the game so preparation will play a big role in this one.

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