An overview of how UCLA is playing against the Cincinnati offense, defense



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UCLA football will start its season in the same way did last year – deal with the Bearcats of Cincinnati. After losing 26-17 last year at the Rose Bowl, the Bruins will be heading to Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium on Aug. 29 with a chance to reverse the situation. The attack is very heavy and one of the best defenses in the country since last season. This is the Daily Bruin Editor's Screening Report Jack Perez.

Cincinnati Offense

Basic training: Spread, pistol

Percentage of execution (2018): 61.6% of the race, 40.44% of success

Strength: The halves

Weakness: Who passed

X factor: RB Michael Warren II

The Bearcats racked up 239.5 yards per game last season, racking up at least 125 yards in each game. Cincinnati ran more than 300 yards twice in 2018 and has accumulated more rushing yards than 9 passing yards in nine of his 13 games.

It would be a shock if his coach, Luke Fickell, moved away from the attacking style of play that led the team to 11-2, including a Bruin defense that gave the team 194 yards. Bearcats soil at the Rose Bowl in 2018.

Warren will lead the backfield for Cincinnati again. He had 142 yards and three touchdowns in 35 races against the Bruins and finished the 2018 season with 1,329 yards in 12 games.

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Warren is not the only weapon the Bearcats have in the backfield. The halfbacks Tavion Thomas and Charles McClelland each rushed for more than 400 yards and could take over Warren if anything happened to the starter. At the very least, they will be effective reversals.

While Cincinnati will undoubtedly support his current game, quarterback Desmond Ridder will take the reins for the second year in a row. He was not asked to do much in the passing game last season as he only tried 311 passes – an average of about 24 per game.

Ridder struggled in the biggest games of his first season as the Bearcats' senior quarterback. He completed less than 50% of his passes at Temple and UCF, en route to the only two Cincinnati defeats of the season.

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However, Ridder is efficient with his legs, accumulating 583 yards and five touchdowns. He also protected the ball last season by throwing only five interceptions from his 20 touchdowns.

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If the Bruins early gorse the Bearcats game and force Ridder to convert the third try, Cincinnati may have trouble staying on the field. However, if Warren and his company control the clock and preserve the Bruins offense, UCLA could be in Ohio.

The Cincinnati Defense

Defense of the base: 4-3 (can go to 4-2-5)

Blitz trend: Way

Strength: Framing

Weakness: Loss of stars

X factor: Defensive line

The Cincinnati defense has been one of the best in the country and should be at the top again, which will be a tough challenge for UCLA.

The Bearcats have allocated the eleventh lowest number of yards per game in 2018, better than the top teams such as Alabama and Georgia. This is not new to Fickell, who led the Ohio State defense to several top-five defensive positions as Buckeye's defensive coordinator from 2005 to 2016.

Fickell and defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman regularly use a 4-3 defense, but are known to move according to their opponent. The Bearcats did not bombard much of last year's game against the Bruins, but they still sacked the UCLA quarterbacks five times and lost eight tackles.

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Although they created a lot of pressure last season, the Bearcats lost two of their top three triumphs in 2018 – Cortez Broughton and Kimoni Fitz – and will have to find enough new playmakers to make up the difference.

Cincinnati finished 13th in rushing yards per game last season, but was sometimes vulnerable to fast-paced backs that could break through the defensive front. If the Boston Bruins, including second-seeded Kazmeir – who scored a 74-yard touchdown against the Bearcats last year – are able to exploit the inexperience of the new defensemen, they can go wild in Ohio.

Fickell will likely send more body early on to try to upset quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and make up for the loss of star defense power. If this succeeds and the Bruins are forced to make wild throws, the Bearcats can return to the cover and be guided by their training for another higher defensive performance.

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