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Nebraska-UCLA Preview with Zaid Qureshi, host of the Bruin Source Podcast

Nebraska-UCLA Preview with Zaid Qureshi, host of the Bruin Source Podcast

After two straight road losses to two of the Big Ten’s best teams, the Huskers return home to face UCLA on Saturday. The Bruins will enter Lincoln at 2-5 after struggling under first-year head coach DeShaun Foster. On most betting lines, Nebraska currently has a 6-7 point advantage.

I spoke to Zaid Qureshi, the host of the Bruin Source Podcastto get the UCLA perspective on the upcoming game.

Interview with Zaid Qureshi, host of the Bruin Source Podcast

It’s DeShaun Foster’s first year at UCLA and his first time ever as a head coach. The Bruins started with a Bears tournament that included Indiana, LSU, Oregon and Penn State. After a narrow loss to Minnesota and a win over Rutgers, they seem to have found the right rhythm. What is the mood in the fan base at the moment? What are the expectations for the rest of the season?

The mood is better after Rutgers, but I think the fan base overall is pretty jaded. It would take a few wins back-to-back to really start to feel more positive about Bruin Nation. Expectations are still pretty low. If by some miracle we get five wins (including one against Southern Cal), I think that would be significant for the fan base.

UCLA struggled to pass the ball but had more success through the air. This week, Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White praised quarterback Ethan Garbers’ abilities. How good was Garbers?

Garbers had a season with ups and downs. Once he settles in and gets some time, he can be a very good quarterback. However, if you speed it up and hit it a few times, it tends to make mistakes. The key for Ethan is to get the ball out quickly and make sure the play instruction supports this. I would expect Tony White (a Bruin by the way!) to put pressure on him and see how he handles it, especially our poor OL.

The win over Rutgers may have surprised some people in the Big Ten. What was the key to this victory?

Eric Bienemy ended up calling a play on offense that maximized our strengths (skillful players) and exploited our weaknesses (OL). This included quick passes and moving the pocket so Garbers could operate. It was by far our most effective offensive performance and we were able to operate against a fairly weakened Rutgers defense.

How strong has UCLA’s defense been this season? Is there one thing they want to hang on to?

The run defense was largely solid. DT Jay Toia, LBs Kain Medrano and Carson Schwesinger all combined to form a really effective unit against the run. Ikaika Malloe has used his talent to build a pretty solid defense, especially with a thin and mediocre secondary.

Who have been some of the Bruins’ key contributors so far this year? Who should Husker fans be worried about?

On defense, Jay Toia was good at DT. LB Carson Schwesinger was a revelation and a tackling machine. On offense, our WR corps has a lot of talent with J. Michael Sturdivant, Rico Flores and Titus Mokiao Atimalala. TE Moliki Motavao was also a good outlet for Garbers.

Nebraska and UCLA have met occasionally over the years, but this is the first time they will play as conference mates. Will this be considered a big game in the eyes of Bruin Common fans?

I think Bruin fans have always appreciated playing at Nebraska. The interaction with the Nebraska fan base has always been great. There were some entertaining battles during the Mora years, highlighted by the very noble tributes to UCLA’s Nick Pasquale, who died this year, and there is great respect for the Huskers in Westwood.

What did you see from Nebraska that makes you feel better or worse about UCLA’s chances on Saturday?

Nebraska’s offense seems to have been up and down a bit and Dylan Raiola has come back down to earth a bit (though he was still very good overall). Maybe the defense can keep UCLA in the game if they can limit the run and shake up the freshman QB. Overall, however, Nebraska’s defense will just be too good for UCLA and will likely succeed in putting pressure on Garbers.

UCLA wins if ______.

UCLA wins when it doesn’t turn the ball over, limits the penalties, and can control the clock a bit on offense (aka “run the ball”).

Nebraska wins if ______.

Nebraska wins when it gets after Garbers and wins the turnover battle.

Predicting the final result?

35-17 Nebraska

Author’s Note: Many thanks to Zaid Qureshi, host of the Bruin Source Podcast, for sharing his expertise with Common Fans. Both those Joint fan podcast (Nebraska) and the Bruin Source Podcast (UCLA) are members of The college huddlethe largest fan-run online podcast community for college sports, consisting of a podcast from each fan base represented.

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