{"id":82811,"date":"2025-11-21T13:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T18:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=82811"},"modified":"2025-11-21T13:01:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T18:01:15","slug":"washington-at-ucla-prediction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2025\/11\/21\/washington-at-ucla-prediction\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington at UCLA, Prediction"},"content":{"rendered":"

On paper, Washington\u2019s offense matches up favorably against a UCLA defense that is among the lowest-rated in the FBS. But history highlights the struggles that the Huskies have faced when setting foot inside the Rose Bowl. Since 2000, Washington has just one win against UCLA at the historic venue. The Bruins lead the series 7-1 in games played in Pasadena since the turn of the century. The Huskies’ most recent trip to Los Angeles was in 2022, when UCLA defeated a Michael Penix Jr.-led squad. History aside, the Husky offense figures to have several advantages when on the field on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Washington Eyes Challenge Inside Rose Bowl<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Continuing Run Game<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Last week, Jordan Washington\u2019s 100-yard rushing performance<\/a> was the first such stat line for a Husky running back since the UC Davis game in week two. \u201cJordan showed that he can do the things that we thought he could do when we brought him here,\u201d Jedd Fisch said this week. He added that Washington\u2019s skill set is more than just a perimeter, gadget rusher. \u201cWe can hand the ball in between the tackles, and he can do what he did.\u201d Fisch said that Washington hit 22.5 miles per hour on his 68-yard touchdown run against Purdue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alongside Washington, Adam Mohammed<\/a> earned his first start and scored three touchdowns on 17 carries. The two Husky tailbacks averaged 7.6 yards per carry against Purdue, re-establishing a backfield that had struggled to find its footing in weeks prior. The running back room is likely to see the return of Jonah Coleman<\/a> this week as well. \u201cJonah\u2019s having a good week and we are excited about where [he] looks.\u201d Fisch reiterated that he thought Coleman would play last week against Purdue, but didn\u2019t. He said the running back had a minor setback during warmups that caused him to remain sidelined for an additional week. \u201cI’m confident that he\u2019ll play [against UCLA], but we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Expectations at Offensive Line<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Last week, Washington\u2019s offensive line featured John Mills at right tackle and Zach Henning at center. With Paki Finau at left guard, the group rotated between Geirean Hatchett and true freshman Champ Taulealea at right guard. It was the first start of the year for that combination, and they were responsible for zero sacks. The one sack allowed last week got through the running back protection. As a group, this offensive line gave up just one quarterback pressure, according to Pro Football Focus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the way they played last week was also something that makes me feel good,\u201d Fisch said about this rotation heading to Pasadena. With Landen Hatchett\u2019s right hand in a cast, he\u2019s available at a guard spot but unable to snap the football. Fisch said that Drew Azzopardi is also unlikely to play against the Bruins. Last week\u2019s offensive line rotation figures to get its second start as a group.<\/span><\/p>\n

A potentially fully healthy backfield behind an offensive line that established confidence in last week\u2019s win over Purdue sets up an advantage for the Husky offense. UCLA\u2019s run defense is among the weakest in the Big Ten and ranks 123rd nationally. The Bruins give up 194 rushing yards per game on average, allowing over five yards per carry. In terms of success rate, UCLA\u2019s run defense ranks 134th in college football at 48.2% allowed. The matchup at the point of attack favors the Washington run game on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Field Consumption\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In home conference games, Washington is gaining an average of 66.3% of its available yards. That\u2019s including the loss to Ohio State, where the Huskies gained just 46% of their possible yards. On the road in conference, that average number drops to 41.7%. Saturday, the Washington offense has an opportunity to correct that road number against a UCLA defense that ranks 131st in available yards allowed (59.5%).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A big reason for this issue is due to the Bruins\u2019 late-down defense. That side of the football has been unable to get off the field, and teams are stringing together long, successful drives. UCLA ranks last (136th) in the FBS in third-down conversion rate at 55.6% allowed. The average distance opponents face on third down against this Bruin squad is a mere 5.2 yards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UCLA Offense<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Bruin offense features a familiar face for Fisch. Jerry Neuheisel has been calling plays for UCLA since the Penn State upset victory in early October. \u201cI\u2019ve known Jerry since 2005,\u201d Fisch said this week. \u201cSo it’s been fun to always root for him, to watch him. And I think he\u2019s done a tremendous job of utilizing the talent he has, utilizing that quarterback and finding different ways to move the ball.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the ways that UCLA moves the ball well is with its run game. The Bruins\u2019 success rate on the ground ranks inside the top 30 in college football. The ground game was a significant portion of their consecutive wins over Penn State, Michigan State, and Maryland. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava<\/a> leads the team with 96 rushing attempts. That\u2019s 15 more than running back Jaivian Thomas. Iamaleava also leads the Bruins in rushing yards with 474 on the season (including sack yards). He was sidelined against Ohio State last week, dealing with a concussion. The signal caller returned to the practice field this week, but his status for Saturday is still not certain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dual-Threat Quarterbacks<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Looking at sack-adjusted rushing numbers, Iamaleava has four 75-plus yard rushing performances this season. He has done a lot of his damage on the ground off script. The quarterback has 600 sack-adjusted rushing yards this season, and 457 of those have come on scrambles. Iamaleava is averaging 8.2 rushing yards per attempt and is the most significant threat on the ground. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Washington defense has not faced a quarterback of that rushing caliber this season. That is, of course, not including practice against Demond Williams. The two Big Ten quarterbacks are averaging nearly identical rushing yards per game this season. Should Iamaleava be cleared to play, Saturday\u2019s game inside the Rose Bowl will feature the Big Ten\u2019s best dual-threat quarterbacks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Washington – 27<\/span><\/p>\n

UCLA – 21<\/span><\/p>\n

How To Watch<\/h3>\n

Day\/Date:<\/strong> Saturday, November 21st<\/p>\n

Time:<\/strong> 10:30 pm EST<\/p>\n

Location:<\/strong> Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA<\/p>\n

TV:<\/strong> NBC\/Peacock<\/p>\n

Main Image: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On paper, Washington\u2019s offense matches up favorably against a UCLA defense that is among the lowest-rated in the FBS. But history highlights the struggles that the Huskies have faced when setting foot inside the Rose Bowl. Since 2000, Washington has just one win against UCLA at the historic venue. The Bruins lead the series 7-1 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3944,"featured_media":81511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,35603,35612],"tags":[1666,35460,33286],"class_list":["post-82811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bigten","category-usc-trojans","category-washington-huskies","tag-jedd-fisch","tag-john-mills","tag-landen-hatchett"],"modified_by":"Kate Pearson Halyburton, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3944"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82811"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82817,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82811\/revisions\/82817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}