Bruins competes with young, promising QB

UCLA got back into the win column as it entered the bye week after dropping its previous five games.

The narrow 35-32 win over Rutgers revived the Bruins, but unfortunately for them, the road doesn’t get any easier.

UCLA’s upcoming opponent, Nebraska, is coming off a hard-fought matchup with No. 4 Ohio State after ultimately losing 21-17.

The Huskers are hungry for a bowl game, and at 5-3 entering Saturday’s matchup, a win would make them eligible.

One of the Bruins’ most prominent tasks on Saturday will be limiting an emerging quarterback in freshman Dylan Raiola. Through eight games, Raiola ranks 10th in the Big Ten in passing yards per game at 218.0. His total passing yards of 1,744 rank eighth in the conference.

UCLA coach DeShaun Foster had high praise for Raiola.

“You can see that he (Raiola) is feeling more and more comfortable,” Foster said at his press conference on Monday. “He’s got a big arm, so he’s going to try to make plays, but I’m excited about our DBs, and our front line, and our linebackers, and everybody. He’s playing good ball. I was with Pat Mahomes in ’16 at Texas Tech So it’s crazy when you see him because he really imitates Pat.”

Bruins linebacker Carson Schwesinger knows the threat Raiola can pose as a playmaker.

“I know their quarterback is relatively important just because — a young freshman quarterback,” Schwesinger told reporters Tuesday, “and he can make plays with his legs, make plays with his arm.”

Schwesinger’s fellow linebacker, Kain Medrano, also described Raiola’s strengths.

“He can throw the ball well, he reads the right direction, but he’s just a good quarterback,” Medrano said Monday when he addressed the media. “We just have to create chaos.”

Raiola has weapons around him that make his life easier.

“They have big receivers,” UCLA defensive back Kaylin Moore said during his media presence on Tuesday. “So they’re going to throw the ball up. They really like to run the ball, but they’re going to throw the ball up, you see one-on-one, so we’re ready for that. They like a lot of quick plays…Lots of different things, but we’re ready for whatever they throw.”

The game between UCLA and Nebraska is Saturday at 3:30 PM at Memorial Stadium.

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