UCLA football looks to keep momentum going in Nebraska – Daily News

There has been excitement in the air at UCLA football practice since the Bruins defeated Rutgers two weeks ago.

Head coach DeShaun Foster and his players have been talking about energy all week and are generating it in every way possible, whether behind the scenes in meeting rooms or during pre-practice hype sessions led by performance coach Corey Miller.

“It’s just about keeping the energy,” said defenseman Kaylin Moore. “We just have to have energy every day, no matter what it is, the bye week, the training week, in meetings. We just have to have the energy to keep going until the next game.”

The Bruins (2-5 overall, 1-4 Big Ten) finally ended their winning streak and earned their first win as a member of the Big Ten Conference by defeating Rutgers before heading into a bye week. Their momentum will be tested Saturday when the Bruins travel to Nebraska (5-3, 2-3) for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff.

UCLA has adjusted to the Big Ten Conference's travel schedule and is planning a relatively short trip to the Midwest. Nebraska comes into the game with energy of its own after nearly upsetting No. 4 Ohio State last weekend. With about two minutes left in the game, the Buckeyes intercepted a pass to secure the win.

“We talk all the time about how it’s all about us, it’s all about us,” center Sam Yoon said. “No matter who the opponent is, as long as we stick to our technique, stick to what we’ve been training for months and months and months, we’ll be fine.”

Yoon is part of an offensive line that appears to be on the rise in terms of cohesion and performance in the passing game. The team has gone through several configurations this season but has finally achieved some consistency and will likely go into Saturday's game with the same starters as the last three games.

Quarterback Ethan Garbers turned in his career-best performance against Rutgers and appears to be fully healthy after the Bruins dedicated the bye week to recovery. Attention will also be on Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola – the freshman has started every game this season.

“Their quarterback is a relatively big deal just because he's a young freshman quarterback and he can make plays with his legs and with his arm,” linebacker Carson Schwesinger said. “We expect a team that is physically fit and we also have to play physically.”

When Nebraska has the ball

The Huskers move the ball down the field with the help of Raiola's arm, which averages 218 yards per game. Nebraska also allowed him to be sacked 17 times, for a loss of 134 yards. Nine Bruins have had at least half a sack this season and linebacker Carson Schwesinger leads the group with two sacks. He is also the team's leading tackler with 72 total tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss.

The Huskers average 126.4 yards per game and are led by Dante Dowdell with six touchdowns and 51.3 yards per game. UCLA has limited its opponents to an average of 98.6 yards on the ground this season, which ranks 13th nationally in that category.