Reynolds has thrown for 14 touchdowns through his 4.5 games this season. That won’t bode well with a matchup against a pass-heavy Charlotte offense led by quarterback Chris Reynolds. Most of the damage has come through the air, as the group is allowing eight yards per pass attempts this season. Getting 6.5 points here, the value is on the Bruins, and I will be sprinkling on UCLA’s moneyline as well.Ĭharlotte and Florida International present a matchup with two of the worst defenses in the country.įlorida International ranks 119th in scoring defense against FBS opponents, allowing 37 points per game. The last two matchups in this series have been decided by three points. However, this year, he has his best team since arriving in Westwood. UCLA head coach Chip Kelly is 0-3 against his former employer, so he will have a little added motivation this week. The bend-don’t-break style has worked to this point. The Bruins do a good job of making their opponents drive the length of the field and then kicking field goals. However, UCLA ranks 13th in yards per carry allowed and 21st in yards per play allowed. I do not expect this to be an easy game for UCLA, as Oregon has a potent offense itself.

They rank 82nd in scoring defense, 113th in passing yards allowed per game and 78th in yards allowed per play. The Ducks have still allowed 20 points in every game against FBS opponents. Oregon has picked itself off the mat since its 49-3 loss to Georgia in the season opener. UCLA has the balance to keep Oregon off balance and will not be facing the stingiest Oregon defense. Joining Thompson-Robinson in the backfield is Zach Charbonnet, who leads the Pac-12 with 123 rushing yards per game, ranks second at 7.1 yards per carry and fourth with six rushing touchdowns. I’ll side with Dorian Thompson-Robinson over Bo Nix any day of the week.

He sports a 15:2 touchdown-to-interception ratio and also has 231 rushing yards and four touchdowns. In a deep group of Pac-12 quarterbacks, Thompson-Robinson leads the conference in both completion percentage (74.8) and passer efficiency (180.6). However, the Bruins lost by three in their last trip to Eugene in 2020, which included a pick-six by its backup quarterback.ĭorian Thompson-Robinson missed that game, but he will be on the field this Saturday and is playing at the highest level of his career.

Sure, five of those six games were at home and now UCLA must head to raucous Autzen Stadium. However, apparently a 6-0 start that includes consecutive thumpings over Washington and Utah is not enough. I’m really not sure what else UCLA needs to do to earn respect.

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