UCLA Bruins vs. UC Berkeley Bears: First Half Game Thread

The Bruins will take on the UC Berkeley Golden Bears today at 12:30 pm PT Memorial Stadium. This is an important game for our Bruins, historically and for this season. UCLA has not beaten the Bears up north in sixteen years. One must ask oneself if there is something in the water or is it the strawberries? Whatever the problem, it is incredibly important for this year's team to turn the tide after two bad loses in a row.

Will our defense adjust to the offense that is being run (and to possibly alternating quarterbacks)? Will our defense be able to stop the ball? Will we avoid making drive killing penalties on the offense and drive continuing plays on defense? Will we be able to move the ball on offense, and even more crucially, be able to convert in the red zone? One thing I feel confident about is that Brett Hundley is a much improved quarterback from two years ago when the Bruins last faced the Bears up north. That time Brett was a red-shirt freshman and the Bruins turned the ball over six times. I do not expect anything like that to happen this time. Instead, today Brett will have a chance to break the UCLA record for touchdown passes, needing five to move pass all time leader Cade McNown.

We have a lot of great information about the game at our UC Berkeley hub including very comprehensive previews of the opposition. It is still not too late to get in your pre-game guesses. If you can not attend the game and would like to watch with other Bruins, you can find a list of gathering spots around the country (and in London) here.

The game will be shown on ABC/ESPN2/ESPN Deportes (coverage map). You can also listen by streaming at TuneIn Radio or AM 570 or watch online at ESPN3. For you radio listeners, KCAL AM 570 will begin its coverage at 10:30 am in L.A. and KGO 810 AM will carry the game for you bay area folk.

Speaking of Cade McNown, UCLA Athletics has a memorable video of Cade McNown talking about the Bruin's victory over the #11 Ducks on October 17, 1998. Some people might remember this game for some other problems Cade was having, but McNown, Foster, Farmer, and company pulled out a great win for their 15th straight victory.

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