Spaulding Report: UCLA Football Talking Defense Against Nebraska

UCLA defensive coordinator Tom Bradley spoke to the media today about preparing to face Nebraska in the Foster Farms Bowl in 11 days.

Bradley's history with Nebraska goes back over 30 years to his early days at Penn State and those legendary Nebraska teams of the 80s. He says he isn't concerned about the current Huskers team record of 5-7, noting that 6 of those games were one score games and the Huskers could easily have been a 10 win team this year, to say nothing of the tradition and passion that is the Nebraska Football program. They were, after all, the only team to beat CFP bound Michigan State this year.

He said the Bruins have to account for Huskers QB Tommy Armstrong due to his athleticism, but their big strength will be running the football. He expects that Nebraska will present some challenges they haven't seen and they'll have to be ready to adjust for that.

Bradley also discussed how the layoff before a bowl game changes the dynamic on the field, and he feels like the Bruins will need to "survive" the first quarter. He felt the team has had two good practices this week and didn't think that motivation would be an issue for his defense, especially since its a chance to send the seniors out with a win and to set a positive tone for the winter workouts.

Bradley also talked about the importance of OLB Aaron Wallace and his contributions this season.

Thanks to David Woods and Bruin Report Online for the video.

Kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn also met with the media today and discussed his feeling on winning the Lou Groza award and being a consensus All-American.

If you had asked me at the start of the year which Bruin was poised to be a consensus All-American, I would have suggested Myles Jack, Kenneth Clark, Jake Brendel, and Paul Perkins, in that order. Ka'imi wasn't really high on my radar in the preseason, but there's no question he had an outstanding senior campaign.

Fairbairn says the NFL is his next target and credited Jeff Locke and Kevin McDermott for helping him get started as a freshman and Jim Mora for his ongoing faith during some rocky times in his college career.

Thanks to Jack Wang and InsideUCLA for the video.

The Bruins will be back at practice tomorrow as the prepare of the Foster Farms Bowl that is just over a week and a half away.

GO BRUINS!!