Pregame Guesses: UCLA v. Virginia

In keeping with Achilles' BN tradition, I am going to continue with a musical theme for Pregame Guesses this week. This week's musical selection is "London Calling" by The Clash, inspired in part by Virgina Head Coach Mike London. I know, cheesy play on words.

I originally missed The Clash by a few years. The first song by The Clash that I heard was "Rock the Casbah" in 1982 when I was 13 on The Mighty 690 and MTV. Most fans would say that the band had "jumped the shark" by that time. Their best stuff was in the late 70s, when I was in elementary school. After "Rock the Casbah," The Clash began to fall apart, releasing one last album, which was almost universally panned, and ultimately breaking apart in the mid-80s.

I wasn't until almost a decade later, during that early 90s "second wave" of punk, with the emergence of Green Day, Pennywise, Bad Religion (who had been around for many years prior, but gained more popularity in the early 90s), and others, that I went back to listen more closely to those bands' influences. In doing so, I bought The Clash's iconic nineteen song, double album, "London Calling," released in late 1979. Quite frankly, the album is masterpiece, and draws from many, many different music genres (reggae, R&B, rockabilly, punk, ska, pop, hard rock). It remains, in today's age of iPod shuffle, one of my favorite albums to listen to from start to finish. Check out the iconic lead single, "London Calling':

The song, and the album, both have relevance today. Some of the social issues facing England at the time were unemployment, racial conflict, drug use, and consumerism. Further, "London Calling" was inspired in part by the Three Mile Island accident in the U.S.

So let's see, environmental disasters? Check (the EPA's spill of heavy metal laden wastewater into the Animas River).  Unemployment? Getting better but still, check. Racial conflict? At an all time high in my lifetime. Check. Drug use? Setting aside the use of illegal drugs, the abuse of prescription drugs is at an all time high. Check. Consumerism? Black Friday, Force Friday (which is today and of which I am guilty of participation). Check. This album is as relevant today as it was 36 years ago when it was released.

Go ahead, do yourself a favor, and get this on iTunes. You won't be disappointed.

So how does this relate to UCLA v. Virginia football? Well, aside from the name "London Calling" and Virginia Head Coach Mike London, I am not sure. How about, if UVa has a tough season (and I expect and hope that the Bruins make it extremely tough with a convincing win tomorrow), they will be CALLING for LONDON'S head?  Ooooohhh, I know, that pun is as bad as the jump to conclusions mat from "Office Space."

Let's move on and talk about some football pregame guesses . . .

For me, the most interesting thing to watch tomorrow is the defensive scheme that Coach Tom Bradley brings to the table. The first pregame guess will have to address the performance of the Bruin defense, specifically the pressure of the front seven. I can't wait to see how teams try to handle Eddie Vanderdoes and Kenny Clark (double, double teams anyone?).  UVa's line will have its work cut out for them.

So, for PREGAME GUESS #1: What will be higher, the number of UCLA's combined sacks and tackles for loss, or the number of touchdowns scored by the Bruins?

A very, very close second for me tomorrow is the debut of Josh Rosen. Will the coaches let him throw the ball, or will he hand if off to Paul Perkins and company, acting as a game manager in his first start? It won't get any easier from here on out, so I think they should approach this game with a BALANCED attack. I may be totally wrong, and we may lean on the backs, with Rosen throwing the ball 20-25 times or less.

So, for PREGAME GUESS #2: Which yardage total will be higher, Josh Rosen's passing yards or the combined rushing yards of Paul Perkins and Nate Starks?

Finally, I expect that there will be some freshman, other than Josh Rosen, who will get some playing time tomorrow. redshirt freshman WR, Jordan Lasley, should play. So should true freshman, RB, Soso Jamabo. Maybe true freshman TE, Chris Clark.

So, for PREGAME GUESS #3: True or false: A UCLA freshman playing in his first game will score a touchdown tomorrow (note: it could be any of the three I mentioned above, or any freshman playing in his first game scoring a TD on offense, defense, or special teams).

I hope you enjoyed the first edition of 2015 Pregame Guesses. List your answers in the thread below.

Go Bruins!!