Game Day Bruin Bites and Early Game Open Thread

Good morning, Bruins! Today, UCLA plays UC Berkeley at Memorial Stadium in Strawberry Canyon. Let's take a quick look at what's being written today. We'll start off with Chris Foster of the LA Times. He has an article looking at the rivalry between the two schools.

He tells how Ducky Drake would speak to the team about how the people from Berkeley treated the Bruins like poor relations. and how he "raged about it before UCLA-Cal football games from 1972-1988."

Foster mentions that Drake's sentiments were last uttered in Westwood in 2009 when Ed Kezirian spoke about it.

But, to UC Berkeley QB Jared Goff and UCLA Center Jake Brendel, it isn't that big of a deal.

He quotes Coach Mora who spoke about the game this week:

I don't look back on games that are 2 years old....This is a game we need to win. I have learned more about the USC-UCLA rivalry because it is right here. I don't involve myself in a lot of that because it is really irrelevant to us at this moment in time. Now, I understand the relevance to everybody else.

Meanwhile, UC Berkeley grad Jack Wang examines the matchups over on InsideSoCal.com. In comparing UCLA's offense to Cal's defense, Wang writes the UC Berkeley's defense is similar to Arizona State's defense in terms of the number of yards per play they give up. He is quick to mention how Brett Hundley played "the game of his life in Tempe" and follows that up by writing that "UCLA needs him to do something similar at Memorial Stadium." Wang gives the Bruins the edge here.

In comparing UC Berkeley's offense to UCLA's defense, he writes about how Jared Goff has stepped up his game this season and, while he mentions the running threat posed by true freshman QB Luke Rubenzer, he doesn't say much more about the freshman. Considering that UCLA's defense has struggled against QBs like Rubenzer the past few weeks, I think focusing on Goff could prove fatal for our defense and I won't be surprised if Rubenzer ends up playing most of the game. Wang gives Cal's offense the edge.

Wang considers Special Teams a draw, but, ultimately, thinks Hundley will have one of his best games this season and he gives the Bruins the edge 48-41.

There's a lot of football being played elsewhere around the country today. To help you out, here's a full list of games, kickoff times and where you can find them.

This is your early game open thread.

Go Bruins!