It could be Welcome Back to the Basics Day for UCLA on Saturday.
The Bruins play Stanford, which brings the Pacific 10 Conference's second-best rushing attack to the Rose Bowl. UCLA, meanwhile, is still stinging from giving up 323 yards rushing in its last game, a 31-24 loss to Oregon.
This seems like a bad match-up for the tackling-challenged Bruins. Yet, they many be better equipped to deal with the Cardinal ground game than they were against Oregon. The Ducks shredded UCLA with their spread offense, with quarterback Jeremiah Masoli rushing for 170 yards.
Stanford uses some elements of the spread, but the Cardinal are more meat-and-potatoes than crème brulee when it comes to running the football.
"It's more an NFL-style running game, with two big, old backs," UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker said. "In terms of what we played last week, Oregon tries to get you in space, one-on-one. Stanford is different, but you still have to stop it."
Stanford's Toby Gerhart is fourth in the conference in rushing, averaging 91 yards a game. Anthony Kimble is ninth, averaging 60.
Still, the Bruins' defense, geared more toward gang tackling, might be able to handle this style.
"There has been a changing of the guard in terms of offenses in this conference and it is putting a lot of pressure on defenses to handle them all," UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel said. "You have to be athletic enough to handle all of them."
Second chance
Tackle Micah Kia, who lost his starting job three weeks ago, will get another chance Saturday. He will start at right tackle.
"He's better," Neuheisel said. "It's a competitive thing. We're asking these guys to compete and fight and I think Micah is at the point now where he wants to play again."
chris.foster@latimes.com
