Heading into a second Big Ten matchup of the 2024 college football season, LSU coach Brian Kelly took some time to discuss UCLA and the aspects of their team that he has his eye on for this week four battle in Tiger Stadium.
LSU coach Brian Kelly expecting UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster to have his team ready for a tough away environment
LSU football is set to return home for their second Big Ten matchup of the season, this time coming against the Bruins of UCLA. Currently sitting with a record of 1-1 with a win over Hawaii and a recent blowout loss vs. the Hoosiers of Indiana, it’s pretty clear that DeShaun Foster is looking to get his sea legs under him as a first time head coach. With all of that said, there are certainly some signs of life, particularly in the culture department.
This is a team that loves to play for their coach, and when it comes to pulling off an upset or two in college football, sometimes that’s all it takes.
In turn, LSU coach Brian Kelly is understandably keeping a close eye on the California program and what they’ll more than likely bring to the table on Saturday in Tiger Stadium.
“A team that we played in 2021 – they beat us out there in 2021 and we get a chance on the back end of this home-and-home to play them in Tiger Stadium. We’re excited to be back at home,” the Tiger head coach began while speaking about the upcoming non-conference battle.
“[Ethan] Garbers, the quarterback transfer from Washington has played a lot of football, and they’ve got some talented receivers in [J.Michael] Sturdivant and [Rico] Flores Jr. [TJ] Harden has rushed for a lot of yards – he knows their system well.”
Having only played two games so far during the 2024 season, we’re still learning about this UCLA program and what they’ll bring to the Big Ten as one of the newest additions to the primarily Midwestern conference.
On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback Ethan Garbers is the man in charge, and he notably has a pass catching core that could be one of the more underrated in the country. Then, when looking at the running game, it hasn’t exactly found its stride quite yet, but with Foster in charge, it truly feels like just a matter of time until junior TJ Harden and crew start to put up some numbers.
Experience is the name of the game for this Bruins defense
While most eyes will be focused on the 2024 LSU football defense and their ability to stop any offense from running the ball at a high level, this weekend has the potential to pose some unexpected challenges on the opposite side of the ball.
“They’re a team that has a lot of veterans,” Kelly began while speaking on the Bruins defense. “I mean, it’s incredible. Having just played a South Carolina team that had 6th-year players and 5th-year players – this defense has a number of similar players in terms of – I don’t know that there’s a freshman or a sophomore on their defense.”
Just last week, Indiana dropped 42 points on UCLA, and while that’s largely unimpressive at first glance, it’s important to add the context that the Hoosiers scored 77 points just one week prior. Still, with all due respect to Indiana, they aren’t better than LSU in 2024, and the Tigers should be able to put on a show this Saturday, as long as they can neutralize a few big-time playmakers from the Bruins.
“This is a veteran defense, a lot of guys transferring in, a lot of veteran players on their defense. Big defensive linemen, athletic linebackers – [Kain] Medrano’s all over the field – and then from a defensive backfield, they’ve got guys with a lot of experience on the back end of their defense.”
Heading into week four of this college football season, senior linebacker Kain Medrano leads his defense with 14 total tackles to go along with a forced fumble.
“I look at this kind of matchup with a team that has been at it for two games, and DeShaun Foster is a UCLA grad, he loves this program, he’s gonna have them playing well on the road.”
LSU football will return to the field this Saturday, September 21, 2024, as Big Ten foe UCLA will travel to Baton Rouge, LA, for a battle in Tiger Stadium. The game will take place at 2:30 p.m. CST and will be available to watch live on ABC or ESPN+.
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