Pac 12 Power Rankings Week 3: Can Stanford run the table?

UCLA gets the best in a defensive battle against BYU.

UCLA is on their way to fixing their issues they lost to Texas A&M in week one. Their offense is still not where it should be, however, but the defense is getting much better. They proved this when they held BYU to only 23 yards rushing thanks to Jayon Brown who played a large part in it. The linebacker came down with nine tackles in the game.

As for the offense, Josh Rosen has not been the standout he was his freshman season. He hasn’t tanked but the numbers are just not there. For example, against BYU, he passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns but also tossed an interception for the second game this year. On the season Rosen has 917 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions.

”Josh has such high expectations for himself that, sometimes, he lets it get the best of him,” UCLA coach Jim Mora said. ”He has to realize he’s not going to play a perfect game. He just has to play up to his ability level and his capabilities.”

It also doesn’t help that running back Nate Starks isn’t performing well enough to keep the pressure off Rosen. Starks finished with just 39-yards on 15 carries. This shows the significance of Soso Jamabo. The sophomore has 343 yards on the ground with three touchdowns in just two games.

This week they will have their second strong test of the season as they will face Stanford. The same issues they had with BYU have to be gone before they hit the field or the Cardinals will put the hurt on them fast. They average 203.5 rushing per game and will be overwhelming if they can’t stop playmakers such as Christian McCaffrey.