Football seeks to redeem itself against tough ASU offense

The native San Franciscan brought the broom.

At Tuesday’s press conference, defensive line coach Angus McClure reveled in the San Francisco Giants’ three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, which clinched their wild card spot in the MLB playoffs.

“They fought their way to the playoffs so we’ll see what happens tomorrow,” McClure said. “They’ve won three World Series in five years. And twice as a wild card. We’re in a good spot.”

McClure’s UCLA team isn’t in the Pac-12 championship game yet, but it’s also in a good position, showing off its toughness in a hard-fought win over division rival Arizona.

After matching the Wildcats’ aggressiveness and physicality Saturday, the Bruins will have to do the same against a similarly physical Arizona State Sun Devil offense in Tempe, Arizona.

“They’re a physical offensive line. Their center is one of the best rookie offensive linemen in the conference,” McClure said. “The tackles are athletic and do a nice job of pass protecting. Their offense is excellent and they do a lot of things on the run game.”

[Related: UCLA football pulls together in a team effort to overpower Arizona]

ASU’s offensive line dominated UCLA at the Rose Bowl last year and capped off their 38-23 win by pushing then-sophomore Kalen Ballage past the defense and into the end zone for one more touchdown.

This season, UCLA has put on historically dominant performances, holding BYU to just 50 rushing yards and limiting big playmakers like Stanford’s junior running back Christian McCaffrey and Arizona’s redshirt sophomore quarterback Brandon Dawkins.

“I think we have much better synergy as a defense,” McClure said. “Guys understand their assignments and their playing styles, habits. We’ve bonded as a defense and they hold each other accountable.”

UCLA has dropped two close games this season to Texas A&M and Stanford, just minutes away from winning both and staying undefeated on the season.

In a new year and new season, the Bruins are still in control of their own destiny. But last year’s gut-wrenching game against ASU – which proved detrimental when the Bruins finished second in the Pac-12 South and missed the championship game – leaves a bitter taste in their mouths and lingers more than a year later.

Junior linebacker Kenny Young was one of the players who failed to stop Ballage and the Sun Devil front line, handing the then-No. 7 Bruins their first loss of 2015. The linebacker said that the key to the defense this year is the mental approach consistency, something the team didn’t always show last year.

But with two losses under its belt already, UCLA is using those games as fuel for Saturday.

“It’s in the back of our minds. The losses this year are in the back of our minds,” Young said. “Every downfall we’ve had, it’s always bothered me. This week, it came to my mind. That loss, wow, we lost to those guys and I felt we shouldn’t have lost to them. We’ll continue to strive this week to get a ‘W’ this Saturday.”