Nebraska Tailgate Talk: Wondering if UCLA + TJ & NU = W or L

The Nebraska football team travels to sunny Pasadena, California to take on the UCLA Bruins in a late night Saturday game (8:00 pm CDT) televised on FOX. Kickoff temperatures will be a beautiful 77 degrees with light winds inside the Rose Bowl.

First things first. WAY TO GO Husker Nation! I did not expect a blackout to the extent that it was executed on Saturday. It's estimated 98% of the stadium was in black. That two percent was probably all the USC fans I saw and met that day. I'm proud to say the fans executed their assignment at a high level. I'll admit it was WEIRD to see the stadium in all black, but kudos to the marketing department and fans! Second shout out goes to our favorite offensive weapon, Emmett Johnson who went over the 1,000 yard rushing mark. It's been a hot minute since we've seen that and they weren't easy yards given the patchwork that is the Husker O-line.

Nebraska football hopes Bruin meat tastes like chicken

There was hope in Lincoln when it was 14-21 (Huskers) in the 3rd Q. It looked like a win against a ranked opponent was actually going to happen. The Blackshirts were doing good things and so was the Big Red offense. There weren't many yards after the catch for USC. Ceyair Wright was smothering USC's best receiver Mekai Lemon leaving him only 2 catches, and Javin Wright had 11 tackles on the night. It was the 2nd lowest completion rate so far this season for the Trojans. It was also the 2nd lowest total yards in a game for USC. Then Dylan Raiola goes down. The rest of the sad story is history.

Now it's up to Husker freshman backup QB TJ Lateef. What do we know about the new kid? Well, he's played a few times this season but not with the pressure of really performing at clutch time. It's November in the B1G. It's the epitome of clutch time. As doomsday as that scenario is, I kind of feel like Nebraska is in good hands. TJ was an All-State California QB coming out of high school. He had a 71% pass completion rate with 292 yards rushing with 5 TDs, and 2,274 passing yards with 23 TDs in a competitive league. We'll know way more about him around 11 o'clock Saturday night.

UCLA looked like an easy win early on in the season. However, after firing head coach DeShaun Foster after only week 4, the team under the defensive-minded interim coach, Tim Skipper, has rallied and played much better. Most recently, the Bruins fell to Indiana a couple weeks ago but everyone is doing that lately. The Bruins are efficient in the red zone. UCLA QB (can I buy a vowel) Nico Iamaleava has a 63% completion rate with 10 TDs on the season so far. Consequently, he also has 7 INTs. He is also hard to tackle at 6' 6" - 215, and is looking to lead their team to bowl eligibility this week.

There are 4 Bruin running backs with 200 yards each... and YEAH they are coming off a bye week. Sound familiar? (insert the middle finger to the scheduling people in the B1G who continue to do this to Nebraska). Linebacker JonJon Vaughns is a very effective Bruin weapon as he leads the B1G in tackles and is 9th in the FBS. Nico's favorite target is WR Kwazi Gilmer who has 31 catches on the season for 382 yards. Those are the Cliff's notes.

On the bright side for the Huskers, UCLA struggles against a mobile QB. Did I mention TJ Lateef can scramble? I guarantee there will be designed runs for him in the playbook Saturday. UCLA is also ranked 124th against the run. Hello, Emmett Johnson. I think you will see a healthy dose of him as well, especially since there is a bye week on the horizon. A good running game takes a lot of the pressure of TJ Lateef.

One of the surprises I'm looking for in this game will be the reemergence of Jacory Barney. If you noticed during warmups this year, that's the receiver playing catch with Lateef on the sidelines. Barney has been mostly absent from the stat sheet so far this year. It's safe to say they have a chemistry and that may very well play out on Saturday. He stands tall in the pocket and has a high release. I think he will be able to push the ball downfield Saturday night.

For the Huskers to be successful, they will need to keep Iamaleava from leaving the pocket (I couldn't resist). Big Red needs to run it down their throat and control the clock. The Blackshirts will need to be disciplined in the short routes and try, just try, to limit explosive plays. There is a sense of revenge in the Husker locker room against UCLA I suspect. This will be a game where emotions need to stay in check. There is still a lot out there for Nebraska even though they are out of the playoff picture (did anyone really thing they were going to be in it?). Tj Lateef has a quick release and moves well in the pocket. He also has an uninjured compliment of receivers.

This is where I add in a cool recipe for the game. Instead, the recipe for a good tailgate is always good people. Last week I got to meet quite a few USC fans. They were very nice and I've got 3 invitations to tailgates when Nebraska plays out west. As the Husker faithful head out to Pasadena I hope that their fans are just as welcoming. It's going to be a late night and an interesting game. I have faith in this young kid behind center. Grab your friends, and put that fire pit in the garage and set up the tv for the ultimate homegate. If you travel out west, bring your voice, your Husker charm, and as always, GO BIG RED!