Showdown at the Rose Bowl

The Fresno State Bulldogs, coming off their very hard fought 55-54 double overtime victory at Toledo, has spent this week getting ready for their much anticipated showdown with the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

Though UCLA has not looked good at all this season, this is the same team that knocked of Tennessee to open the season then ran into a very good BYU squad followed by getting beaten by Arizona this past weekend. Fresno State cannot look past this team, especially playing in Los Angeles, the Bruins do not want to drop their 3rd straight game so they'll be fired up and very motivated to get back on track.

On the Fresno State side, after needing two overtimes and defensive stop on a two point conversion, the Bulldogs need to have a big defensive effort and not have their usual slow first half start that they've been known for. This could be Tom Branstater's coming out party, though he didn't exactly have the showing Fresno State wanted against Wisconsin, he could really make a splash on Saturday with a good passing day for the Bulldogs.

Todd's keys to the game: I'm a believer in defense and I know how good this Bulldog defense is and how good they can be. They did not have a good showing at all last Saturday against Toledo, allowing over 200 yards on the ground by 2 different running backs, so the defensive line needs to tighten up on Saturday. UCLA is down to their 3rd string quarterback, Kevin Kraft who is a transfer from San Diego State where he played for his dad Tom Kraft, so the Bulldog offensive line needs to keep up the pressure on him, keep him off balance. If they can do that, Fresno State should dominate this game, but don't count on UCLA to let them walk all over them at their place, so it will be a hard fought game.

Todd's prediction: Fresno State pulls away late....Bulldogs 35 Bruins 17