Analytics Preview: Nebraska Football vs. UCLA

As the season enters its final stretch, Nebraska football finds itself in a familiar position, needing just one more win to become bowl eligible – a situation reminiscent of Matt Rhule’s first year. You probably already had enough reminders of how November of 2023 played out, so I won’t repeat it. In both his prior stops in college, Rhule entered November two games away from bowl eligibility in year two. He’s not a stranger to pressure. He won the fifth game the first week in November in both of those seasons. In a flair for the dramatic, he waited until the final game to reach win number six.

This weekend will be the Huskers’ best chance to get that sixth win. UCLA is a below average football team, but they’re coming off a bye after their best game of the season. They’ve played the toughest schedule in the nation so they’re no stranger to hard games. It’s still a game Nebraska should win if it can avoid turnovers and play a clean game on special teams.

The quarterback graph this week is an interesting one. Both players diverged early in the year, but their total EPA on the season is trending back together. UCLA’s Ethan Garbers threw a pick in every game of the season before posting a 4-0 touchdown to interception ratio against Rutgers. For the Huskers, Rutgers started a streak of three straight games where Dylan Raiola threw an interception.

I expect UCLA to get yards through the air against Nebraska. They’re 37th in the nation in passing success rate (a measure of how well a team stays ahead of the chains). Despite their ability to move the ball, they rank 84th in EPA/pass at -0.02. The Bruins throw an average of 1.3 interceptions per game, the highest rate in the Big Ten. This has significantly hampered their passing attack, which otherwise shows potential moving the ball.

This UCLA passing defense may be just what the doctor ordered for a Huskers offense looking to get going again. UCLA has faced the most pass attempts of any team in the Big Ten, allowed the most yards passing, the highest completion percentage, and the most touchdowns passing. While UCLA effectively limits explosive plays, they tend to be vulnerable to consistent, shorter gains. Raiola should be able to pass for 200 yards on a 70% completion rate against this defense.

UCLA is one of the worst teams in the nation at running the ball. They rank last nationally in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns per game. QB Garbers is responsible for their longest run of the season at 49 yards. Their longest run by a running back is just 22 yards by the (not-pictured) Keegan Jones. Only Kennesaw State, in their first season of FBS football, has a worse rushing success rate than the Bruins. The Blackshirts should have a good day defending the run.

Nebraska running back Dante Dowdell played his best conference game against a stout Buckeye run defense last Saturday. Raiola also had a breakout performance on the ground, adding 31 yards rushing, helping the Huskers break the 100-yard mark for the second time against Big Ten opponents. UCLA has a good run defense that ranks 33rd in EPA/rush allowed this season.

UCLA is better than their 2-5 record would appear. They’ve played four teams in the current AP top 16 but lost all four of those games. Nebraska has also faced four currently ranked opponents managing a win over Colorado. I think the Huskers match up well with the Bruins. UCLA will likely get their yards against a bend-but-don’t-break defensive performance that creates a few big turnovers. Nebraska should carry over their confidence after a hard-fought game against Ohio State and go on to a comfortable victory to secure bowl eligibility.

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