By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, I0wa – For the first time in nearly 40 years, and for the 10th time overall, Iowa and UCLA will play each other in football.

The Bruins have a 7-2 advantage in the series, with its most recent win being a 45-28 thrashing in the 1986 Rose Bowl.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz was in his fifth season as Hayden Fry’s offensive line coach when the Hawkeyes and Bruins last met in the Rose Bowl.

Friday’s conference game will also be played in the Rose Bowl where Iowa hasn’t won since a 38-12 victory over California in the 1959 Rose Bowl.

Kirk Ferentz led the Hawkeyes to the Rose Bowl following the 2015 regular season, but that didn’t start or end well as Stanford rolled to a 45-16 victory.

Hayden Fry also lost all three of his games in the Rose Bowl while coaching the Hawkeyes from 1979 to 1998.

“We haven’t had a good memory there,” Kirk Ferentz said. “I haven’t had one personally. It’s not like we get there that often, but when you do get there, you hope you can have something good come out of it.”

The fact that Iowa and UCLA will play a conference game on a Friday night in November shows just how much the landscape has changed in college football.

UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington all joined the Big Ten Conference prior to this season.

Iowa already has defeated Washington 40-16 this season, but that game was played at Kinnick Stadium and started at 11 a.m. CST, whereas Friday’s game will start at 8 p.m. CST and will be played halfway across the country.

“I’d rather go play some place warm this time of the month, so I’m happy it’ll be good weather out there,” said Iowa senior linebacker Jay Higgins. “But I think Nebraska is the furthest game I’ve played out west.

“So, it’ll be different seeing a palm tree and stuff like that being in (Los Angeles). I’m really curious to see how some of these Iowa dudes do out there in the city life. So, I’m making sure everybody stays focused and not too many distractions out there for them.”

With it being a Friday game, both teams will have had one fewer day to prepare.

“Our schedule this week is different, usually we take an off day Thursday, but the off day is obviously going to be on Saturday,” Higgins said. “So, things are a little faster. The game plan is coming a little faster.”

The Bruins lost five of their first six games under new head coach DeShaun Foster, but have since won their last two games, both on the road against Rutgers and Nebraska.

“We see an impressive football team with UCLA,” Kirk Ferentz said. “They’re playing well right now. I think there are probably three key things you have to look at when you look at their team right now and their season thus far. In some ways it’s a little bit like when we played Washington, but first and foremost, they have a new staff with a lot of new faces on it, so that’s one thing, and then a fair amount of new players, as well.”

Here is a look at which team has the advantage at each position:

Quarterback: UCLA’s recent success with two straight road wins can be raced in large part to the performance of fifth-year senior quarterback Ethan Garbers.

The Newport Beach, Calif, native in addition to passing for 1,703 yards and 10 touchdowns this season also has UCLA’s two longest runs from scrimmage (57 yards at Nebraska, 49 at Rutgers).

Garbers was named the Big ten Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 21) after registering career highs in passing yards, (383), completion percentage (30/38, 84.2%), and total touchdowns (5) in a 35-32 win at Rutgers.

“The quarterback is really playing well, doing a great job leading them,” Krik Ferentz said of the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Garbers, who is also a team captain.

Garbers has 3,438 career passing yards and 25 touchdown passes.

The Iowa defense will face a stiff challenge trying to contain his dual-threat capability.

“He’s a really good quarterback,” said Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins. “The thing he does really good is seeing the coverages, and always has the ability to extend the play. So, he’s athletic. We’ve got to respect him outside the box. And he does a good job of getting the ball to his receivers and he doesn’t really force anything.”

Iowa also has its own quarterback with dual-threat skills in junior Brendan Sullivan. The Northwestern transfer will make his second straight start for the injured Cade McNamara.

Sullivan passed for 93 yards and rushed for 58 yards in the win over Wisconsin. It was the most rushing yards by an Iowa quarterback since 2015.

The Davison, Michigan native has made nine career starts, including eight for Northwestern, and played in 21 games overall.

Advantage: UCLA

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Running back: If Friday’s game comes down to which team has more success running the ball, the Bruins could be in serious trouble.

Junior running back T.J. Harden leads UCLA in rushing with just 226 yards and is only averaging 3.1 yards per carry.

Iowa, on the other hand, has three running backs that have surpassed that rushing total this season, led by Kaleb Johnson’s Big Ten leading 1,279 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns.

Redshirt freshman Jamari Moulton has rushed for 260 yards and is averaging 5.0 yards per carry, while sophomore Jaziun Patterson has gained 227 yards and is averaging 4.7 yards per carry.

Harden actually has more receiving yards (241) than rushing yards this season.

Iowa leads the Big Ten, and ranks 10th nationally, in rushing with an average of 222.3 yards per game, while the Bruins are last in the conference in rushing, averaging just 73.9 rushing yards per game.

In other words, this matchup isn’t close.

Advantage: Iowa

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Wide receiver: The Bruins have five different wide receivers that have started at least one game this season.

Logan Loya leads the Bruin wide receivers with three touchdown catches. He also 200 receiving yards on 20 catches.

UCLA also has five wide receivers that have at least 141 receiving yards this season, but only one of the receivers is averaging more than 30 receiving yards per game, and that’s partly because Garbers likes to throw to his running backs.

Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill leads the Iowa wide receivers with 21 catches and 198 receiving yards. He also has two touchdown catches.

True freshman Reece Vander Zee leads the Iowa wide receivers with three touchdown catches, but he isn’t listed on this week’s depth chart due to an injury.

It’s unusual to have a game this deep into the season in which only one wide receiver has more than 300 receiving yards.

Advantage: UCLA

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Tight end: Iowa would receive a significant boost if fifth-year senior tight end Luke Lachey is available on Friday.

He missed the Wisconsin game due to an injury.

Lachey leads Iowa with 24 catches and 209 receiving yards, but he has yet to catch a touchdown pass this season.

“Luke, I think has a chance,” Kirk Ferentz said. “He’s a little bit limited right now, but practicing, and we’ll see how it goes this week. I think he’s close.

“But we have to plan to go without him.”

Junior Addison Ostrenga, who is Iowa’s No. 2 tight end, has missed the last four games due to an injury and he probably won’t be available for Friday’s game.

Sophomore Zach Ortwerth started at tight end against Wisconsin last Saturday and he led Iowa with 66 receiving yards, with 52 yards coming on one catch.

Ortwerth has nine catches for 125 yards this season.

Junior walk-on Johnny Pascuzzi has filled in recently as the No. 2 tight end. He has one catch for 40 yards this season and excels as a run blocker.

Senior tight end Moliki Matavao gives UCLA a big (6-6, 263) and reliable target as he leads the team with 303 receiving yards on 24 receptions. Matavao also has eight catches of 20 yards or more this season.

Jack Pedersen helps to provide depth at tight end for the Bruins as he has seven catches for 70 yards and one touchdown.

Advantage: UCLA

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Offensive line: The fact that UCLA is only averaging 73.9 rushing yards per game doesn’t speak very well about its offensive line.

The Bruins are fortunate that Garbers is a mobile quarterback because the pass blocking has also left much to be desired.

Iowa’s offensive line, on the other hand, has been dominate at times this season, as evidenced by Iowa having rushed for 2,0001 yards in nine games.

Iowa’s five starters on the offensive line have combined to make 169 career starts, led by Mason Richman 48 starts at left tackle, including 39 consecutive starts.

Advantage: Iowa  

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Defensive line: UCLA has seven defensive linemen that have started at least one game this season.

Opponents are only averaging 100.4 rushing yards per game, which helps to show how well the defensive linemen have performed.

UCLA’s defensive linemen are quick, aggressive and productive.

Oluwafemi Oladejo leads the UCLA defensive linemen with 38 tackles and six tackles for loss.

Iowa’s four starting defensive linemen have combined to make 64 career starts, led by senior defensive end Deontae Craig and senior defensive tackle Yahya Black with 23 starts apiece.

Senior defensive end Ethan Hurkett leads the Iowa defensive linemen with 33 tackles in his first year as a starter. The Cedar Rapids native also ranks second on the team with five tackles for loss.

Junior tackle Aaron Graves is having a breakout season in his first season as a starter. He leads Iowa with five sacks and is tied with defensive end Max Llewellyn for the most tackles for loss with six.

Reserve defensive end Brain Allen also plays a key role for the Hawkeyes as he has 4.5 tackles for loss and thee sacks.

Advantage: Iowa

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Linebacker: Two of the most productive linebackers in the Big Ten will be on the field Friday in UCLA junior Carson Schwesinger and Iowa fifth-year senior Jay Higgins.

Schwesinger leads the Big Ten in total tackles per game (10.6), double-digit tackle performances (six), solo tackles per game (6.8) and solo tackles (54). He was also named a semifinalist for the Butkus Award earlier this week, as was Higgins, who leads Iowa with 94 tackles, and is tied for team lead with three interceptions.

Higgins has started 25 games and played in 54 games overall.

The Indianapolis native earned All-America and All-Big Ten honors last season when he led the conference with 171 tackles His 171 tackles also tied Iowa’s single-season record for tackles.

Higgins and Schwesinger also have talented linebackers playing alongside them in Kain Medrano and Nick Jackson, respectively.

Medrano’s 46 tackles for UCLA  rank second on the team behind Schwesinger’s 85 stops. Medrano also has five tackles for loss, three quarterback hurries, two pass break-ups and one interception.

Jackson has 64 tackles for Iowa, which ranks second on the team. The Atlanta, Georgia native also has 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, four pass break-ups and three quarterback hurries.

Jackson played his first four seasons for Virginia before transferring to Iowa last season. The sixth-year graduate student has 528 career tackles, which ranks third in FBS history.

Iowa also has an experienced third linebacker in graduate Kyler Fisher, who has started five games and appeared in 55 games overall. Fisher is usually on the field when Iowa switches to a 4-3 alignment.

Advantage: Iowa 

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Secondary:  Iowa’s five starting defensive backs have combined to make 123 career starts, led by graduate Quinn Schulte’s 36 starts at free safety.

Iowa has three graduate students starting in its secondary, the other two being cornerback Jermari Harris and safety/cash Sebastian Castro.

Harris has eight career interceptions, including three this season. The Chicago native had a pick-six in the win over Troy earlier this season.

Castro has made 28 career starts and he will appear in his 50th game as a Hawkeye on Friday. He plays both strong safety and the cash position when Iowa uses five defensive backs.

Castro has 35 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception, one forced fumble and one pass break-up this season.

Junior Xavier Nwankpa will make his 22nd career start at strong safety on Friday. The former five-star recruit from Southeast Polk High School has 30 tackles this season.

Sophomore Deshaun Lee is among two players that have started at the cornerback position opposite of Harris this season. The other is junior T.J. Hall, who started the first three games and the seventh game against Michigan State.

Lee has started the last two games and he has 26 tackles and one interceptions this season.

UCLA usually plays five defensive backs, and four of the starters are seniors, including three redshirt seniors.

However, despite all that experience, the Bruins are giving up and average of 261.3 passing yards per game.

Safety Bryan Addison leads the Bruins with two interceptions, while nickel back K.J. Wallace leads the Bruins with six pass break-ups.

Advantage: Iowa

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Special teams: Both teams have talented kicking specialists and returners.

UCLA kicker Mateen Bhaghani has made 12-of-14 field-goal attempts this season, with a long from 54 yards, while Iowa kicker Drew Stevens has made 11-of-14 field-goal attempts this season, with a long from 51 yards.

UCLA punter Brody Richter is averaging 43.4 yards on 28 attempts, while Iowa freshman punter Rhys Dakin is averaging 45.4 yards on 45 attempts. Dakin has 13 punts that have traveled at least 50 yards and 21 that have been downed inside the 20.

In addition to his role as a UCLA receiver, Loga Loya also averages 14.3 yards on punt returns.

Iowa has one of the top return specialists in the Big Ten in senior Kaden Wetjen, who leads the nation with 713 combined kick return yards. The Williamsburg native also averages 12.9 yards in punt returns, which ranks 13th nationally. His average of 25.3 yards in kick returns ranks 13th at the FBS level.

Advantage: Iowa 

 

Prediction: Iowa 27, UCLA 20