BYU, UCLA freshmen highlight top 20 matchup


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PROVO — When No. 19 BYU and No. 10 UCLA face off Saturday night in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the matchup will be billed as a battle of true freshmen quarterbacks.

But the "true freshman" moniker is about the only thing BYU starter Tanner Mangum shares with UCLA's Josh Rosen.

Rosen entered the season as the Bruins' top choice, and he impressed in his collegiate starter as UCLA (2-0) downed Virginia 34-16 in a nationally televised game on FOX.

The Cougars, meanwhile, settled on Mangum after starter Taysom Hill went down with a foot injury in the opener at Nebraska. Still, Mangum led BYU (2-0) to a Hail Mary-win over Nebraska on ABC, then followed it up with a fourth-quarter comeback against then-No. 20 Boise State in front of a sold-out LaVell Edwards Stadium.

That propensity for late-game theatrics, as well as his ability to make plays while scrambling, led UCLA coach Jim Mora to compare Mangum to a certain former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback.

"He's got those 'Johnny Manziel' qualities: runs around and slings it, and (his receivers) come up with it," Mora told the Los Angeles media Monday. "He forces you to cover for a long time, gets out of the pocket, and then he can make plays down the field.

Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

"We just have to be really disciplined and play the entire play. We can't ever assume a play is over in the secondary."

BYU isn't taking Rosen and the Bruins lightly, either.

"He's got a good arm and knows how to get the ball downfield," BYU linebackers coach Paul Tidwell said.

In last week's 37-3 rout at UNLV, Rosen became the first UCLA quarterback to win his first road start since Brett Hundley did it in 2012 against Rice. But Hundley did his feat with a redshirt year on campus.

The last true freshman UCLA quarterback to win their first road opener was Drew Olson in 2002.

Even with two games of film, one at home and one on the road, BYU defensive back Michael Wadsworth said Rosen still presents "a little unknown" as they opened up game preparations this week, even as he has completed 64.9 percent of his passes for 574 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception in two games.

"We have to respect him; he's a good quarterback," Wadsworth said. "He's also a freshman, so we'll try to bring pressure and just play assignment sound.

"We're not necessarily playing UCLA; it's just another team. They can come with a different scheme and players, but as long as we play our defensive scheme, we'll play really well."

Mora seemed less impressed with Rosen's second game at UNLV than he was in his first against the Cavaliers. But after reviewing the game's film, he said it may be that he was "jaded" after a teenage quarterback opened his college career so well.

Mangum's start, then, may be less of a surprise for that same reason — age.

"When you look at their team, it's really interesting to see the age of some of their guys as compared with our guys. He's got a certain maturity to him, which comes from those four extra years he has in life that some of our guys don't," Mora said of the 22-year-old Mangum. "But it's just like anyone; you go out and do your job, and we don't really worry much about that."

For BYU to attack the true freshman quarterback, the Cougars will have to get by UCLA's offensive line. The Bruins start just one senior in center Jake Brendel, with two juniors and two sophomores in front of Rosen.

"They're all big, they all seem very technical, and they are all good on their assignments," nose tackle Logan Taele said.

Behind him, though, is what "we think is their best player," according to Tidwell. Running back Paul Perkins leads the team with 210 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries, and he's also the Bruins' No. 2 receiver with 82 yards on seven catches.

Wadsworth said BYU will have to account for that UCLA running back, even while defending an up-tempo spread offense that ran 101 plays in Las Vegas.

"They're really fast, but if we can get stops on first down, then I think we'll be in better position for third downs," Wadsworth said. "Boise State went 2-for-12 on third downs (against BYU), so if we can make that similar for UCLA, hopefully they can run closer to 70 plays and we can limit the points."

It may be a game with two top 20 teams at the Rose Bowl. But Wadsworth said BYU's coaches have done a good job of not accentuating the matchup.

"As long as we play our game, we'll be successful," he said. "We recognize (that it's a big game), but we're not trying to over-emphasize it."

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