UCLA Offense vs. Stanford Defense
UCLA Defense vs. Stanford Offense
Intangibles | Overall Edge | Gameday Weather

Senior quarterback Randy Fasani's sprained right knee will keep him out of this one, but his backup is a good one. Junior Chris Lewis was just fine in coming off the bench to engineer last week's upset of Oregon. Lewis played the second half of last year's UCLA game after Fasani went down, passing for 204 yards and two scores in a 37-35 loss.

Stanford hammered Oregon's defense last week with a steady diet of Kerry Carter and Brian Allen, who combined for 38 carries, 111 yards and four touchdowns, with all the scores coming from Carter. Opponents haven't had much success running against the Bruins (2.9 yards per carry), as linebacker Robert Thomas (59 tackles, 18 for loss) has led a dominant front seven. If UCLA turns away Stanford's running game, Lewis will be left to run a one-dimensional offense.

Lewis took advantage of breakdowns in coverage by the Oregon secondary in last week's win, throwing second-half touchdowns to Luke Powell and Teyo Johnson. Johnson's development has added a new wrinkle to an already strong passing attack, giving the 6-3 Lewis the ability to play go-up-and-get-it with the 6-7 receiver. UCLA's secondary is one of the country's finest, with cornerback Ricky Manning and free safety Marques Anderson ranking among the country's best at their positions. Freshman corner Matt Ware's improvement has strengthened the secondary, but he's questionable with a sprained ankle this week. The Bruins could really use his 6-3 size to help contend with Johnson.

The Edge: UCLA