Bruins  19    Volunteers  15

U-C-L-A (1-0) at Tennessee (1-0)

Sports Network | September 9, 2009

FACTS & STATS: Site: Neyland Stadium (104,000) -- Knoxville, Tennessee. Television: ESPN. Home Record: UCLA 1-0, Tennessee 1-0. Away Record: UCLA 0-0, Tennessee 0-0. Neutral Record: UCLA 0-0, Tennessee 0-0. Conference Record: UCLA 0-0, Tennessee 0-0. Series Record: Tennessee leads, 7-5-1.

GAME NOTES: The Bruins of UCLA and the Volunteers of Tennessee will battle in Knoxville this weekend in what should be a highly competitive non-conference clash.

The season got off to a great start for UCLA, as the club cruised to a 33-14 victory over San Diego State last weekend. The Bruins are now 60-26-5 in season openers and have won their last five lidlifters. Following this contest, UCLA will battle Kansas State before diving into a full slate of Pac-10 games.

Tennessee treated first-year head coach Lane Kiffin to a 63-7 victory over Western Kentucky last week. Kiffin, a controversial hire, replaces Vols' legend Phil Fulmer, who had great success during his tenure. Last season, however, was a nightmare for the proud program, as the team finished 5-7 overall and 3-5 versus SEC opponents. With the coaching change and season- opening blowout, albeit over a rather weak opponent, optimism has been temporarily restored.

Tennessee owns a 7-5-1 series advantage over UCLA, but the Bruins won last season's exciting battle in a 27-24 final.

Kevin Prince became the second freshman ever to start a season at quarterback for UCLA. Against San Diego State, Prince connected on 18-of-29 passes for 176 yards and one touchdown. He was, however, intercepted twice and sacked three times. Taylor Embree made six catches for 97 yards, as he was clearly the team's best receiver on the day. Last season, Embree logged 40 grabs and averaged 13.3 yards per catch. Derrick Coleman led the club in rushing in the opener with 69 yards and a touchdown despite carrying the ball a mere four times. UCLA controlled the ball for almost 36 minutes despite turning it over three times. Four starters are back along the offensive line for UCLA, and three of those are sophomores. Considering the youth of the offense, expect the Bruins to get better with each passing game.

The UCLA defense got off to a slow start against San Diego State, as the Aztecs were able to score two touchdowns in the first quarter alone, going 69 yards in 14 plays and then 78 yards in three plays. The Bruins yielded only 277 total yards in the clash, including just 39 rushing yards on 18 attempts. Sure, they did allow 238 passing yards, but SDSU only completed 18 of the 45 passes it attempted. UCLA came away with three interceptions, so the pass defense has to be considered a positive. There were no sacks registered by the Bruins, however, so the hope is that more pressure will be provided against Tennessee. Reggie Carter led UCLA with six tackles, and Kyle Bosworth posted a pair of TFLs. Bosworth had 7.5 sacks last season to pace the squad.

Tennessee was held scoreless in the first half of last week's opener by Western Kentucky, but the Vols proceeded to score 63 points over the final three quarters. They finished with 34 first downs and 657 total yards, staggering numbers by any standards. Tennessee made an obvious commitment to the run, and the result was 380 rushing yards and four touchdowns. The Vols averaged a staggering 8.6 yards per carry, and Montario Hardesty led the way with 160 yards and a score. Star freshman Bryce Brown added 104 yards on only 10 attempts, a tremendous debut for sure. Jonathan Crompton was fairly impressive under center, connecting on 21-of-28 passes for 233 yards and five touchdowns. He was picked off twice, but the good clearly outweighed the bad. Masalis Teague paced a balanced receiving corps with six grabs for 86 yards. Tennessee was 7-of-9 on third down conversion attempts, a stat that is always telling regarding an offense's efficiency.

It is hard to imagine the Tennessee defense playing any better than it did in the opener against Western Kentucky. The Vols did allow one touchdown on a drive that spanned 66 yards in nine plays. With that in mind, it is absolutely staggering to see that they permitted a mere 83 total yards in the clash. On 46 plays, the Hilltoppers averaged only 1.8 yards per snap. Tennessee surrendered 34 rushing yards on 30 attempts and 49 passing yards on nine completions. The Vols allowed only 1-of-11 third down conversion attempts to be successful and registered five sacks. Chris Walker led the way with two sacks, while Savion Frazier and Nick Reveiz led Tennessee with six tackles apiece.

In what should be a close game, just like last season, give the edge to Tennessee. Kiffin is an extremely confident coach who has instilled that confidence in his players. Expect the Vols to pound the ball on the ground at UCLA, eventually wearing down the Bruins.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Tennessee 30, UCLA 17

September 12th, 4:00 p.m. (et)