Brett Hundley Key To UCLA Victory In Alamo Bowl

Brett Hundley opened the season as one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy, but while his interceptions dropped for the third straight season, so did his touchdowns. If the UCLA Bruins hope to defeat a very tough Kansas State Wildcats team in the Alamo Bowl, Hundley is going to have to shine in what could be his last collegiate start before jumping to the NFL.

While Hundley’s Heisman hopes fizzled as the season wore on, he still put up impressive numbers. He finished second in the Pac-12 and third in the FBS with a 70.4 completion percentage and threw only five interceptions to go with his 21 touchdown passes. In addition to his passing numbers, he also did damage on the ground, rushing for 548 yards and eight touchdowns.

Despite having the 27th ranked scoring defense in the FBS and the 36th ranked total defense, the Wildcats are vulnerable to the pass, ranking just 79th in passing yards allowed. They also appear unlikely to be able to take advantage of UCLA’s Achilles’ heel, their pass protection. The Bruins are 12th worst in the nation in sacks allowed with 39, but the Wildcats have trouble getting after the quarterback, ranking 76th with just 24 sacks on the season.

This lack of pass rush coupled with a vulnerable secondary could lead to a big day for Hundley. If the Bruins hope to win, they will need to take advantage of this mismatch and let Hundley pick apart the Wildcats with both his arm and his legs and send him to the NFL a winner.

Phillip Jacques is a Pac-12 Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google