It’s so nice to see you again

What UCLA needs

The Bruins have little chance of winning without a better game from Johnathan Franklin. He was held to 65 yards in 21 carries by Stanford last Saturday.

That laid the groundwork for the Cardinal’s 35-17 victory. UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley was sacked a season-high seven times.

A big game from Franklin will take pressure off Hundley, literally and figuratively. It’s a big challenge. The Cardinal has the nation’s No. 1 defense against the run, giving up an average of 71.3 yards a game.

“What a great opportunity to show who we are on offense,� said Franklin, who needs 66 yards to break Karim Abdul-Jabbar’s UCLA season rushing record of 1,571 yards, set in 1995.

He’s going to get his chance.

The Bruins won’t play again for about a month. “We’ve got a little break after this one,� Coach Jim Mora said, “so we’re going ride that horse a little bit.�

What Stanford needs

The Cardinal didn’t do anything fancy in beating the Bruins last weekend: See Stepfan Taylor run left; see Stepfan Taylor run right; see Stepfan Taylor run up the middle.

Taylor gained 142 yards and scored two touchdowns. He needs 36 yards rushing to break Darrin Nelson’s Stanford career rushing record of 4,169 yards.

“I wouldn’t say we’re going to alter our defense, but we have to have a game plan to stop the run,� UCLA defensive coordinator Lou Spanos said. “We allowed too many yards rushing.�

The counter for Stanford is redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Hogan, who will make his fourth start.

Hogan was asked to do minimal work last week. He completed 15 of 22 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown. Odds are his workload will increase this week, either by choice or necessity.

Coach David Shaw has faith in him.

“We don’t have handcuffs on him anymore,� Shaw said. “We feel he can change plays and we can give him anything in the playbook.�

Flag day

The Bruins had nearly twice as many yards in penalties as they did rushing, 135-73, last Saturday.

“There is only so much you can do besides trying to emphasize it, talking about it and pointing it out on film,� Mora said. “This offense is most effective when we get the down and distance we want. We broke a couple Saturday that were called back because of penalties. That made it a tough game for us.�

Injury report

Both teams are relatively healthy.

UCLA linebacker Dalton Hilliard probably will be held out after injuring his right shoulder last week. Tackle Simon Goines is questionable after aggravating an injury to his left knee.

Stanford lost punter Daniel Zychlinski, whose arm was injured after a big hit by UCLA’s Anthony Barr. The Cardinal also will be without nose tackle Terrence Stephens, who will miss a second consecutive game because of a personal matter, Stanford officials said.

Rematches

Much has been made about the rematch factor.

Mora has been part of 13 same-season rematches as an NFL coach with the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks. He was 1-4 in second games after his team lost the first time around.

But first-time losers exact revenge in big rematches:

* UCLA lost to Michigan State in the 1965 regular season, then beat the Spartans in the Rose Bowl.

* UCLA lost to Ohio State in the 1975 regular season, then beat the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl.

* And, of course, Luke Skywalker lost to Darth Vader on Cloud City (“Empire Strikes Back�), then beat him on the forest moon of Endor (“Return of the Jedi�).

Wait. Forest? Trees? The Bruins, it seems, may have a chance.

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*--* PER GAME UCLA STAN Points scored 36.0 28.6 Points allowed 25.8 16.9 Passing offense 279.5 207.5 Rushing offense 196.2 173.6 Passing defense 263.8 257.4 Rushing defense 153.2 71.3 *--*