UCLA prepares for Christian McCaffrey after defensive gem

LOS ANGELES — Christian McCaffrey needs no introduction. The Stanford running back is the golden-haired golden boy of the Pac-12, but UCLA head coach Jim Mora said his star power should not be limited to just the West Coast.

“In my opinion, it’s not even arguable that he’s the top player in college football,” Mora said Monday as the Bruins prepare to face McCaffrey and Stanford at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

McCaffrey’s cardinal-and-white No. 5 jersey will dominate UCLA’s focus as the team tries to contain the do-it-all Stanford superstar who leads the conference in rushing and all-purpose yards with 149 and 235 yards per game, respectively.

“He can do so many things so well — carry the ball out of the backfield, whether it’s inside or outside, catching the ball out of the backfield,” Mora said. “They split him out and they use him as a receiver, as a return guy. He’s dynamic, he’s elusive, he’s tough to tackle, he’s got great physical and mental toughness, he’s intelligent and the thing I appreciate most about Christian is the way that he competes. He’s a great competitor.”

McCaffrey is third in the nation in rushing yards per game, behind San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey (199.7 yards per game) and Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson (154.7).

The Stanford running back ran for 243 yards and four touchdowns last year in the Cardinal’s 56-35 drubbing of UCLA while also returning two kickoffs for a total of 122 yards. Mora said the junior will be a main part of the team’s preparation this week, but can’t monopolize the entire week’s game plan as the Bruins are trying to secure their first win against Stanford in eight tries.

“He’s a really great player,” defensive lineman Matt Dickerson said. “We respect him and we’re going to do everything in our power to stop him and beat Stanford, not just McCaffrey.”

The Bruins are coming off a stellar defensive performance. They held BYU to just 23 rushing yards, the lowest for a UCLA opponent since yielding just 21 to Arizona State in 2008. They finally generated some pressure on the quarterback, sacking BYU quarterback four times after grabbing only one sack in the first two games.

Coming off such a dominant showing gives UCLA momentum heading into a critical conference opener.

“We were looking to prove ourselves and come out strong,” Dickerson said. “The defense did our jobs, we stayed in our gaps and we wanted to prove to the nation and to ourselves that we were the defense that we wanted to be.”

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McCaffrey’s versatility is a nightmare for opposing defenses, but is well respected among fellow running backs. UCLA running back Bolu Olofunrunmi said watching McCaffrey is inspiring because he knows exactly the kind of work that allows the Heisman hopeful to explode through holes so quickly.

“Those are things we work on every day,” Olorunfunmi said. “Seeing his explosiveness lets you know that he works really hard and he’s a very talented young man.”