A year ago, Brett Hundley made one of the best Rose Bowl debuts in recent memory.

Up against No. 16 Nebraska, the redshirt freshman established himself quickly in his first home start, working the Cornhuskers defense for 305 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 36-30 upset. This Saturday in Lincoln, he’ll look to do even better in the second of a home-and-home series.

UCLA no longer has tailback Johnathan Franklin or 6-foot-7 tight end Joseph Fauria, who caught the first touchdown of that game, but its offense still looks impressive.

“They create space,” Cornhuskers coach Bo Pelini. “It’s all about creating space and creating room for their playmakers. Get guys in one-on-one situations, one-on-one opportunities.”

Nebraska has yet to face a quarterback of Hundley’s caliber this season, but their defense hasn’t been to completely shut down opposing passers. Wyoming’s Brett Smith passed for 383 yards and four touchdowns in the season opener. The Cornhuskers looked far better against Southern Mississippi’s Allan Bridgford, picking him off three times, but the former Cal transfer did manage a 41-yard touchdown pass.

Neither is close to the ground threat Hundley is. While UCLA’s star quarterback is a splendid passer, it’s his mobility that should really give the Nebraska defense fits. Against Nevada two weeks ago, Hundley looked even faster than he did a year ago, opening the scoreboard with a 37-yard touchdown run. He finished second on the team with 63 yards on seven carries. Aside from a few missed deep throws, he was nearly perfect through the air, finding 10 different targets at least once.

Two more caught passes after the Bruins subbed in redshirt freshman Jerry Neuheisel in the fourth quarter.

“You have to lock up those receivers,” Pelini said. “You have to understand that he’s going to get out a couple times. He’s going to buy some time every now and then. At the end of the day, you have to have discipline. As long as he’s in the backfield and behind the line of scrimmage, he’s a passing threat.”

First-game jitters

When Myles Jack finally stepped out into the Rose Bowl against Nevada two Saturdays ago, he couldn’t help but get distracted by the 60,000 roaring fans.

“It was like a dream, kinda,” Jack said. “When they first called me to go out on the field, I just ran out. I tried not to look into the crowd and everything, but I was. It was a dream come true, especially with my first game being played in the Rose Bowl.”

He said it took him a half to acclimate himself to the pace of the game. The true freshman linebacker ended up second on the team with eight tackles and first with two pass breakups. He came off the bench in UCLA’s season opener, but could vie for a starting spot soon.

Fellow freshman Kenny Clark went through a similar process, playing well enough to force his way into a crowded defensive line rotation.

“As I started getting more reps, the game started getting slower,” said Clark, who took about 20 snaps against Nevada. “It started feeling like practice.”

A four-star defensive lineman out of Rialto’s Carter High, Clark impressed coaches through camp and extinguished talk of a potential redshirt year. He had roughly 13 family and friends in the stands watching his Rose Bowl debut.

“For some reason, I knew I wasn’t going to redshirt, just by how I work,” he said. “I wasn’t going to let anybody hold me back from playing my first year.”

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