What to watch: No. 25 UCLA vs. No. 14 Arizona

I have no idea what’s going to happen to UCLA tonight. The No. 25 Bruins kick off at 7:30 p.m. and could find their groove again against 14th-ranked Arizona — romping out to their most convincing win of the season. They could completely implode in a turnover-filled blowout. They could fall just short, or squeak by in yet another close effort.

Anything is possible!

What to watch at the Rose Bowl as UCLA tries to fix its own recent foot-shooting habits:

UCLA offense vs. Arizona defense: Brett Hundley has lost a fumble in three straight games now, and can’t afford another one in a game that could knock the Bruins out of the race for the Pac-12 South. Tasked with trying to pop the ball out from Hundley’s grip is linebacker Scooby Wright III, who has turned himself into college football’s resident expert in this particular field.

Wright has turned himself from a two-star recruit into one of the conference’s hardest hitters. He leads the country with five forced fumbles, his biggest one coming against Marcus Mariota to clinch the Wildcats’ upset of Oregon. He is also third in the Pac-12 in sacks (8) and second in tackles for loss (14), and is the key to the front of a 3-3-5 scheme that is only giving up 3.88 yards per carry.

Establishing the run will be key for UCLA, which is good given the roll that Paul Perkins has been on recently. Continue reading “What to watch: No. 25 UCLA vs. No. 14 Arizona” »

First look: No. 14 Arizona Wildcats

No. 25 UCLA Bruins (6-2, 3-2) vs. No. 14 Arizona Wildcats (6-1, 4-1)
Kickoff: Saturday, Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m., Rose Bowl
TV: ESPN (Mark Jones, Rod Gilmore, Jessica Mendoza)
Radio: AM 570 (Chris Roberts, Matt Stevens, Wayne Cook)

Coach: After lasting just three seasons at Michigan with a 15-22 record, Rich Rodriguez has found Arizona to be a friendler home for his spread offense.

Despite starting a different quarterback each season, the 51-year-old has guided the Wildcats to back-to-back 8-5 seasons and made them one of the country’s top-10 offenses twice in three years. Now, he has them on the cusp of their best campaign in over a decade. After upsetting then-No. 2 Oregon earlier this month, they went from unranked to No. 10 in the country — the largest jump by any team since the Associated Press poll expanded to a top 25.

Arizona hasn’t appeared in a final AP poll since 1998, when its 12-1 run made it the No. 4 team in the country.

Key players:

QB Anu Solomon, RFr., 6-2, 205 — 200/316, 2,430 yards, 20 TD, 4 INT
– Didn’t win the quarterback competition until late August, but he’s been entrusted to throw 45.1 passes per game. Third in the Pac-12 in yards per game (347.1), but eighth in completion percentage (63.3).

RB Nick Wilson, Fr., 5-10, 199 — 100 carries, 592 yards, 7 TD, 10 catches, 1 rec TD
– He’s splitting the workload with redshirt senior Terris Jones-Grigsby (70 carries, 406 yards), but Wilson is the one responsible for seven of the team’s 13 rushing touchdowns. Continue reading “First look: No. 14 Arizona Wildcats” »