Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

WHAT TO KNOW

-

What’s at stake

One of the biggest games in Arizona Stadium’s recent history features two undefeated, top-20 teams hoping to take control of the Pac-12 South. The Bruins have won all three games since Jim Mora took over at UCLA and Rich Rodriguez began coaching at Arizona.

Key matchup

UCLA’s run defense vs. Arizona RB Nick Wilson. Wilson leads the Pac-12 and is sixth nationally with 434 yards and Arizona is seventh nationally after setting a school record with 499 yards rushing against Northern Arizona last week. UCLA is allowing 146 yards rushing per game and will be without star LB Myles Jack, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice on Tuesday.

Players to watch

UCLA: QB Josh Rosen. He was stellar in his first game, but looked like a true freshman at times against BYU last week, throwing three intercepti­ons. How he handles the environmen­t at what should be a rowdy Arizona Stadium will be a big key for the Bruins.

Arizona: LB Scooby Wright. The All-American had surgery to repair torn meniscus in his left knee after being injured in Arizona’s opener and was expected to miss up to a month. He returned to practice ahead of schedule this week and the Wildcats are hoping to have their defensive leader back for Saturday’s game.

Facts & figures

UCLA has cracked the top 10 in the AP Top 25 for the third straight season. ... Arizona set a school record with 792 yards of total offense in its 77-13 win over Northern Arizona last week. The Wildcats are sixth nationally in total offense, averaging 584.7 yards per game. ... The Bruins have won a school-record 11 straight games away from the Rose Bowl. Their last road loss was to Oregon in 2013. ... The Wildcats are 4-13-1 all-time against ranked UCLA teams. ... UCLA’s Paul Perkins ran for 219 yards against BYU last week.

Betting line

UCLA by 3

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States