UCLA heads down to Tucson, Arizona to take on the Arizona Wildcats in a battle between unbeaten PAC-12 foes. UCLA comes into the game ranked ninth in the nation while Arizona is ranked 16th in the nation. Both teams come in 3-0 but this will be each sides first conference test.
Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez has never won a game against UCLA in his three seasons at the helm and last year Arizona came into the game with a high powered offense but were shut down by the Bruins in a 17-7 loss. This season Arizona comes into the game with a high powered offense once again having averaged nine yards per play and with the fifth most yards from scrimmage in the FBS.
Arizona's schedule has been pretty light up to this point so UCLA will certainly be their toughest test so far but they may get a major boost as All-American linebacker Scooby Wright is expected to return after having knee surgery earlier this month.
The Wildcats offense is led by sophomores Anu Solomon and Nick Wilson. Solomon has completed 68 percent of his passes so far this year for 778 yards and has thrown ten touchdowns without throwing an interception this season. Wilson has rushed for more than 400 yards already this year with five touchdowns and is averaging seven yards per carry.
This Arizona offense will have to contend with a UCLA defense that shut them down last year and will be getting some reinforcements. Cornerback Ishmael Adams was suspended for the first three games but will be back for this one. Adams was an All-PAC-12 performer last season. With that good news comes bad news for the defense too though as the Bruins will be without linebacker Myles Jack for the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury.
UCLA's schedule has been a little bit more difficult than Arizona's but they still remain 3-0. The Bruins beat BYU last week in a nail biter by the score of 24-23 and their freshman quarterback Josh Rosen has been shaky after a great debut. Rosen leads the PAC-12 in interceptions with four through three games so they have had to rely heavily on running back Paul Perkins.
The junior running back, Perkins, is from Arizona so he may have a little bit of added motivation for this game but he is already off to a great start this year. He has rushed for 429 yards and three touchdowns while averaging more than seven yards per carry.
Both teams will have their hands full on the defensive side of the ball in stopping the opposing running backs and whoever can stop the run may have the advantage in this game. It's the first PAC-12 game for both sides but it could be huge in determining who wins the South especially since USC lost last week.
The game kicks off at 8 P.M. Eastern time and you can watch the live broadcast here. For the UCLA radio broadcast head over here and for the Arizona radio broadcast go here.
