The UCLA Bruins travel to Stanford Stadium to face the Stanford Cardinals in must-win game for two PAC-12 teams. The Bruins are coming in at 4-1 and will be looking to rebound after taking their first loss of the season to Arizona State. The Cardinals have won four straight and will look to continue their win streak against the Bruins on Thursday night.
UCLA is led by freshman quarterback Josh Rosen, who has thrown for 1,244 yards this season with nine touchdowns. Rosen has played well this season but has thrown five interceptions and will need to be careful against the Cardinals defense.
Rosen's top target is senior wide receiver Jordan Payton, who has 392 receiving yards on the season with three touchdowns. Payton has had more than 50 receiving yards in every game this season and will look to continue that streak Thursday night.
Junior running back Paul Perkins is likely the best weapon the Bruins have on offense. Perkins has rushed for 577 yards this season and has scored seven touchdowns. Perkins has scored four touchdowns in the past two games for the Bruins but has struggled to make long runs, as he averaged just 3.5 yards per carry in both games. The Bruins will likely get Perkins his carries early because he can set the tempo for UCLA's offense.
UCLA's defense has not looked the same since it lost top linebacker Myles Jack. In the past two games the Bruins have given up an average of 34 points. The Bruins will try to hold the Cardinals offense tonight, but that may be easier said than done.
The Cardinals offense is led by senior quarterback Kevin Hogan, who is having a pretty impressive season with 1,155 passing yards with nine touchdowns. Hogan can also move the ball on the ground, as he scored five rushing touchdowns last season.
The Cardinals top rusher this season is sophomore running back Christian McCaffrey, and he is averaging 5.7 yards per carry. McCaffrey got his first touchdown in the Cardinals' previous game against Arizona. The Cardinals also have running back Barry Sanders, who will likely get plenty of touches Thursday, as he is averaging 9.7 yards per carry this season. Sanders is the son of NFL great Barry Sanders and can be exciting to watch like his father.
Senior wide receiver Michael Rector will look to be Hogan's top target on Thursday night. Rector has caught a touchdown pass in the past two games for the Cardinals and will look to catch his fourth touchdown on the season against the Bruins.
Stanford is going for its eighth straight win against UCLA, but Bruins head coach Jim Mora will do his best to end that streak Thursday night. This game could have major implications on how the PAC-12 pans out, and whichever of these two teams loses will likely miss a chance at a title game unless other teams falter. The game starts at 10:30 p.m. EDT, and you can watch the live broadcast here. To listen to the Bruins broadcast, click here, and for the Cardinals radio broadcast, go here.
