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FACTS & STATS: Site: Rose Bowl (91,136) -- Pasadena, California. Television: ABC. Home Record: Cal 2-1, UCLA 2-1. Away Record: Cal 1-1, UCLA 1-1. Neutral Record: Cal 0-0, UCLA 0-0. Conference Record: Cal 0-2, UCLA 0-2. Series Record: UCLA leads, 49-29-1.

GAME NOTES: Pac-10 rivals collide at the Rose Bowl on Saturday afternoon, as the UCLA Bruins play host to the California Golden Bears.

California opened the season with three consecutive victories and appeared to be a legitimate contender for Pac-10 supremacy. Since that point, however, things have gone down hill in a hurry. The Golden Bears have scored a total of six points in the last two games after putting up 146 through the first three outings. After getting crushed by Oregon on September 26th, the Golden Bears were dominated by USC on October 3rd by a 30-3 final. Cal has had two weeks to prepare for this weekend's game, so the hope is that some problems have been solved.

Ironically, UCLA has also lost two in a row since winning three straight to open the season, and the Bruins, like the Golden Bears, are 0-2 in conference. Last weekend, they dropped a 24-10 decision to Oregon, but were clearly more competitive against the Ducks than Cal was when those teams squared off.

UCLA owns a commanding 49-29-1 series advantage over Cal, but the Bears rolled to a 41-20 victory in last season's meeting.

The biggest question heading into this game for Cal is which version of the offense will show up: the one that was unstoppable through the first three games, or the group that managed only one field goal per outing in the last two. Jahvid Best was getting a great deal of Heisman attention early on, but that talk has disappeared recently. Sure, Best has rushed for 514 yards and eight touchdowns in five outings while averaging 6.2 ypc, but he needs a big performance against UCLA for his team to win, and the national attention to return. So, too, does Kevin Riley, the club's quarterback, who has completed only 51.4 percent of his passes this season. In the 27-point loss to USC last time out, Best ran for 47 yards on 14 carries and gained five yards on two catches. Kevin Riley completed just 15-of-40 passes for 199 yards and one interception. Cal finished with 285 total yards.

Like the team's offense, California's defense has taken a major downturn. The Golden Bears are allowing 22.6 ppg and 360.2 total ypg overall, but those numbers were much better before the recent two-game skid. Of the 12 touchdowns that the defense has allowed this season, seven have come through the air. Tyson Alualu has 4.5 sacks for Cal thus far, and Mychal Kendricks leads the team with 46 tackles. Against USC, the Golden Bears allowed 457 total yards, including 283 through the air. The defense was on the field for nearly 37 minutes and simply didn't get any help from Riley and the offense. Marcus Ezeff and Mike Mohamed posted 12 tackles apiece to lead Cal in defeat.

UCLA struggled mightily on offense against Oregon last week, finishing with just 211 total yards, and three turnovers certainly hurt the team's chances of winning the game as well. Kevin Prince returned from a two-game absence and was a bit rusty, completing 13-of-25 passes for 81 yards and one interception. The Bruins rushed for just 66 yards on 33 attempts and failed to score any points on both of their trips to the red zone. UCLA is generating just 20.2 ppg this season, an output that isn't going to scare any opponent. The Bruins are posting 282.8 total ypg, including just 112.6 rushing ypg at a clip of 3.4 ypc. The fact that the team has only managed seven offensive touchdowns in five games is proof of just how inept the offense has been. Whether it has been Prince, Kevin Craft or Richard Brehaut under center for the Bruins, the passing game has been weak. No receiver is good enough to demand double coverage, and while Jonathan Franklin is a solid running back, he is a far cry from Cal's Best.

The UCLA defense was not at fault for the loss to Oregon last week. In fact, two of Oregon's three touchdowns weren't even scored by the team's offense. Also, the Bruins had a defensive touchdown in the game, as Akeem Ayers scored on an interception. Sure, UCLA could have played better against the run, as the Ducks gained 221 yards on 43 rushing attempts, but the play against the pass was quite strong. Opponents are scoring only 17.2 ppg against UCLA this season, and the team has yielded a mere eight touchdowns to opposing offenses. Foes are gaining just 285.6 total ypg against UCLA, which has been tough against both the run and the pass. A total of 11 takeaways in five games, including nine interceptions, have clearly helped the Bruins. Keep an eye on Reggie Carter, as he has made 37 tackles, including 5.5 TFLs, and forced a pair of fumbles.

Cal enters this game having had a week off to regroup. Best is due for a big game, and he will gash the Bruins.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: California 31, UCLA 24