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Preview: U-C-L-A (3-3) at Arizona (4-2)
Posted October 21, 2009
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FACTS & STATS: Site: Arizona Stadium (57,400) -- Tucson, Arizona. Television: FSN. Home Record: UCLA 2-2, Arizona 3-0. Away Record: UCLA 1-1, Arizona 1-2. Neutral Record: UCLA 0-0, Arizona 0-0. Conference Record: UCLA 0-3, Arizona 2-1. Series Record: UCLA leads, 19-12-2.

GAME NOTES: The Arizona Wildcats will try to stay hot at home, as they welcome the UCLA Bruins to Arizona Stadium for a Pac-10 Conference clash.

The Wildcats enter the game seeking a fifth straight home win dating back to last season. This is the second of three straight home games for the club, which has been on a win-loss seesaw all season long, but is coming off a 43-38 come-from-behind win over Stanford last weekend.

On the other hand, the Bruins are trying to snap a three-game slide. Last week, they lost at home to California, 45-26. This weekend kicks off a stretch of three road games in four weeks for UCLA.

UCLA holds a 19-12-2 edge in the head-to-head series, although Arizona notched a 31-10 win when these teams met in Pasadena last year.

Too often, the Bruins have had to settle for three points rather than punching the ball into the end zone. Luckily for them, they have the nation's leading field goal kicker in Kai Forbath. He is 17-of-18 on the season and has hit his last 27 field goal attempts from inside 50 yards. While head coach Rick Neuheisel would obviously rather get the six points, having a weapon like Forbath provides some peace of mind. Forbath made all four of his field goal attempts against Cal, but the Golden Bears turned it into a shootout and UCLA simply could not keep up. Still, the UCLA offense was able to move the ball on the ground and through the air. Johnathan Franklin ran for 101 yards and two scores on 11 carries, while Kevin Prince threw for 311 yards. Coach Neuheisel will go back to the drawing board this week and figure out how to make the most of their red-zone opportunities.

The Bruins' defense has really buckled down in the second half of games this season, having held opponents to just 38 total points. That was again the case last weekend, as Cal managed just 10 second-half points after jumping out to a 35-20 halftime lead. Now, UCLA needs to find a way to get off to a better start on defense. It was a long day for the run defense last week, as two Cal running backs went over 100 yards with a touchdown, and the Golden Bears averaged 7.0 yards per carry as a team. Cal quarterback Kevin Riley saw some opportunities open up with play action, as he tossed three touchdown passes. On the season, UCLA ranks 20th in the nation against the pass and has tallied nine interceptions. Rahim Moore has five of those picks. Riley's three touchdown passes last week matched the season total permitted by the UCLA defense to that point.

Arizona leads the Pac-10 in total offense (443 ypg) thanks mostly to quarterback Nick Foles, who owns the top pass efficiency rating in the conference. Foles, who has started three games this year, is completing a remarkable 73.9 percent of his passes and has thrown nine touchdowns with only two interceptions. He threw for 415 yards and three TDs in helping Arizona overcome a 15-point deficit to beat Stanford last week. Juron Criner (12 rec, 152 yds) and Terrell Turner (nine rec, 101 yds, TD) both had big days in the passing game. However, Foles will have to be careful not to force throws into what has been an opportunistic UCLA secondary that thrives on turnovers. Headlining the running game is Nic Grigsby, who is netting 8.2 yards per carry and 84.8 yards per game. He scored the go-ahead touchdown last week on a 57- yard run with just under three minutes to play.

The UA defense has been far to generous of late, yielding an average of 35 points over the past three games. All three of those games turned into shootouts, with the Arizona offense producing enough to get the win in two of those contests. After the Wildcats rallied to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, the defense finally came through with a game-saving stand on fourth- and-10 on their own 17, when cornerback Trevin Wade broke up a pass in the end zone. Still, Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 423 yards and three TDs, while tailback Toby Gerhart gashed the Arizona defense for 123 rushing yards and two scores. While it's the end result that ultimately matters, the Wildcats could certainly make things easier on themselves by tightening up the defense. Stanford was able to grab the momentum by posting 21 straight points in a span of 13 minutes.

Arizona has no doubt been toughest at home this season. Given the Wildcats' weapons on offense, UCLA is going to need to find the end zone rather than call on Forbath to cap off drives. The real key in this game will be Arizona's red zone defense against the UCLA offense.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Arizona 35, UCLA 27


 
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Arizona

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Rick Neuheisel
  UCLA Head Coach