Star reporter Michael Lev breaks down key matchups, strategy and starters for both Arizona and UCLA, and offers a prediction for Saturday night.
Arizona's J.J. Taylor breaks free against UCLA at Arizona Stadium during the first quarter of the Wildcats' win in October 2017, when Taylor finished with 64 yards on 16 carries.
Mike Christy / Arizona Daily StarWho: Arizona Wildcats (3-4, 2-2) at UCLA Bruins (1-5, 1-2)
Where: Rose Bowl
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Watch: ESPN2
Listen: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
Follow: @TheWildcaster on Twitter / TheWildcaster on Facebook
Laie has gone above and beyond anyone’s reasonable expectations. The freshman from Oceanside, California, has started every game and manned both tackle spots — sometimes in the same game. He’ll face another tough test this week.
Lucier-South is the reigning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. All he did against Cal was force a fumble, recover a fumble — which he returned for a touchdown — and intercept a pass. He also had 3.5 tackles for losses, including a sack.
Like the rest of the UA defense, Schooler was off his game last week at Utah; he had a season-low five tackles. Expect a rebound from Arizona’s steadiest, headiest player. He’ll be tasked with leading the UA against a surging UCLA ground game.
The transfer from UC Davis has emerged as the Bruins’ leading man. Kelley has rushed for 100-plus yards in three straight games, including a career-high 157 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s win over Cal.
Rhett Rodriguez, seen here against Oregon State earlier this season, led the Wildcats into scoring position five times during Arizona’s 42-10 loss to Utah in Salt Lake City last week.
Mark Ylen / Mid-Valley MediaThe offense will have a different look and feel with Rhett Rodriguez replacing Khalil Tate (ankle) at quarterback. Look for Rodriguez to distribute the ball and get it out of his hands as quickly as possible. Will he receive support from the ground game? Arizona has averaged just 98 net rushing yards over the past three weeks. UCLA ranks 10th in the Pac-12 in run defense (176.7 ypg), allowing a league-high 19 TDs.
UCLA freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson, right, rolls out to throw a pass over Colorado's Nick Fisher during the first half in Boulder on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018.
David Zalubowski / AP PhotoThe Bruins have found their form. They compiled a season-high 422 yards of offense against Washington and had a season-best 207 rushing yards against Cal. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson has completed 75.5 percent of his passes the past two weeks. Tight end Caleb Wilson, a 6-foot-4-inch NFL prospect, is a potential matchup problem for a UA defense that had major trouble tackling at Utah.
UCLA coach Chip Kelly watches during the first half of the team's NCAA college football game against Colorado on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018, in Boulder, Colo.
David Zalubowski / The Associated PressIt would be quite a story if the son of fired UA coach Rich Rodriguez led the Wildcats to their first victory at the Rose Bowl since 2010. But is Arizona up to the task? The offense will rally around RhettRod, and the defense will be motivated after a substandard performance last week. But the Wildcats are still missing key players, and the more talented Bruins are starting to figure things out under Chip Kelly.
Offense
WR 18 Cedric Peterson 5-11 193 Jr.
SLOT 6 Shun Brown 5-10 188 Sr.
LT 58 Layth Friekh 6-5 297 Sr.
RT 76 Cody Creason 6-4 294 Jr.
C 50 Josh McCauley 6-3 292 So.
RG 54 Bryson Cain 6-4306So.
RT 78 Donovan Laie 6-4 318 Fr.
SLOT 9 Tony Ellison 5-11 189 Sr.
WR 19 Shawn Poindexter 6-5 218 Sr.
RB 21 J.J. Taylor 5-6 184 So
QB 4 Rhett Rodriguez 6-0 201 So.
Defense
DE 12 JB Brown 6-3 263 So.
NT 99 Dereck Boles 6-2 306 Sr.
DE 52 PJ Johnson 6-4 335 Jr.
STUD 14 Kylan Wilborn 6-2 248 So.
MLB 7 Colin Schooler 6-0 236 So.
WLB 1 Tony Fields II 6-1 230 So.
SPUR 19 Scottie Young Jr. 5-11 195 So.
BANDIT 3 Jarrius Wallace 6-1 180 So.
BC 2 Lorenzo Burns 5-10 181 So.
FC 8 Tim Hough 5-11 195 Sr.
FS 6 D. Flannigan-Fowles 6-2 209 Sr.
UCLA running back Joshua Kelley, right, celebrates after scoring a touchdown against California in Berkeley on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018.
Ben Margot / AP PhotoOffense
WR 14 Theo Howard 6-0 182 Jr.
WR 10 Demetric Felton 5-9 184 So.
LT 77 Andre James 6-5 305 Jr.
LG 55 Michael Alves 6-4 322 So.
C 75 Boss Tagaloa 6-1 315 Jr.
RG 76 Christaphany Murray 6-2 298 Fr.
RT 73 Jake Burton 6-4 302 So.
TE 81 Caleb Wilson 6-4 235 Jr.
WR 21 Michael Ezeike 6-5 215 Fr.
QB 7 D. Thompson-Robinson 6-1 205 Fr.
RB 27 Joshua Kelley 5-11 204 Jr.
Defense
DE 90 Rick Wade 6-6 275 Jr.
NT 44 Martin Andrus Jr. 6-1 298 So.
DE 92 Osa Odighizuwa 6-2 280 So.
OLB 97 Odua Isibor 6-3 250 Fr.
ILB 25 Tyree Thompson 6-2 235 Jr.
ILB 14 Krys Barnes 6-1 235 Jr.
OLB 11 Keisean Lucier-South 6-4 235 Jr.
LCB 1 Darnay Holmes 5-10 198 So.
SS 6 Adarius Pickett 5-11 198 Sr.
FS 37 Quentin Lake 6-1 185 So.
RCB 22 Nate Meadors 5-11 196 Sr.
Passing
Tate 95-178-4 Cmp-Att-Int, 1,415 Yds, 11 TDs, 75 Lg
Rodriguez 26-45-0 Cmp-Att-Int, 275 Yds, 1 TD, 42 Lg
Rushing
Taylor 7 Games, 118 Car., 663 Yds, 3 TDs, 5.8 Avg
Brightwell 7 Games, 62 Car., 322 Yds, 2 TDs, 5.2 Avg
Tate 7 Games, 46 Car., 112 Yds, 2 TDs, 2.4 Avg
Marsical 7 Games, 11 Car., 68 Yds, 1 TD, 6.2 Avg
Smith 2 Games, 15 Car., 62 Yds, 1 TD, 4.1 Avg
Brown 7 Games, 2 Car., 40 Yds, 0 TDs, 20 Avg.
Receiving
Poindexter 7 Games, 24 Rec., 446 Yds, 2 TDs, 18.5 Avg
Brown 7 Games, 35 Rec., 385 Yds, 3 TDs, 11 Avg
Ellison 7 Games, 17 Rec., 311 Yds, 3 TDs, 18.2 Avg
Defense
Schooler 71 Tk, 1 Sk, 2 Int, 1 Fr
Fields 48 Tk, 0 Sk, 0 Int, 0 Fr
Wallace 47 Tk, 0 Sk, 1 Int, 0 Fr
Flannigan-Fowles 31 Tk, 0 Sk, 0 Int, 0 Fr
Burns 30 Tk, 1 Sk, 0 Int, 0 Fr
Passing
T.-Robinson 98-163-3 Cmp-Att-Int, 1,073 Yds, 5 TDs, 65 Lg
Speight 8-12-1 Cmp-Att-Int, 45 Yds, 0 TDs, 12 Lg
Rushing
Kelley 5 Games, 73 Car., 433 Yds, 4 TDs, 5.9 Avg
Allen 6 Games, 28 Car., 183 Yds, 1 TD, 6.5 Avg
Irby 6 Games, 29 Car., 93 Yds, 0 TDs, 3.2 Avg
Olorunfunmi 6 Games, 31 Car., 85 Yds, 4 TDs, 2.7 Avg
T.-Robinson 6 Games, 39 Car., 63 Yds, 0 TDs, 1.6 Avg
Kinder 1 Game, 6 Car., 19 Yds, 0 TDs, 3.2 Avg
Receiving
Howard 6 Games, 25 Rec., 287 Yds, 2 TDs, 11.5 Avg
Wilson 6 Games, 23 Rec., 335 Yds, 1 TD, 14.6 Avg
Kelley 5 Games, 11 Rec., 76 Yds, 0 TDs, 6.9 Avg
Defense
Pickett 70 Tk, 0 Sk, 1 Int, 1 Fr
Barnes 45 Tk, 1 Sk, 1 Int, 0 Fr
Lake 40 Tk, 0 Sk, 0 Int, 0 Fr
Lucier-South 29 Tk, 3 Sk, 1 Int, 2 Fr
Meadors 26 Tk, 1 Sk, 1 Int, 0 Fr
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