UCLA vs. Arizona College Football Predictions: Week 11
The Bruins are heading to yet another matchup as heavy favorites against a conference opponent on a steady downturn.
No. 12 UCLA football (8-1, 5-1 Pac-12) will play Arizona (3-6, 1-5 Pac-12) at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. The Bruins enter the game as 20-point favorites coming off a 50-36 win over Arizona State, while the Wildcats have lost four in a row, most recently in blowout fashion to Utah.
All Bruins is making its picks for who will win, what the score will be and how the game will play out, courtesy of Managing Editor Sam Connon and contributing writer Benjamin Royer.
Sam Connon, Managing Editor
Prediction: UCLA 45, Arizona 27
It's been said before, but it needs to be said again.
No matter how ugly it can get, this iteration of the Bruins just does not lose to bad teams. Since the midpoint of the 2019 season, UCLA may be 5-12, but they are 17-0 against teams that finish the year under .500 in that time.
The Wildcats are on track to be the latest losing team to fall to the Bruins, which would be the fifth loss in a row for coach Jedd Fisch's squad. The former UCLA offensive coordinator isn't even through his second year in Tucson, and he is safely on the hot seat with a 4-17 record since getting there.
What Arizona has been able to do under Fisch is move the ball and score points, doing so primarily through the air.
Quarterback Jayden de Laura has stuffed the stat sheet since transferring in from Washington State, and that may cause problems for the Bruins' suspect secondary. Cornerback Devin Kirkwood may be one of UCLA's most physically talented defensive back, and he is currently banged up and his status is uncertain.
Luckily for the Bruins, they have proved that their offense is pretty much infalable this season.
UCLA scored 50 points and rushed for 402 yards against Arizona State last weekend, and that was without star running back Zach Charbonnet. They boast a top-10 offense in the country, scoring over 40 points in six of their nine games.
The Bruins punt the ball just 1.8 times per game, which ranks dead-last in the entire FBS. UCLA only has 10 turnovers on the season, which is tied for 21st in the country.
So by not giving the Wildcats extra possessions, the Bruins will be able to control the pace and direction of the game.
If coach Chip Kelly wants quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson to throw the ball 40 times, that's what he's going to get. If he wants Charbonnet to rack up 30 carries in his first game back from injury, he'll have no trouble getting the running back plenty of quality touches. Whether they want to run clock or take the top off the defense, it is all right there on the table for this UCLA offense.
Arizona may add some points late when the Bruins resort to their prevent defense – and they may get points on a few big plays of their own early one – but all it will take is two or three stops to bury the Wildcats on Saturday night.
Benjamin Royer, contributing writer
Prediction: UCLA 48, Arizona 21
Two high octane offenses will meet under the bright lights of the Rose Bowl on Saturday, but the Bruins know how to run and gun the ball down the field better than anyone else in the Pac-12.
Arizona coach Jedd Fisch – who was UCLA’s interim head coach following the firing of Jim Mora in 2017 – has the Wildcats on the right track. Freshmen are playing in leading roles and college football veterans such as quarterback Jayden de Laura and wide receiver Jacob Cowing are starring as one of the West Coast’s best offensive duos.
However, Fisch’s homecoming is going to be brutal.
The return of Zach Charbonnet to the Bruins’ offense is going to be too much to handle for Arizona. Facing a team who already struggles with defending the run – allowing 218.7 rushing yards per game – all coach Chip Kelly needs to do is tell his star senior to run the ball up the middle.
UCLA needs to win this game handily to stay in the College Football Playoff hunt, and quarterback Dorian Thompson Robinson will have another chip on his shoulder after the team stayed put in the rankings.
I have no doubt that Thompson-Robinson is raring and ready to go, and the Bruins will have another victory on their side heading into the highly-anticipated crosstown duel with USC up next.
Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow Royer on Twitter at @thebenroyer
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