TUCSON, Ariz. – After rallying from a 32-point second half deficit to stun then No. 19-ranked Washington State, the UCLA Bruins hit the road again for another Pac-12 After Dark matchup to face Arizona on Saturday in what figures to be another entertaining and high-scoring contest. The Wildcats, who rank 15th nationally in scoring with a 43.7 average, have had two weeks to prepare for a UCLA offense that is coming in off the 67-63 victory in Pullman, Wash.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Arizona -7.5
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UCLA, which will be looking to start 2-0 in conference play for the first time 2013, scored 50 points in the second half at Washington State while rallying from a 49-17 deficit for its first victory of the season. Oft-maligned sophomore quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson led the way with a school-record 564 yards of total offense, including 507 yards passing, en route to Walter Camp National Player of the Week honors while the Bruin defense forced six turnovers with linebacker Josh Woods leading the way an interception and two fumble recoveries, including one with 59 seconds left to seal the win. "I couldn't script a better ending for that game," Woods told the Los Angeles Times. "It's fun going into enemy territory with only our short roster and quieting a bid crowd like that." Arizona, which lost to UCLA, 31-30, last season at the Rose Bowl minus starting quarterback Khalil Tate, has bounced back from a season-opening 45-38 loss at Hawaii for double-digit wins over both Northern Arizona (65-41) and Texas Tech (28-14).
ABOUT UCLA (1-3, 1-0 Pac-12)
Thompson-Robinson, who had thrown for just 556 yards and had as many interceptions (four) and touchdown passes (four) in the first three games of the season, picked apart a three-man Washington State pass rush in the second half when he threw for 322 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown pass to Demetric Felton with 1:07 to play for the game-winning TD. "Give our guys credit," said UCLA coach Chip Kelly, who improved to 4-13 in two seasons in Westwood. "Special teams contributed. Our offense contributed. The defense came up with key turnovers at good times. It was a big win for us." Felton was named Pac-12 special teams player of the week after returning a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and also had a 94-yard reception, the second-longest pass play from scrimmage in UCLA history.
ABOUT ARIZONA (2-1, 0-0)
Tate surpassed the 5,000-yard mark in career passing (5,048) and the 2,000-yard career rushing mark (2,110) in the win over Texas Tech, joining Oregon's Marcus Mariota as the only quarterbacks in conference history to accomplish that feat. Tate had a school-record 84-yard touchdown run against the Red Raiders, breaking his own mark of 82 yards, and also engineered a 99-yard, 13-play drive that chewed up over seven minutes for the game-clinching TD. The Wildcats lead the nation in interceptions (eight) with senior cornerback Jace Whittaker leading the way with three picks which is tied for the national lead.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Bruins lead the series with the Wildcats, 25-16-2, and have won six of the last seven meetings with the lone loss coming in their last trip to Tucson in 2017, 47-30.
2. UCLA is plus-13 in turnovers in wins under Kelly and minus-13 in turnovers in losses.
3. Arizona ranks fifth nationally in rushing (307.7 yards per game) and has converted 58.7 percent of its third down attempts which ranks third nationally behind Baylor and Oklahoma.
PREDICTION: Arizona 45, UCLA 34