UCLA-Arizona Preview: Bruins Seek Relief In The Desert

Knowing relatively little about this season’s Arizona Wildcats, UCLA’s opponents this Saturday in Tuscon, I took a look at Arizona’s website to see who their standouts were and to get a grasp of the Bruins’ chances.

After a few minutes, based on how the Wildcats and UCLA have performed of late, I came to this conclusion:

Unless things quickly and radically change, the UCLA Bruins (3-3, 0-3 in the Pac-10) are in big trouble.

For the past three weeks, opponents have run wild against Westwood’s blue and gold…

Toby Gerhart of Stanford bullied his way to 134 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.

LaMichael James of the Oregon Ducks rushed for 150 yards on only 20 carries.

And Cal had not one but two runing backs go over the century mark – Jahvid Best for 102 yards with a 93 yard touchdown run, and Shane Vereen for 154 yards with a 42 yard touchdown run.

Nic Grigsby, Arizona’s tailback, may surpass them all.

He has been electric for the Wildcats (4-2, 2-1 in the Pac-10), averaging 8.2 yards per carry to lead the Pac-10 Conference; with the game on the line against Stanford last week, he ran for a 57 yard score in the waning minutes to give Arizona the win, ending with 92 yards on the ground while touching the ball a mere seven times.

That’s 13.1 yards per carry for all you math buffs out there.

For those who think the Bruins can stack the line to try and stop Grigsby, the Wildcats’ sophomore quarterback Nick Foles may have something to say about that.

He threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns in Tuscon against the Cardinal and currently leads the Pac-10 in passing efficiency, completing 73 percent of his throws so far.

And on top of everything else, Arizona has won ten of their last 12 games.

I think one can see why UCLA may well be in for it this Saturday in Tuscon. Especially if their run defense performs like they have their past three games.

One the bright side for the Bruins – believe it or not, there actually is one – their offense executed better last week against Cal; Kevin Prince threw for over 300 yards, Johnathan Franklin rushed for 101 yards and a 76 yard TD, and Kai Forbath kicked four field goals.

Indeed, Forbath’s foot has been automatic, putting 17 balls through the goal posts out of 18 tries, which leads the country. If the game comes down to field goals at the end, UCLA’s chances for a win will be good.

But…

The defense absolutely must execute, and not just DT Brian Price or LB Reggie Carter. Everyone in blue and gold needs to step up if the Bruins are to end their three game losing streak.

Considering that they will be on the road in front of a hostile crowd, playing a team that is actually in the BCS rankings at number 22, getting their first conference win won’t be easy.

By the end of Saturday’s contest, people will know once and for all what UCLA’s football team is made of.  The Bruins will either leave the Arizona desert having redeemed themselves, or even more frustrated than they are now.

UCLA fans can only hope that the Bruins’ quest will end more one way than the other.