Prior to each UCLA football game, the Daily Bruin football beat writers will predict the score and give a short reasoning behind their predictions.
To keep track of how far off each writer’s predictions are from reality, the “prediction differential” statistic shows the average difference between the writer’s predicted margin of victory and the actual margin of victory in each game.
Kevin Bowman’s prediction
UCLA: 28
Arizona: 31
Prediction record: 7-1
Prediction differential: 15.1
Both UCLA and Arizona have made a habit this season of playing in tight games, and Saturday should be no exception. The Bruins are 6.5 point favorites entering the matchup, but that spread seems very generous. The Wildcats have the superior stats of the two teams, scoring more points and giving up less per game this season. Arizona has already defeated a very talented Oregon team and is a botched field goal away from being undefeated right now. On the other side, UCLA looked sluggish for the majority of its game against Colorado last week. Still, these are two very similar teams that should be fighting for this game until the end.
Jordan Lee’s prediction
UCLA: 38
Arizona: 34
Prediction record: 7-1
Prediction differential: 15.3
As odd as it may seem, UCLA may have preferred this game being played in Tucson rather than the so-far unfriendly confines of the Rose Bowl – where the Bruins have dropped two straight. UCLA can’t afford to make it three in a row in Pasadena if it hopes to cling on to its Pac-12 title hopes. Fittingly, the Bruins have been very clear this week that this is a must-win game for them. To do so, UCLA must figure out an Arizona defense that went in Autzen Stadium and frustrated a prolific Oregon offense en route to a 31-24 upset win over the Ducks. Defensively, the Bruins must contain redshirt freshman quarterback Anu Solomon and a Wildcat offense that has averaged 40.6 points per game.
The UCLA offense can help out its defensive counterparts by holding onto the football, which has been something of a problem for it over the past month. The Bruins are a combined 5-28 on third down in the last two weeks and have committed costly turnovers in their last four games. Big games from a pair of Arizona natives, redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley and redshirt sophomore running back Paul Perkins, will be key for the Bruins to end their home woes. I think they will deliver, while the defense bends but doesn’t break in a tight game for the third straight week.