No. 10 UCLA (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) at Arizona State (3-5, 2-3 Pac-12)
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Sun Devil Football Stadium, Tempe
TV/Radio: FS1/AM 570
Line: UCLA by 10.5
Notable injury designations: UCLA: Out: DL Martin Andrus. Arizona State: Out: WR Zeek Freeman, DE Michael Matus, OL Joey Ramos, TE Jacob Newell. Questionable: OL Ladarius Henderson
What’s at stake? As coach Chip Kelly noted, UCLA must keep winning to maintain its spot in the rankings and keep its Pac-12 title hopes alive. Arizona State was responsible for knocking UCLA out of the rankings last season, and will be upset-minded with an upstart quarterback leading the way. The Bruins cannot afford to falter in these next two weeks ahead of the USC matchup.
Who’s better? The Bruins have the edge on both sides of the ball. Arizona State’s offense dropped 42 points on UCLA last year, but the Bruins’ defense has improved enough this year that it shouldn’t give up more than 40 points to a quarterback making his second collegiate start. The wild card, of course, is if redshirt sophomore Trenton Bourguet is just that good and delivers another 400-plus yard performance.
Matchup to watch: UCLA defense vs. Bourguet. A defense that allowed more than 500 yards of offense at Oregon a few weeks ago should not rest easy against a quarterback who put up 435 yards – a school record in a first start – in a win over Colorado last week, especially with the presence of a veteran running back in Xazavian Valladay. If Bourguet is zipping passes like he did against Colorado and Valladay is running through seams, UCLA’s defense could be in for a battle.
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UCLA wins if …: If the Bruins’ defense handles Bourguet. The bend-but-don’t-break mentality worked against Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Utah’s Cam Rising, but not against Oregon’s Bo Nix. UCLA will look to replicate last week’s clampdown of Stanford’s Tanner McKee. … If Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Zach Charbonnet continue to fluster opposing defenses. … If the Bruins are not fazed by the road, where they have only played twice so far this season – with a win at Colorado but a defeat at Oregon.
Prediction: UCLA 41, Arizona State 28. The Bruins may give up more points and yards against Arizona State’s offense, which is more explosive than Stanford’s. But UCLA counters with an even better offense, which should run all over the field in Tempe.