Pac-12 road teams are a head-scratching 20-9 in conference games this season. Arizona has the best win of the bunch, taking down No. 2 Oregon in Autzen Stadium. Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
KICKOFF: Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET
GAMEDATE: 11/1/14
SITE: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
TV: ESPN
SERIES: UCLA leads the series with Arizona 21-15-2. The Bruins won 31-26 in Tucson last season, when they gave linebacker Myles Jack his first time at running back, and he carried six times for 120 yards. UCLA routed Arizona 66-10 in 2012 in Pasadena.
RANKINGS: Arizona 12, UCLA 22
KEYS TO THE GAME
Pac-12 road teams are a head-scratching 20-9 in conference games this season. Arizona has the best win of the bunch, taking down No. 2 Oregon in Autzen Stadium.
After a win like that, what can’t the Wildcats do?
Arizona is 3-0 on the road this season, including a 2-0 mark in league play, and Rich Rodriguez’s team will be full of confidence heading into an important Pac-12 South game at UCLA on Saturday night.
“Being successful on the road is mostly because of how close our team is,” senior free safety Jourdon Grandon said. “When a team goes on the road, they need to have a tight bond with one another. Having a strong team bond and the chemistry we have going into it makes all the difference.
“Another thing is that our attitudes have definitely changed within the past year. We believe that we can win anywhere against any team; it’s just a matter of having the confidence.”
Arizona (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) is ranked 14th in the country heading into Saturday’s game at No. 25 UCLA (6-2, 3-2). A couple of months ago, no one would have expected the Wildcats to be the higher-ranked team heading into this matchup, but the Bruins haven’t been as dominant as expected, struggling in their wins and losing to Utah and Oregon. UCLA needed double overtime to win at Colorado last Saturday.
“I’m not surprised at anything in our league,” said Rodriguez, whose team won 59-37 at Washington State last week.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re home or on the road because every week is a challenge. People say the Washington State game was a good road win, but any win in our league is a good win. I think because of the parity, our league has never been better than it is today and I think it will keep getting better in the next few years as well.”
The parity helps explain the success of Pac-12 road teams. As for his team, Rodriguez credits a business-like approach while embracing the hostile environments.
“Anytime you get a ‘boo’ or have stuff said to you, you should get a smile on your face rather than making it worry you because it at least means they think you’re important enough to boo,” Rodriguez said.
The Bruins entered the season with high expectations — starting the season in the Top 10, with some high-profile pundits picking the Bruins to advance to the national title game.
So, in that sense, UCLA has been disappointing. Starting with the opener at Virginia, the Bruins usually haven’t looked good in victory, and they lost back-to-back conference games at Utah and Oregon.
After UCLA eked out a double-overtime win at Colorado last week, coach Jim Mora was asked what needed to change.
“You mean winning? Well, we’re 6-2. So I hope nothing changes,” Mora said. “I hope we keep winning.”
He continued the theme a day later.
“We’re only two and a half years into our tenure here, and we’ve won 75 percent of our regular-season games with a completely overhauled roster,” Mora said. “I don’t know if you guys know that, but we’re 24-8 in regular-season games here since we’ve been here, with a completely overhauled roster.”
UCLA is on the fringe of a tight Pac-12 South race at 3-2 in league play. But the Bruins are far from out of it, as they have a win over Arizona State (4-1), still have to play USC (4-2) and get Arizona (3-1) in the Rose Bowl this Saturday. Utah is 3-1 in the league but is facing an incredibly difficult stretch.
Yes, UCLA needs some help to win the division, but — back to Mora’s point — the situation isn’t as dire as some make it seem. Mora, who took over for fired Rick Neuheisel after the 2011 season, inherited some major pieces — linebacker Anthony Barr, quarterback Brett Hundley — and then added toughness and discipline to the mix (as well as his own excellent recruiting).
“As much gloom and doom as there is out there,” Mora said, “I would challenge anyone to go find a UCLA team in the history of UCLA that has done what this group has done in two and a half years, with the youth that we have and the turnover we’ve had.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wildcats
–LB Scooby Wright was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for his performance at Washington State. Wright is normally the middle linebacker in Arizona’s 3-3-5 scheme, but the coaches went with a 4-1-6 look against pass-happy Washington State, moving Wright to a stand-up rush end position. He thrived, forcing three fumbles against Connor Halliday and recording three sacks. No matter where he lines up, he’s Arizona’s biggest playmaker on defense and a potential All-American.
–RB Terris Jones-Grigsby ran 13 times for 107 yards against Washington State last week, his third 100-yard effort in five games this season (he missed two because of injury). Jones-Grigsby, a senior and a former walk-on, is a tough between-the-tackles runner who is, pound-for-pound, one of the strongest players on the team.
–WR DaVonte’ Neal is starting to make the impact most expected this season out of the Notre Dame transfer. Neal was slowed early because of an ankle injury, but he has 10 catches in the past two games, including a touchdown reception against Washington State. He’s also had two long punt returns in that time — a 43-yarder against USC and an 81-yarder for a touchdown at Washington State. He is one of Arizona’s fastest and most dynamic players and could be a big factor down the stretch.
Bruins
–RB Paul Perkins went 92 yards down the sideline for a touchdown last week at Colorado, finishing with 180 yards on 19 carries as he nursed a wrist injury. He has been the most consistent player on the UCLA offense this season, and he has 996 rushing yards, poised to become the 13th rusher in school history to record a 1,000-yard season.
–LB Eric Kendricks tied his season high with 16 tackles in the double-overtime win at Colorado. That marked the 21st double-digit tackle game of his career. He also intercepted a pass last week and broke up a third-down pass late in regulation that forced Colorado to go for a tying field goal attempt rather than keep marching for a go-ahead touchdown.
–CB Marcus Rios, one week after making a potential game-saving interception in the final minute against Cal, came up with another key interception last week at Colorado, picking off a pass late in regulation. This week, Rios will be going up against an Arizona team that has been very efficient behind redshirt freshman quarterback Anu Solomon.
