UCLA vs. Arizona score predictions

The Bruins have won five straight against the Wildcats

Coming off their first Pac-12 win at Colorado, the Arizona Wildcats host the UCLA Bruins this Saturday.

Both teams are 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Pac-12.

UCLA has won five straight against Arizona, but the Wildcats actually opened as slight favorites.

However, that line has shifted and now, as this article is being published, is UCLA favored to win by 2.5 points.

Here’s what we think will happen Saturday:

Ryan Kelapire — Arizona wins 45-38

I don’t feel strongly about this at all, but I feel like Arizona will finally break its losing streak to UCLA this week.

The Wildcats are riding high after last week’s win at Colorado, and Khalil Tate gives Arizona’s offense a boost that it desperately needed.

I think it will come down to just how many stops Arizona’s defense can get. UCLA’s defense is poor, too, so it might not need at all that many, but Josh Rosen is a guy that can put up some astronomical numbers if you let him.

If Arizona’s defense can perform more like it did in the first four games than it did last week, I think the Wildcats will be in good shape.

Jason Bartel — Arizona wins 51-45

I can’t believe I’m at a place where I actually think Arizona will beat UCLA, but here we are.

What I want to believe is that the defense struggled against Colorado because it was a bunch of freshmen playing in their first non-UTEP road game, and that they’ll return to the level they’ve played at in Arizona Stadium against Rosen.

Brandon Combs — Arizona wins 42-35

Arizona is riding high after a much needed road conference win last week in Boulder.

It is blatantly apparent that the offense has a different vibe and energy to it when Khalil Tate is at the helm. I don’t expect Tate to have the record-breaking game he had last week, but I do think he’ll have another strong performance.

As for the defense, I agree with Jason and think it was freshmen jitters that caused the struggle last week. The squad will be back home and should go back to playing well. I think the pass rush will find home often in this game as UCLA’s offensive line has been not-so-good this year.

Christopher Boan — Arizona wins 48-35

How great does it feel to have a signal-caller that fans can feel somewhat comfortable in as an Arizona fan? Well, we’re about to find out whether Mr. Tate’s wild weekend in Boulder was a one-week foray or a glimpse of what’s to come. UCLA’s defense is, in a word, awful — surrendering 39.2 points per game (11th in the conference).

To top that off, the Bruins’ rush defense is even worse (somehow), ranked dead-last in the conference, allowing a whopping 284.2 yards per game on the ground, a full 85 more than Oregon State, which ranks 11th.

I expect Tate to have another monster game, though he won’t threaten 300 yards on the ground (I think). Expect the Rosen One to keep the Bruins in it through three quarters, before Arizona’s slash and dash rushing attack wears them to a baby-blue and gold layer of dust.

Gabe Encinas — Arizona wins 38-37

It’s crazy to think that everyone has picked Arizona to beat UCLA in week six of the 2017 season.

On offense, there’s a lot to like with Khalil Tate. It’s still hard to get past the fact that Tate needed a record-breaking performance to beat Colorado, but UCLA is dead last in the Pac-12 in rushing defense by over 80 yards, which makes me feel even better about this Rich Rodriguez offense now.

Arizona’s defense looked really bad last week, and a lot of guys just looked lost and got outplayed. Josh Rosen has the potential to be one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and this game will ultimately fall on UA’s defense.

I think it makes a small improvement from last week, and does just enough to allow a Khalil Tate-driven offense to get within one win of bowl eligibility.

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