UCLA vs. Arizona gameday predictions

No. 9 UCLA travels to No. 16 Arizona for its first Pac-12 game of the 2015 season. Both teams are 3-0 and are looking to continue their undefeated seasons. Here are the Daily Bruin Sports predictions for today’s prime-time matchup.

Matthew Joye, football beat writer
Arizona 28, UCLA 24
Freshman quarterback Josh Rosen has never played in an environment like the one he’ll face in Tuscon, Ariz., on Saturday evening. And if last week is anything to go by, Rosen does not perform well when he’s faced with new situations.

In last week’s game, Rosen faced a “psycho” defensive front from BYU that he had never seen before at the college level, and he struggled mightily. In this week’s game, Rosen will face a 3-3-5 Arizona defense for the first time in his career, and he will also face a road crowd of 50,00-plus for the first time in his career. Combine that with the fact that Arizona’s star linebacker Scooby Wright is back from injury and UCLA’s star linebacker junior Myles Jack is out, and the prospects don’t look too good for UCLA.

Matt Cummings, assistant editor
UCLA 27, Arizona 24
Rosen is probably not ready for this. He’ll be facing the best defense he has seen yet and in a hostile environment to boot. Luckily, he is not alone in the backfield. Junior running back Paul Perkins will be ready for this stage and might finally get some national recognition with a huge prime-time performance. He’ll be particularly important in controlling the clock and allowing a depleted UCLA defense to rest between each frenetic possession by the high-speed Arizona offense. Rosen will have to air it out a few times, and he’s got the talent to make just enough plays for a tight Bruins victory.

Korbin Placet, assistant editor
Arizona 21, UCLA 17
Will the UCLA defense hold up without Jack? What about without senior cornerback Fabian Moreau? These are hard questions to answer, which is why I am not confident in choosing the Bruins to win this one. UCLA’s offense will have to step up and hopefully carry them to victory.

With Rosen not playing as well as he did at the Virginia opener, Perkins and the rest of the reserve running backs will be paramount to this game. This unit has been pivotal in every matchup. If Rosen and this group can mesh, then they might be able to continue to stay at the top of the Pac-12.

Tanner Walters, assistant editor
UCLA 23, Arizona 13
Arizona has outscored its opponents by 98 points, the Wildcats will enjoy homefield advantage Saturday night and they are getting their standout linebacker Scooby Wright back from injury. There is certainly reason for Arizona fans to be optimistic about their team’s chances against UCLA.

With that said, those 98 points came against the University of Texas San Antonio, Nevada and Northern Arizona – three teams that are in no way powerhouse football programs. Homefield advantage? The Bruins went undefeated in Pac-12 road games last season. And Scooby Wright? OK, I have nothing to counter that. UCLA better hope that he isn’t quite at 100 percent yet because Wright can be absolutely dominant if he’s on his game.

I think that Arizona keeps the game reasonably close, but can’t quite pull off the upset.