Sam Settleman
Sports editor
Prediction: UCLA 49, Arizona 28

Nothing is more fun than watching a bad team with no fear.

A team that knows it can’t win without throwing the ball 50 times or dropping eight into coverage and hoping for the best. Arizona is exactly that team.

But unfortunately for the Wildcats, they might not be having much fun Saturday night, even if I will enjoy every second of it from the press box.

Arizona’s offense has proven to be one of the best in the nation, while its defense has been equally bad. The Wildcats run a true air-raid offense behind quarterback Jayden de Laura and a trio of talented young receivers.

De Laura has put up some ridiculous numbers through the air this season despite limited efficiency and a knack for turnovers, but that’s exactly what makes this group fun to watch. It doesn’t matter who they are playing, the Wildcats have no problem buying into a shootout-style game.

Sadly for Arizona and everyone else hoping for some Pac-12 After Dark magic, UCLA won’t let that happen.

Just as they did a week ago, the Bruins will control this one on the ground. With or without senior running back Zach Charbonnet, UCLA should easily reach 300 rushing yards for the third straight game and further cement itself as one of the top rushing offenses in the nation.

On the other side, the Wildcats have given up more than 300 rushing yards in three games already this season, including to a California rushing offense that would rank second-to-last in the entire country if it never played Arizona. The Golden Bears have averaged 77 rushing yards per game in their eight other games this year but managed to drop 354 rushing yards on this Wildcat defense.

This will be a ground-and-pound grinder – not a star-studded shootout.

The fun will have to wait until next week as UCLA once again avoids its patented chaos in favor of another comfortable win.

Jack Nelson
Assistant Sports editor
Prediction: UCLA 40, Arizona 17

Halloween had come and passed, but more than a few frights were sprung on Bruin fans Saturday night.

Evidently haunted by the ghost of former defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro, UCLA’s defense folded in the second half, allowing 26 points – including 18 unanswered – to Arizona State. A once comfortable 35-10 Bruin lead was trimmed down to a one-possession Sun Devils deficit with over five minutes left in the game.

If you told those same Bruin fans that their team would have to overcome that collapse without Charbonnet, they might have been downright terrified.

Yet UCLA just so happened to crack the 50-point plateau for the first time this season via its most rampant rushing performance in more than a decade, all without its most imposing offensive force.

The near-complete defensive implosion in an otherwise lopsided affair wasn’t unlike the lackluster efforts once overseen by Azzinaro. And if the Bruins want to reassert themselves as capable of dominating for all 60 minutes, they’ll have to shake their paranormal visions fast.

Helmed by the reigning Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year in de Laura, Arizona brings the nation’s seventh-best passing attack to Pasadena. The Wildcats warrant respect simply by ranking above all four of the nation’s remaining undefeated teams in that category.

But what Arizona has proven with its air-raid offense, it backs up with virtually nothing else.

The Wildcats rank fifth-to-last nationally in total defense, allowing more than 450 yards per game and at least 45 points to each of their previous four opponents. That doesn’t bode well for a team on the road tasked with stopping the No. 5 total offense and No. 7 rushing attack in the country.

Things don’t look much more promising for Arizona when taking a glance at its conference resume, which stands at a lowly 1-5, with the sole win coming against an even lowlier Colorado team.

Spirits will enjoy the ambiance of the night atmosphere that UCLA will be playing in for a third consecutive week, but hauntings will not follow from Tempe. The Bruins should have no problem running up the score on the Wildcats to set up a monumental battle of 9-1 teams with USC next week.

Amelie Ionescu
Assistant Sports editor
Prediction: UCLA 36, Arizona 26

It has been rainy lately in Los Angeles.

But after the “Kazmanian Devil” scorched the field last week, the Bruins will be bringing the heat back to the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

UCLA beat Arizona State 50-36 without home-field advantage a weekend ago, marking its 12th straight game scoring 30 or more points. Even more impressive, the blue and gold played without its most impactful offensive weapon in Charbonnet.

But the Bruins also almost gave up a 25-point lead, bringing the Sun Devils within one touchdown of victory. And it’s the inconsistency of the team – specifically redshirt senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson – that worries most viewers.

Not me, however.

On Thursday, I watched UCLA women’s volleyball come back from a 2-0 deficit to reverse sweep California, the worst team in the Pac-12. That same day, No. 8 Stanford pulled off a tight win against an unranked USC team after dropping the first two sets. And No. 14 Oregon followed suit, barely besting unranked Colorado after losing the first set 25-13 and the second 25-20.

All of that to say – college sports are unpredictable. Upsets happen, some teams underperform and other teams exceed all expectations. But college sports also make sense. In all three of Thursday’s women’s volleyball matches, the better team pulled out in front despite having to overcome significant deficits.

And UCLA isn’t just marginally better than Arizona. The Bruins outclass the Wildcats in the Pac-12 standings and most statistical categories.

As my fellow predictors would agree, it isn’t a question of if the Bruins will win, it’s a question of by how much. Arizona has scored 20 or more points in every Pac-12 matchup this season and boasts the passing prowess of de Laura.

Meanwhile, the Bruins just hit the 50-point mark in their last matchup against a desert school and have averaged more than 40 points per game.

As a math student, I like numbers. Most importantly, I like the number six. And UCLA will win 36-26 on Saturday.

Joseph Jimenez
Assistant Photo editor
Prediction: UCLA 56, Arizona 28

I 100% did not forget about this prediction, but rather the two office dogs of the Daily Bruin were not in Kerckhoff 118 all week and foiled my prediction plans.

Nonetheless, here we go. Unlike what I said in my Washington prediction, I believe the Bruins will not be in the doghouse against Arizona come Saturday night.

I often lose faith in this team, for reasons much like what transpired in last week’s game against the Sun Devils. As soon as Thompson-Robinson was picked off on his very first throw of the night, I knew it was going to be a long night. And so it was.

Despite putting up a season-high 50 points against Arizona State, UCLA nearly coughed up a 42-18 lead late in the third quarter. As much as I enjoyed seeing the seasoned quarterback be a magician and escape seemingly inescapable positions, UCLA should not have struggled nor tortured its supporters in the process.

I am used to being subjected to emotional distress by UCLA, but last week’s game was a wake-up call for this team. The Bruins became complacent, and their complacency was almost their downfall.

Yes, the Bruins were without their star running back in Charbonnet, who bolsters the offense on the ground, but they proved they can be resilient and score even when he is on the sidelines. That is why I believe the blue and gold will run rampant against Arizona at the Rose Bowl.

With an offense that is firing on all cylinders, I believe UCLA will break its season high of points against a mediocre Arizona team. The Den will be roaring loud, and UCLA will want to prove itself a week before arguably the biggest college football game in the country.

It will give the Bruins the necessary fire to head into rivalry week and make LA bleed blue and gold once more.