Arizona @ UCLA preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 24, 2009 ) UCLA 13, Arizona 27

Early bowl projections have the University of Arizona looking at a spot in the Holiday Bowl. The Wildcats, however, haven’t given up hope of reaching the Rose Bowl.

Riding a two-game win streak, No. 16 Arizona visits UCLA in a Pac-10 Conference game Saturday.

The Bruins have been hammered in consecutive weeks. Arizona (6-1, 3-1 Pac-10) brings the nation’s seventh-ranked defense into Saturday’s game. The Wildcats drubbed Washington State 24-7 two weeks ago and then walloped Washington last Saturday as Matt Scott, filling in for the injured Nick Foles at quarterback, completed 18 of 22 passes for 233 yards and a pair of scores.

Foles is questionable for Saturday’s game. He was injured in the win against Washington when a defender rolled into his right leg. Foles has since returned to practice on a limited basis and will get the start if coach Mike Stoops deems his knee sturdy enough.

Stoops is certainly confident in Scott’s ability. Scott used to be the starter, but Foles took over midway through last season and has been brilliant. Through the first half of this season, he led the Pac-10 in passing with 306 yards per game and was second nationally in completion percentage at 75.3 percent.

While the Arizona quarterback situation is an embarrassment of riches, the Bruins’ saga at quarterback has been downright woeful.

Kevin Prince, who had struggled mightily, is out for the season after an exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Saturday necessitated a repair of the meniscus and a microfracture procedure. Prince has battled the injury throughout the season. He traveled with the team to Oregon but did not play in the blowout loss.

Richard Brehaut will get the start for UCLA (3-4, 1-3 Pac-10), which seemed to have things going in the right direction when it won three straight early this season. Since then UCLA has been outscored 95-20 in back-to-back losses and has been plagued by a string of off-field incidents leading to several suspensions. Brehaut has appeared in four games this year, but has yet to throw a touchdown pass.

UCLA suspended leading receiver Ricky Marvray and offensive lineman Sean Sheller for this week’s game for violating team rules. Marvray, a redshirt freshman, has 14 catches for 141 yards and two of the team’s three receiving touchdowns this season.

UCLA still runs the ball well. The Bruins, led by Derrick Coleman and Johnathan, average over 200 yards on the ground. But without having to worry about the passing game, the Wildcats may find UCLA easy to defend. Arizona allows just 90 yards a game on the ground.

Arizona defeated UCLA 27-13 last year. The Wildcats, who trail Oregon by a game in the Pac-10, meet the top-ranked Ducks on Nov. 26.