UCLA @ Arizona State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 11, 2017 ) Arizona State 37, UCLA 44

Arizona State and UCLA hope to take advantage of the wide-open Pac-12 South Division when they meet on Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. All six teams in the division have either three or four losses in conference play, though the Bruins are the only team that must win the Pac-12 to be bowl-eligible.

Arizona State tightened up the South by defeating USC and No. 24 Utah in its past two games, dropping them into a tie atop the division with Utah, USC and Arizona with three losses in conference play. The Sun Devils end the regular season at Arizona after traveling to Oregon on Nov. 17, putting them in control of their own destiny. The Bruins still have a slim chance of finishing atop the South if they can knock off Arizona State, defeat visiting USC, and get some help from the two conference opponents still set to play Utah and Arizona. UCLA looked like they had turned a corner when they knocked off California and Arizona after opening the season with five straight defeats, but they've since lost back-to-back one-sided games to Utah (41-10) and Oregon (42-21).

TV: 2 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks. LINE: Arizona State -12.5

ABOUT UCLA (2-7, 2-4 Pac-12): Wilton Speight likely earned the start at quarterback against Arizona State after replacing freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson against Oregon and completing 13-of-25 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. Thompson-Robinson struggled with his accuracy a week after missing the Utah game with a shoulder injury, completing just 9-of-23 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown before again heading to the locker room after re-aggravating the injury. UCLA will likely come with a heavy dose of running back Joshua Kelley, who's coming off a career-high 161-yard rushing performance against the Ducks.

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (5-4, 3-3): Eno Benjamin is on pace to set the single-season rushing record for the Sun Devils in the 40 years since they joined the Pac-10 in 1978. He rushed for 175 yards against Utah to give him 1,113 yards this season, 61 yards shy of J.R. Redmond's 11-game total in 1999, which is the second-best mark in program history. Ryan Torain holds the all-time school record of 1,229 rushing yards in 2006.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Arizona State WR N’Keal Harry has a reception in all 34 games with the Sun Devils.

2. Arizona State QB Manny Wilkins needs one more touchdown pass for 48 in his Sun Devils' career, which would move him into a tie for seventh in team history.

3. UCLA is plus-seven in turnovers in its wins this season and minus-six in its losses.

PREDICTION: Arizona State 45, UCLA 28