Without Khalil Tate, Arizona hosts UCLA fresh off Bruins’ first win

After Arizona’s Week 7 loss to Utah, the Wildcats are once again below .500.

The Wildcats lost 42-10 to an up-and-down Utah squad, and to make matters worse, quarterback Khalil Tate re-injured his ankle. Arizona was also torched defensively, allowing almost 500 yards of offense to a subpar Utah offense.

Now 3-4, Arizona’s bowl chances are in jeopardy with the Wildcats needing to reach six wins. To end the year, Arizona plays five more conference games, including two against ranked opponents.

Saturday, Arizona heads to Los Angeles for a test against UCLA. For the majority of the year, UCLA has been horrible on both sides of the ball, but recently, the Bruins have shown signs of life, competing with Washington in Week 6 and crushing California a week ago.

“They’ve been really impressive,” Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin said. “You want to talk about last week, but the week before they were in a one-score game with Washington because of their turnover ratio and how they handled it, so the last two weeks they have played impressive football.”

Essential Info

What: Arizona vs. UCLA

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

TV: ESPN2

Key Storylines

How will Rhett Rodriguez play?

This week, Sumlin announced he is shutting Tate down against UCLA because of a lingering ankle injury. In his absence, sophomore quarterback Rhett Rodriguez will start.

Rodriguez, the son of former head coach Rich Rodriguez, has thrown only 46 passes in his entire collegiate career. And 38 of those came in Week 7. In that game, Rodriguez, completed 20 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown.

While UCLA’s defense has been below average for most of the season, a week ago, the Bruins wreaked havoc on Cal quarterback Brandon McIlwain, who threw two picks.

Sumlin gets another chance against UCLA

The last time Sumlin coached against UCLA, it didn’t go very well.

That was in 2017 when he coached Texas A&M and faced UCLA in the season opener. Despite leading by 34 in the late third quarter, Sumlin and the Aggies found a way to lose 45-44. Many insiders blamed the loss on Sumlin and his decisions to continue throwing the ball with such a commanding lead.

While he is coaching an entirely new team and UCLA is without many of its key players from last year — in particular, Josh Rosen — it’s hard to know if last year’s collapse lingers in the back of his mind.

Will slow starts continue to haunt Arizona?

Sluggish starts have doomed Arizona in several games this year, including the Wildcats’ Week 7 loss to Utah. In what could be Arizona’s best chance to win in the remainder of the season, this can’t happen in Week 8.

UCLA’s offense is among the worst in the Pac-12, but recently, the Bruins have found their groove in the run game. Running back Joshua Kelley has eclipsed 100 yards in each of UCLA’s last three game, including a three-touchdown game last week against Cal.

With an inexperienced quarterback leading the Wildcats’ offense, the Arizona defense will need to do its part and limit UCLA’s effectiveness on the ground.

Will Arizona’s rushing struggles continue?

When J.J. Taylor exploded for 284 rushing yards against Oregon State, Arizona’s run game looked as if it turned the corner from mediocrity. Since then, however, it hasn’t played that way.

Taylor hasn’t hit 100 yards once since the Oregon State game, and neither has anyone on Arizona’s roster.

“We were having a hard time running the ball, period,” Sumlin said. “The success of our short-yardage has not been what we needed it to be.”

Key Wildcats

QB Rhett Rodriguez

For the first time of his collegiate career, Rodriguez saw extensive playing time last week. Though he struggled with accuracy, he didn’t play horribly, throwing for more than 200 yards with a touchdown.

Before getting sidelined, Tate was the Wildcats’ leader on offense, so Rodriguez has some large shoes to fill.

LB Colin Schooler

Linebacker Colin Schooler leads the Pac-12 with 11.5 tackles for loss and could probably be a key player every week. This week, his presence will be important as always with the Wildcats looking to stay relevant.

With UCLA’s run game improving steadily over the season, Schooler will need to lead this defense and keep Kelley in check.

Key Bruins

QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson

Over the course of the season, UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson has consistently improved. In both of his last two games, he’s completed more than 70 percent of his passes, and against California, he completed 13 of his 15 pass attempts.

The freshman has showed more comfortability in the pocket as the season has progressed, and if Arizona’s defense plays like it did against Utah, the freshman could have a field day.

K JJ Molson

Undoubtedly one of the nation’s best kickers, JJ Molson has been fantastic this year. Molson has nailed eight of his nine field goal attempts and every extra point this year.

In a game that could be a shootout, Molson’s accuracy could be the difference-maker.

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