UCLA Football: An Early Preview of the Arizona Wildcats

UCLA Football should get more than a handful of wins in 2017 and one of those should be against the Arizona Wildcats who came in last in South Division in 2016.

You see, the thing about UCLA Football is that they have the talent to blow teams out of the water and why they do not do it on a consistent basis lands square on the shoulders of the coaching staff.

Unfortunately for Arizona, they were so bad last season that UCLA did not have to try very hard to dominate the Wildcats. But every conference has a punching bag and unfortunately for the Arizona Wildcats, this is who they are right now.

But in 2017 both UCLA and Arizona are looking to change their paths from last season as the Bruins finished 4-8 and the Wildcats 3-9.

What: UCLA Bruins at Arizona Wildcats

Where: Arizona Stadium

When: Saturday, October 14

2016 Record: 3-9 overall, 1-8 Pac-12

Let’s just be blunt about it, Arizona was not good last year. After winning the Pac-12 South Division two seasons before, Arizona has definitely fallen.

Departures and injuries kept the Wildcats down and they did not do well handling it. By winning only three games (one was against FCS team Grambling State) the state of Arizona is now on shaky ground.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez, who started off doing well in his time in Tucson, has to figure out a way to get his team turned around or this could be the last reign of Rich Rod.

Arizona Offense:

Despite a lopsided offense, Arizona has a lot going for them in 2017. First let us take a look at their quarterback situation as they have two players that know the offense and have plenty of experience running it.

Brandon Dawkins and Khalil Tate have plenty of experience, but who will be the #1 guy? Dawkins threw for 1,348 yards, 8 touchdowns, 6 interceptions and ran for 944 yards and 10 touchdowns. Tate threw for 243 yards, 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions and ran for 237 yards and one touchdown.

Tate was able to pick up where Dawkins left off after a mid-season injury as they have the same style of play, the only problem is that style was heavily off balance.

After several seasons of airing out the ball, the Wildcats did not throw it as much last year. Although they did run the heck out of the ball as they were the top rushing Pac-12 school with 235.0 yards per game.

With both quarterbacks running the ball a lot more and three returning running backs that all averaged 4.8 yards per carry or more, teams should be very worried about Arizona’s run game. They also return several players on the offensive line which is great for continuity which probably means they will continue to be a fantastic on the ground.

Zach Green, Nick Wilson and JJ Taylor should all be contributing factors in the run game, as Arizona does not have a lot of receiving options. With two of their top receiving options gone, Arizona will rely on Shun Brown (who averaged 18.0 yards per catch in 2016) to be the main target through the air.

UCLA’s strength on defense is their secondary which might not be tested in this game. So if Arizona runs, UCLA is going to need to really buckle down. The last two seasons Arizona has run all over UCLA going for 353 yards in 2015 and 242 in 2016.

Arizona 2016 Offensive Stats

Total Offense:413.1 (8th in the Pac-12)

Passing Offense: 178.1 (10th)

Rushing Offense: 235.0 (1st)

Scoring Offense: 24.8 (12th)

Arizona Defense:

This is where things get sticky for the Arizona Football team. Their defense is not very good. The Wildcats were near the bottom of every major team statistical category in the Pac-12 and this season it could get worse.

In 2016 Arizona had to deal with an onslaught of injuries. In 2017 they have to worry about an exodus of players.

Two players return on the defensive line as sophomore Justin Belknap and senior Parker Zellers will have to do the majority of the heavy lifting. Though they have experience, it’s troubling that they combined for only 17 total tackles last season.

Nov 25, 2016; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Rich Rodriguez walks on the field before the Territorial Cup against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports /

The same goes for the linebackers as DeAndre Miller will be the most experienced player returning to the group. Like the D-line, Miller has to make up for a lot of tackles as he only logged 18 total in 2016.

If the Wildcats find solace anywhere it will be with the secondary. Jace Whittaker, Dane Cruikshank, Jarvis McCall, Jr. and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles will hold down the secondary.

The good news here is that they have a lot of experience and more tackles to brag about. McCall had 27 total tackles (the least among these players) while Flannigan-Fowles retuns as the second-leading tackler with 78.

The secondary might have to do double duty as they will have to protect the skies and quite possibly do a little bit more close to the line as teams will most likely try to go right at their front seven.

UCLA should have no problem passing the ball against Arizona. What they need to do is continue to sharpen their skills in the running game and send all of their backs right up into Arizona’s front seven. Hopefully the Bruins can do to the Wildcats what they have done to the Bruins the last two years.

Arizona 2016 Defensive Stats

Total Defense: 469.3 (9th in the Pac-12)

Passing Defense: 275.2 (11th)

Rushing Defense:194.2 (9th)

Scoring Defense: 38.3 (9th)

Next: Grading the UCLA quarterbacks heading into 2017

Final Analysis

UCLA had a bad season in 2016 but not as bad as Arizona. It seems that UCLA will also have a better season in 2017 as the Bruins are better equipped whope the Wildcats have questions at a lot of positions.