UCLA Football vs. Arizona 2018: GJB talks to Arizona Desert Swarm

With the UCLA football team returning home to face Arizona, Go Joe Bruin got a chance to talk to the Wildcat site, Arizona Desert Swarm, to get more info on the Bruins’ next opponents.

The UCLA football team finally got a win, but more importantly, it was a dominating win as they continued to progress in Chip Kelly’s first season.

RELATED: Know Your Opponent – UCLA vs. Arizona

So can the Bruins get another victory this weekend against Arizona? For more in-depth answers, I talked to Scott Moran, a writer for Arizona Desert Swarm who gave us the lowdown on the Cats.

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Go Joe Bruin: The big news out of Tucson is that starting dual-threat QB Khalil Tate is out with an ankle injury. What do you expect from his backup Rhett Rodriguez?

Arizona Desert Swarm: If you’d have told me in August that Tate was going to be injured for most of the season, I would’ve assumed the sky was falling. Now, I’m actually cautiously optimistic. RhettRod, ironically, fits Kevin Sumlin’s offense much better than he does his father’s. Despite being a sophomore, he seems like he’s got a good sense of the game and can make some good passes. His mobility isn’t as strong as Tate’s even with the injury, but it’s become clear that Noel Mazzone doesn’t plan on making the quarterback run much anyway. I feel awful for Tate, but I think Rhett Rodriguez might actually help out the ‘Cats a lot.

GJB: UCLA has been showing signs of life with their offense in the last few weeks. How do you see the Arizona defense stopping them?

AZDS: The short answer is: I don’t. Arizona’s defense has had serious problems all season, despite an underrated amount of talent on the field. The one thing that gives me hope is that Arizona bottled up Brandon McIlwain of Cal pretty well, but I think DTR is much better and has more weapons around him. I’d be shocked if the Bruins don’t score at least 30 points on Saturday.

GJB: What is your opinion on the Arizona offense as a whole? Do you see progress with Noel Mazzone?

AZDS: The Arizona offense this season can best be summed up by the word “flat”. Mazzone doesn’t have a great reputation among most college football fans, but if he has the personnel to fit his scheme he can create some fireworks. Unfortunately, Arizona’s personnel is built for basically the opposite of Mazzone’s offense, and that’s caused a very boring mess. Arizona is not efficient enough to grind out long drives, and they’re not explosive enough to rely on big plays. I think it’ll improve with Rodriguez taking snaps, and it will get better each successive season of the Sumlin era, but right now the offense gets a big thumbs down from me.

GJB: The Bruins have not been great with their pass defense, especially across the middle and against the linebackers. Who do you see as the biggest weapon on the Wildcat offense to exploit that?

AZDS: If Arizona wants to attack the middle of the field, the best weapon they have is Shun Brown. Like most of the Wildcats, he’s pretty small, but he’s one of the few players who’s gotten more explosive this season. If he finds a seam and Rodriguez can make the pass, Arizona’s offense at least has a chance of opening up the passing game. Still, this is a quarterback in his first start, so it all depends on him for the Wildcats to exploit that weakness.

GJB: It is clear that Arizona needs time to grow with Kevin Sumlin. As we are halfway through the season, what is your assessment on his progress so far?

AZDS: A lot of Arizona’s fans hit the panic button after the first two games of the season, and more have joined that group with each successive game. For this season, I understand the panic, as Sumlin has looked like a very bad hire. Nevertheless, I think there is actual hope for the future. This season is probably a lost cause as Sumlin tries to make this team his and not RichRod’s, but thanks to recruiting players that fit his system and some other factors, I’m willing to hold out until next season to pass judgment. Sumlin gets an F this season for wasting some serious talent and some questionable decisions, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt till the end of 2019.

GJB: Who are some of the biggest defensive weapons the Bruins need to keep an eye on?

AZDS: Arizona’s defense may be pretty horrible, but there are some really talented players on that side of the ball. The biggest name back there is Colin Schooler, who plays just like Scooby Wright used to and is just a sophomore. In the secondary, both Jace Whittaker and Lorenzo Burns often get overlooked, but they deserve a lot of credit for the few stops Arizona does manage. Against a player like Joshua Kelley and a somewhat mobile quarterback, those three players and their teammates really need to step up to give Arizona a chance.

GJB: What is your prediction for the game?

AZDS: I’ve finally given in to the rest of the fanbase and am going pessimistic on the rest of Arizona’s games this year. Give me UCLA 38-Arizona 27. I think Rhett Rodriguez will play well, but UCLA is trending the right direction and Arizona is definitely not.