Know Your Opponent: UCLA Football vs. Arizona State 2018

The UCLA football team will try to bounce back from a rough trip to Oregon with a potentially rough trip to Arizona State. Will they be successful?

The UCLA football team is having a tough time right now. After an impressive stretch of midseason games, they have taken a few steps back in the last few weeks. In their last game, the Bruins looked like they had a chance against Oregon, but mistakes held them back from getting a win.

RELATED: UCLA’s Win Over Arizona Keeps them in the Hunt for the South Division

The Bruins had good performances by Joshua Kelley, the passing game, and the run defense. Yes, there were missteps, but a lot of good came out of it too. It was special teams, dropped passes, and questionable play calls that held them back. So what will happen this week? Well, that all depends on what team shows up on the other side of the field in Tempe.

The Arizona State Sun Devils (5-4, 3-3)

Arizona State has been surprisingly good this season, but they have also had a few games in which they did not have enough gas in the tank. After a solid 2-0 start, which included a win against #15 Michigan State, the Sun Devils lost four of their next five games.

And then n the last two weeks they seemed to wake up in their visit to the Coliseum in a win against USC and shut down the Utah Utes who looked like they were on their way to winning the South Division.

ASU first-year coach Herm Edwards, who has been out of the game for a while, seems to have gotten a hold of his team. Their record may not reflect progress, but it is there. You just have to look closer. Just look at their losses. Each one of them has not been blowouts. In fact, they have all been by a touchdown.

Though they need to learn to close out, they have learned to keep it close. That is something UCLA is going to have their hands full with.