UCLA Football: 2017 Game-by-game predictions
By Zach Bigalke
After the win over Colorado, UCLA takes a bye week over the first weekend of October. They return to the field with another road trip to face Arizona. Last year Josh Rosen had a huge game against the Wildcats, completing 20 of 37 passes for 350 yards and three touchdowns. He added another touchdown on a goal-line carry.
The result was a 45-24 victory at home for the Bruins. It was one of the few bright spots of the season, as Arizona continued its plummet and UCLA merely delayed its fall down the division standings. The loss was another mark against Rich Rodriguez, who finds himself sweating out the hot seat in 2017 after missing a bowl for the first time with the Wildcats.
By midseason, we should already know whether Rich Rodriguez will be back for another season in Tucson. He could very well be a lame duck at this point of the season as the Bruins push Arizona one loss closer to another postseason absence. Rosen will have another big game against the Wildcats’ abysmal secondary.
With a huge win, UCLA will move to 5-1 at the midway point of their regular season. One win away from bowl eligibility, the Bruins will climb up the AP and Coaches polls ahead of the first release of the College Football Playoff standings on Halloween. The sixth win, though, is often the hardest to reach.