GAME BREAKDOWN
KEY MATCHUP: Arizona doesn’t do well in physical matchups at the line of scrimmage, last week giving up 230 rushing yards to Utah. The Wildcats are 107th in rushing defense, allowing 202.0 yards per game, and will be facing an emerging star in UCLA running back Joshua Kelley, who has rushed for more than 100 yards in three consecutive games. The Wildcats need to make life difficult for UCLA true freshman QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson — and that task starts with taking away the Bruins’ running game, if they can.
DRAFT SLANT
–DL PJ Johnson has started to emerge as an important piece to Arizona’s defense in just his first season with the program. The redshirt junior, who previously made stops at Sacramento State and junior college, has made starts at tackle and defensive end — even at 335 pounds. He shows good bull-rush skills and has surprising closing speed when chasing the play from the back side. He has 5.5 tackles for loss among his 16 stops this season.
ROSTER REPORT
–PK Josh Pollack, in his second game since re-taking the placekicking job, went 1-for-2 on field goal attempts at Utah. He missed from 34 but later made a 37-yarder.
–LB Kylan Wilborn, who did not play in the second half of the game against Cal, also did not play last week because of a shoulder injury. His status for this week is unknown, as coach Kevin Sumlin does not discuss injuries. He was replaced by junior Lee Anderson III.
–DE Justin Belknap, an early-season starter, is expected to miss the rest of the season because of a foot injury suffered in practice before the third game.
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