What to watch for when the Arizona Wildcats host the UCLA Bruins

Here are three things to watch in the Arizona Wildcats’ Pac-12 home opener against UCLA at Arizona Stadium (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN), plus a score prediction and some pertinent preview links:

1. ERR JORDAN?

It’s Jordan McCloud’s show now. He displayed poise, craftiness and athleticism during his first UA start at Oregon. But it was a “yeah but” kind of performance. Yeah, he moved the chains. But he threw five interceptions. Finding that balance between aggression and recklessness will be McCloud’s challenge moving forward. “He's done a great job of understanding what we're trying to do, where he can be aggressive in our scheme,” offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll said. “And then ... when not to be aggressive. I think he's ready to make that adjustment, and I expect great things.” McCloud obviously knows how to play the game, having entered this season with 17 career starts. But the Pac-12, for all its detractors, is a step up in competition from the AAC. McCloud wanted to play Power Five football, and now he’s getting that opportunity. The expectation is that he’ll have the job for the foreseeable future. It remains to be seen whether another multiple-turnover outing – something we don’t predict will happen but isn’t inconceivable – will prompt Jedd Fisch to revisit the situation. QB stability is strongly preferred and desperately needed.

2. RUSH TO JUDGMENT

Through its first three games, Arizona couldn’t run the ball at all. The Wildcats averaged just 79 yards on the ground. In Game 4, they rediscovered their long-lost rushing attack, piling up 202 yards against Oregon. Through its first four games, UCLA stopped the run superbly. The Bruins allowed 64 yards per game and 2.4 yards per attempt. In Game 5, ASU gashed the UCLA front for 177 yards. So, taking all of that into account, does that mean the Wildcats will be able to run the ball on the Bruins? TBD. The Arizona offensive line gained a lot of confidence in Eugene – “in the middle of the first quarter,” according to Carroll – and that should carry over. The line also should be the healthiest it’s been all season. UCLA undoubtedly spent a good chunk of the week shoring up its run ‘D’ after getting gouged by ASU. We know this: Arizona needs to run the ball well to keep UCLA’s front honest and to keep McCloud out of “hero ball” mode.

3. TIGHT SPLITS

We expect the tight ends to play a big role in this game – including Arizona’s. UCLA’s Greg Dulcich is a known quantity and is as dangerous a receiving threat from the TE position as there is in the country. “He’s going to catch the ball deep down the field,” Fisch said of Dulcich, who averages 19.6 yards per catch. “He’s going to catch it and run. He's very hard to tackle.” We expect Christian Young to cover Dulcich most of the time. But if the Bruins can isolate Dulcich on one of the Wildcats’ safeties – who aren’t as big as Young – Dorian Thompson-Robinson won’t hesitate to exploit that matchup. On the other side, Fisch wants his tight ends to get more targets – roughly twice as many as they’ve been getting. It’ll be interesting to monitor McCloud’s target distribution as he assumes control of the job. Ten Wildcats caught passes in his first start, including four running backs and two tight ends.