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

Here are three things to watch in the Arizona Wildcats’ game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl (Saturday, 6 p.m., Fox/11), plus a score prediction and some pertinent preview links:

1. IT’S HOW YOU START

It would be extremely beneficial, for a variety of reasons, for Arizona to get off to a strong start. That’s been a recurring problem for the Wildcats under Kevin Sumlin on the road. Arizona has played 12 away games under Sumlin. The Wildcats have won only two of them. In each case – Oregon State in 2018, Colorado in ’19 – the UA held the lead in the first quarter. That’s happened on only one other occasion on the road, vs. Stanford last year. Arizona lost that game by 10. It was competitive throughout. So was last year’s game at Arizona State, which was another 10-point margin. That game was scoreless after the first period, and Arizona held the lead in the second. The Wildcats have trailed by double figures in every other road game during Sumlin’s tenure. The only two times they rallied to tie the score or take the lead were the 2018 UCLA game and last year’s opener at Hawaii. Every other game spiraled out of control and turned into a blowout. This UA team desperately needs a jolt of confidence – something that would instill a sense of belief in the players. Starting fast (for a change) would do the trick.

2. DEARTH OF DEFENSIVE BACKS

We knew Arizona’s depth was nonexistent at linebacker. We knew it was shaky at safety. It’s becoming more problematic by the day across the defensive backfield. Junior safety Christian Young has opted out for the season. Young opened the year as the nickel. He missed a chunk of the USC game and all of the Washington game because of an ankle injury. On the heels of five – yes, five – one-time UA safeties transferring in the offseason, the Wildcats have only four scholarship safeties left: Jaxen Turner, Rhedi Short, Jarrius Wallace and Isaiah Mays. Short has struggled so far, Wallace has been banged up and Mays has minimal Division I experience. Meanwhile, at cornerback, freshmen Khary Crump and Edric Whitley are no longer with the program. They weren’t really in the mix this season, but still – another depth hit at another position. If there’s any good news, it’s the return of talented sophomore Bobby Wolfe. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him immediately assume the nickel role. Likely UCLA starting QB Chase Griffin isn’t as accomplished a passer as Dorian Thompson-Robinson, but the Bruins have dangerous pass catchers in tight end Greg Dulcich and receiver Kyle Philips. With Arizona keying on tailback Demetric Felton, look for a heavy dose of play-action passes attacking the middle of the UA defense.

3. PASSIVE PANDY

UA linebacker Anthony Pandy’s favorite player growing up was Troy Polamalu. Pandy admired the reckless abandon with which Polamalu played. Pandy has shown that kind of flair at times as a Wildcat, but it largely has been missing this season. One can’t help but wonder if Pandy is being bogged down by the responsibilities that have been added to his plate. Pandy thrived in a third-wheel role last year alongside Tony Fields II and Colin Schooler. With those two having moved on, Pandy has looked like a player who’s thinking too much – an issue that plagued Schooler at times. Sumlin, a former linebacker, can relate. “I can remember even for me as a player, I had a guy, Brock Spack, who’s a coach now (the head coach at Illinois State), who told me what to do when I was younger. I just played,"Sumlin said. "All of a sudden that guy leaves ... you're looking at everybody else, telling them what to do and making the changes, and it slows you down a little bit.” Sumlin added that Pandy missed practice time before the Washington game, and that hurt him as well. “He's a very prideful guy,” Sumlin said. “He's fine now. I look for him to bounce back and be better this week.”