Arizona is a significant underdog against UCLA as they aim to break their losing streak.
The Arizona Wildcats have not won a game in 732 days and are currently in the midst of a 16-game losing streak.
The Wildcats aim to break their longest losing streak in program history when they take on the 3-2 UCLA Bruins in Tucson on Saturday night.
The Arizona vs. UCLA game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. in Arizona Stadium, airing live on ESPN for a national audience.
The Wildcats are significant underdogs, trailing the Bruins by over two touchdowns in Arizona sports betting.
Arizona is unlikely to win against the Bruins.
Arizona sports betting apps are not confident in the Wildcats ending their losing streak against the Bruins.
The Wildcats are considered a 16-point underdog by oddsmakers at BetMGM Arizona and DraftKings Arizona, while FanDuel Arizona has them at -16.5. This is the general consensus among sportsbooks.
Arizona has had a tumultuous history when facing off against UCLA.
In the last ten years, Arizona has faced difficulties when playing against UCLA, with only two wins in their nine matchups with the Bruins since 2012.
During last year’s abbreviated Pac-12 regular season, the Wildcats suffered a 27-10 loss to the Bruins. The most recent victory for Arizona in the series came in 2019 when they won at home.
Arizona secured a 20-17 victory over UCLA when Wildcats prevailed following UCLA kicker JJ Molson’s missed field goal in the closing moments of the game.
In 2017, the Wildcats triumphed over the Bruins in Tucson with a final score of 47-30, breaking UCLA’s five-game winning streak in the series.
The first home start of Jordan McCloud
After suffering a 41-19 loss to the Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Arizona had a bye week before their rematch on Saturday.
Arizona is looking to change their luck on Saturday night as quarterback Jordan McCloud, a transfer from South Florida, will make his second straight start for the Wildcats.
In the game against the Ducks, the sophomore quarterback showed promise by completing 60% of his passes for 233 yards and a touchdown.
His inexperience at the position was evident as he threw five interceptions during the Wildcats’ 22-point loss in the Willamette Valley.
McCloud hopes to duplicate his achievements at USF, where he threw for more than 2,700 yards and 21 touchdowns (with 10 interceptions) in just two seasons.
If McCloud can continue to use his running ability to create mismatches and gain yardage against UCLA like he did against Oregon, the Wildcats will have a good shot at winning on Saturday.
Stopping Dorian Thompson-Robinson
UCLA’s standout star of the season is senior QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Thompson-Robinson has thrown for 1,154 yards and 10 touchdowns for UCLA in only five starts, with just one interception on 121 pass attempts.
Moreover, the senior quarterback has also gained 214 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns, giving Chip Kelly a versatile QB choice as the Bruins strive for their first winning season since 2015.
Thompson-Robinson demonstrated his talent by throwing for 235 yards and rushing for 96 yards in UCLA’s 42-23 loss to ASU on Saturday.
He and Kelly are working to get back on course, while Jedd Fisch’s team is looking to secure their first win in two years on Saturday night.
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Author
Peterson Christopher, who spent over seven years covering sports and sports betting in Arizona for various outlets including ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly, and the Green Valley News, now holds the position of lead writer at yengols.com.
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