TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats will hit the road for the second straight game this weekend when they take on UCLA at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night. 

Arizona is looking to even its record at 4-4, while UCLA is searching for its second-straight victory. 

A full preview is below: 

Some Game Themes: To Pasadena we go for a Pac-12 South matchup featuring a pair of first-year coaches eager to find another victory to spark a second-half surge as the midpoint of the college football regular season has come and gone … Chip Kelly's Bruins chalked up their first "W", blasting California last Saturday in Berkeley. It was an emphatic breakthrough victory putting an end to a five-game losing streak to open the season … On the other side, Kevin Sumlin's Cats are smarting from a blowout road loss at surging Utah last Friday in Salt Lake CIty. It was a deflating performance, especially for a defensive unit that had strung together three steady performances to open up a 2-1 start in conference play … Momentum and consistency have been hard to come by for Arizona, which has shown flashes of explosiveness of offense and periods of attacking defense. But too often the offense has sputtered and the defense has faltered on key third down situations … Not helping matters has been the injury-plagued season for junior quarterback Khalil Tate. He battled through a new offensive system and nagging injuries for the first six games, but finally an awkward fall on a gimpy ankle put him on the sideline for good last Friday night. In his place, Rhett Rodriguez steadied things, but the deficit was too deep to over come. Questions at the QB spot will be a focus this week in Tucson … On the flip side, Kelly has a talented young signal caller of his own in Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Most think of Kelly's high-tempo Oregon offenses, but the look this season has been much different. While "DTR" possesses dual-threat skills, there's far less zone read and more traditional aspects in the Bruins offense to date. The last couple weeks have seen things begin to click for UCLA, especially in last week's 37-7 win over the Golden Bears … Arizona will need a bounce-back effort in all phases if it is to go into the Rose Bowl and pick up its first win in the historic stadium since 2010 … A year ago, UA snapped a five-game losing streak to UCLA with a key home win over Josh Rosen and the Bruins … A win would keep the Wildcats in contention of the jumbled Pac-12 South race, which could only get murkier with some pivotal contests on this week's docket … However, the priority for Sumlin's Cats must be improvement. Simply get back on track, gain momentum and hopefully develop consistency heading into the home stretch of the season … It's Cats and Bruins before a Saturday night national TV audience on ESPN2. See you at the Rose Bowl.

Last Meeting: Khalil Tate followed up his record-setting performance with another spectacular effort in leading Arizona to a convincing 47-30 victory over UCLA before a Family Weekend crowd of 48,380 at Arizona Stadium last Oct. 14, 2017. The sophomore quarterback, in only his second career start (first of the season), 378 yards of offense and three touchdowns. Included was the sixth-best rushing game in UA history (230 yards), which made him the first FBS quarterback since 1997 to post consecutive 200-plus yard rushing games. He opened things up with 45-yard touchdown run just 74 seconds into the game and Arizona never looked back. The Wildcats held first-half leads of 10-0 an 17-7 before Jace Whittaker's second interception of the game was returned 42 yards for a touchdown. That put Arizona ahead 24-7 with 8:03 remaining in the second quarter and the teams traded scores before halftime for a 30-14 lead for the home side. The Bruins showed signs of a second-half comeback with two touchdowns (and two two-point conversions) in the third period, but Arizona always had an answer and the lead never shrunk to single digits. The UA defense turned up the heat on Josh Rosen, too, with true freshman Kylan Wilborn leading the charge with four sacks. The Wildcats totaled five sacks and eight tackles for loss in the game, while Whittaker has two interceptions and a pass breakup to lead a secondary that limited Rosen to his second-lowest passing total of his career (219 yards). As one would expect, Arizona's exclamation marks in the game came on the ground. After UCLA trimmed the deficit to 33-22 late in the third quarter, Tate opened things back up with a 71-yard touchdown run. The Bruins against answered with a touchdown drive to bring themselves within 10, but a 75-yard drive was punctuated by Nick Wilson's second touchdown of the game to cap the scoring early in the fourth quarter. UCLA couldn't muster any scoring in the fourth quarter, and the Wildcats ran out the final five-plus minutes of clock with possession of the ball. Wilson totaled 135 rushing yards and a pair of scores of his own, and the Wildcats rolled up 457 yards on the ground as part of a 605-yard day of total offense. The victory snapped a five-game losing streak to UCLA.

Push 'Em Back: Last week's game at Utah notwithstanding, one of the keys to Arizona's defensive surge in recent weeks has been the ability to penetrate the offensive backfield and make plays behind the line of scrimmage. Through four Pac-12 Conference games, UA has recorded 24.0 tackles-for-loss, which is third-most in league play. The Wildcats registered only two sacks in non-conference play (none in first two games of season), but have racked up nine in four conference games (tied second-most by Pac-12 team in conference-only games).

Tackles-For-Loss Leaders (Pac-12 games only)
Name                    TFL         TFL/G
1. USC                   30.0        7.5
2. Utah                 25.0        6.25
3. Arizona            24.0        6.00

Defensive Sack Leaders (Pac-12 games only)
Name                    Sacks     Sacks/G
1. Utah                 12.0        3.0
2. Arizona            9.0          2.25
    Stanford          9.0          3.0

Not So Mellow Yellow: Arizona leads the nation in opponent penalty yards due in large part to the last three games in which foes have racked up piles of laundry. USC and California each were penalized over 100 yards, while Utah was flagged nine times for 94 yards last Friday in Salt Lake City. Adding up the three games, it's 40 penalties for 378 total yards or an average of 13.3 penalties for 126 yards per game. With the Trojans and Bears each topping the century mark in penalty yards, it was the first time since 2014 that UA's opponents had consecutive games with 100 or more yards of penalties. That stretch include three straight games in which happened for UCLA (11-118), Colorado (10-103) and Washington (13-111).
Team                     Pen.       Yards     Pen/G   Yds/G
1. Arizona            69           670         9.9          95.7
2. Ohio                 56           527         9.3          87.8
3. Northwestern              53           515         8.8          85.8
4. Penn State     54           510         9.0          85.0
5. LSU   67           591         9.6          84.4

Turnover Turnaround: The Wildcats opened the season by creating just one turnover in the first four games. Since, Arizona's defense has forced eight turnovers in the last three contests. The recent surge has vaulted UA to the top of the league for most turnovers gained in conference games. The Cats cashed in two of their turnovers for touchdowns in a victory over California on Oct. 6, the only two defensive scores of the season. Here's a look at the Pac-12 leaders for turnovers forced in conference contests:

Team                     (Turnovers gained in Pac-12 Games)
1. Arizona            8             
2. UCLA                6             
2. Stanford         6
2. Washington   6
2. Utah                 6
2. Oregon            6

In the (Red) Zone: An interesting statistic to keep an eye on this week will be red zone success – or potentially lack thereof.  UCLA is tied for the national lead in red zone scoring percentage, having converted all 16 of their trips into points. Equally as impressive, the Bruins have cashed in 12 of their 16 red zone drives for touchdowns, a 75-percent clip that is third-best in the league. On the other side of the equation, UA's defense has been steady, allowing only 75 percent of red zones drive to result in any points, including just 62.5 percent (15 of 24) going for touchdowns. Arizona will want to improve its offensive red zone scoring percentages. The Wildcats are 11^th in the league in overall scoring percentage at 76.2 percent (16 of 21), including 57.1 percent for touchdown conversions (12 of 21). Meantime, the Bruins' defense allows touchdowns on 80 percent of red zone drives, which is last in the Pac-12 and No. 121 in nation.

School-er Zone: A consensus Freshman All-America selection last season, Colin Schooler has been a man on a mission the first seven weeks of his sophomore season. He leads Arizona with 71 tackles through five games. Schooler has 11 1/2 tackles-for-loss, which leads the Pac-12 and is tied with two others for eighth-most in the country. Schooler has had at least ½ tackle-for-loss in six of seven games this season. Schooler had five tackles Saturday against Utah, marking the first time this season he didn't finish the game as Arizona's leading or second-leading tackler. The linebacker had Arizona's first 16-tackle game in four seasons in the opener versus BYU. He then had nine tackles apiece against Houston and Southern Utah over the next two weeks, before hitting 10 against Oregon State. Schooler led the Wildcats with 13 stops against USC. He has 25 career TFLs to his credit in just 20 career games and 17 career starts. Schooler is averaging 1.47 TFLs per start in his career. He's had at least three TFLs in a game four times over his last 11 games dating back to last season. Dating back to last season, Schooler has either been the team's leading tackler or second leading tackler in 11 of Arizona's last 13 games.

16+ Tackle Games by an Arizona Defender Since 2000

Name	Year	Opponent	Tackles
Scooby Wright	2014	UCLA	19
Scooby Wright	2014	California	18
Spencer Larson	2007	USC	17
Spencer Larson	2005	Oregon State	17
Colin Schooler	2018	BYU	16
Marquis Flowers	2011	Stanford	16
Lance Briggs	2000	Utah	16
Spencer Larson	2007	Oregon	16
Jarvie Worcester	2001	Stanford	16

 
Pac-12 Leading Tacklers Through 5 Games

Player	School	Total Tackles
Ben Burr-Kirven	Washington	93
Jordan Kunaszyk	California	76
Colin Schooler	Arizona	71
Adarius Pickett	UCLA	70

 
More on his TFLs: Schooler's 11 1/2 tackles-for-loss are the third-most through seven games by any Arizona defensive player since at least 1997. That season, Mike Szlauko had 13 TFLs through seven games after compiling six in the sixth game of that season against Stanford. Szlauko didn't play after that game and finished with 13 on the season. Scooby Wright, who had 29 TFLs in 2014, also had 13 through seven games of the regular season. Eight of Wright's 13 TFLs were sacks. Interestingly, only one of Schooler's 11 ½ TFLs is a sack.

Most TFLS Through 7 Games by an Arizona Defensive Player Since 1997

Player	Season	TFLs Through 4 Games
Mike Szlauko	1997	13
Scooby Wright	2014	13
Colin Schooler	2018	11.5
Joe Salave'a	1997	10

 
Pac-12 Leaders in TFLs

Player	School	TFLs
Colin Schooler	Arizona	11.5
Chase Hansen	Utah	11
Mustafa Johnson	Colorado	10.5
Porter Gustin	USC	10
Justin Hollins	Oregon	9.0

 
Shun Does a Ton: A member of the Paul Hornung Award List for the country's most versatile player, Shun Brown does a little bit of everything for Arizona. A dynamic punt returner, Brown's primary responsibility for the Wildcats is as the team's leading receiver. Brown has led the team in catches each of the past three games. Versus USC, Brown caught five passes for 81 yards. He followed that up with four grabs for 38 yards against Cal to once again lead the team. Friday, against Utah, Brown had eight catches for 43 yards. He leads the team with 35 catches this season and has 385 yards and three touchdowns. Brown now has 111 career receptions for the Wildcats, eclipsing the 100-catch mark earlier this season against the Golden Bears. Brown is 17 career catches away from entering Arizona's Top 12 all-time in receptions. He would need to average 3.4 catches per game over Arizona's final five regular season games to get to that point. Brown has also entered Arizona's Top 14 all-time in receiving touchdowns with 12. He's two away from tying Cayleb Jones for 13^th all-time. Brown led Arizona with 43 receptions last year and finished with 573 yards, which was second most on the team behind Tony Ellison. This season, Brown has a Pro Football Focus "threat rate" of 34.7 percent, which is the highest on the team, meaning he is Khalil Tate's most targeted receiver. Tate and Brown have a completion percentage of 67.3, which is also the highest on the team. 
 
Most Career Receiving Touchdowns in School History
1. Juron Criner; 32
2. Theopolis Bell, 30
3. Dennis Northcutt, 24
------------------------
14. Shun Brown, 12
14. Samajie Grant, 12
14. Rodney Williams, 12
 
All over the Field(s): Sophomore linebacker Tony Fields has been a tackling machine since making his debut last season. Fields led Arizona with 104 stops last season, and currently sits second on the team with 48 stops and is 17th in the league through six games. In his 20 career games, Fields has 152 total tackles, which is now the second-most by any Arizona player through 20 career games. His teammate, Colin Schooler has 14 more tackles than Fields through their first 20. Fields has started every game of his career and has proven to be a stalwart for coach Marcel Yates' defense. The combination of Fields and Schooler at linebacker has been a lethal one-two punch. In fact, the two teammates have combined for 119  total tackles through two games, which is the most of any conference teammates this season. The two combined for 199 last season with 21 tackles-for-loss and nine sacks. Fields collected his first tackle-for-loss of the season last month at Oregon State.
 

Teammates	Team	Total Tackles
Jordan Kunaszyk/Evan Weaver	California	141
Ben Burr-Kirven/Tevis Bartlett	Washington	135
Colin Schooler/Tony Fields	Arizona	119

 
Taylor Time: J.J. Taylor enters this week's game against UCLA as Arizona's leading rusher with 663 yards and three touchdowns. He's averaging 94.7 yards per game. Taylor had a breakout game last month at Oregon State, putting together one of the best games ever by an Arizona running back. Taylor rushed for 284 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries against the Beavers, becoming just the 15^th player in school history to rush for 200 or more yards. More, Taylor's total of 284 yards rank fourth all-time at Arizona for a single-game rushing total and third by a Wildcat running back. Taylor had 102 yards on his two touchdown runs alone against the Beavers, scoring from 40 yards out and 62 yards. He was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for that game, becoming the first Wildcat offensive player since Khalil Tate last year to win the award. It was Taylor's fourth-career 100-yard game and first since totaling 129 yards against Oregon State last season. The 27 carries also marked a career high for Taylor. His 284 yards are the most ever by an Arizona running back in a road game. Only Tate's 327 yards at Colorado last season are more by an Arizona player in a road game. Last week against USC, Taylor had 50 yards on 18 carries. Taylor has 1,104 all-purpose yards so far this season, which leads the Pac-12 by more than 150 yards.

Top Rushing Performances in School History

Player	Opponent/Year	Rushing Yards
Ka'Deem Carey	Colorado/2012	366
Khalil Tate	at Colorado/2017	327
Trung Canidate	Arizona St./1998	288
J.J. Taylor	at Oregon State	284
Ka'Deem Carey	Utah/2013	236

 
Lockdown Lo: Sophomore cornerback Lorenzo Burns, who had a breakout season last year as a redshirt freshman, has taken the next step in his development this year as a sophomore. In the season opener this year, Burns established a new career high with three pass breakups and finished with three tackles in the 14^th consecutive start of his career against BYU. He then started his 15^th straight game against Houston and had three stops, but wasn't tested much by Houston quarterback D'eriq King. Against Southern Utah, Burns was once again a menace in the defensive backfield, breaking up a pair of passes to give him five for the season. Burns had another pass breakup to go with seven tackles at Oregon State last Saturday. Burns had another pass breakup against USC, his dad's alma matter, and another one against Cal. He now leads the team in that category with eight this season and is tied for third in the conference. The next closest on the team is four by Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. Burns ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in passes defended, averaging 1.14 per contest. The cornerback also picked up the second sack of his career Friday at Utah, which also went down as his first tackle-for-loss this season. Burns established himself as one of Arizona's most reliable defenders a year ago as a freshman. He tied for second in the nation in interceptions by a freshman with his five. The five picks were the most by an Arizona defender since Trevin Wade also had five in 2009. Burns now has 15 career pass breakups in 20 games.

Pac-12 Leaders in Pass Breakups

Player	School	Passes Defended
Paulson Adebo	Stanford	12
Byron Murphy	Washington	11
Lorenzo Burns	Arizona	8

 
His Future is Bright-Well: Sophomore running back Gary Brightwell recorded his first 100-yard rushing game and his first career touchdown last month at Oregon State. Brightwell rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, averaging 8.7 yards per carry. He scored on an eight-yard run in the fourth quarter to make it 28-7. He didn't wait long to get back in the end zone either. Brightwell scored again, this time from one yard out, against USC on Saturday, getting to Arizona within four points late in the fourth quarter. For the season, Brightwell has rushed for 322 yards and two touchdowns on 62 carries, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Against Oregon State, Brightwell also had a 43-yard run, which marked the longest by an Arizona player all season until J.J. Taylor scored on a 62-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Brightwell's early-season production is even more impressive when you consider he played slot receiver for the Wildcats as a true freshman last season, before being moved to running back. Brightwell and fellow running back J.J. Taylor have combined for 985 yards and five touchdowns in seven games this season.
 
PJ Making Plays: Arizona added some beef on its defensive line with the addition of junior college transfer P.J. Johnson. The 6-foor-4-inch, 335-pound lineman from Sacramento, California has had an instant impact for the Wildcats. Johnson started the first game of the season against BYU, but then missed the next two with a foot injury. He returned against Oregon State and has at least one tackle-for-loss in each of his four games since returning from injury. Johnson had two tackles, including one for a loss against Cal. The previous week, Johnson had four tackles, 1 ½ tackles-for-loss and one fumble recovery against USC. Johnson had a pair of tackles-for-loss against Oregon State and has 4 ½ on the season, which is second on the squad to Colin Schooler. Johnson started at tackle against BYU, but then moved to defensive end against USC and Cal. Last week against Utah, Johnson moved back to tackle and had a career-high seven tackles, while also picking up his third sack of the season, which leads the team.

Opponent	Total Tackles	TFLs (Sacks)
at Oregon State	3	2 (1)
USC	4	1.5 (1)
California	2	1 (0)
at Utah	7	1 (1)