UCLA Football: Arizona is much more of a threat than you think

The UCLA football team is riding high after a legendary comeback win last week, which has caused some fans to overlook Arizona this week.

The UCLA Football Bruins had one of the greatest come-from-behind victories in Week 4 against Washington State that will go down in the NCAA record books and be a game that every single fan of the Bruins will remember for the rest of their lives.

UCLA was down 32 points with just under seven minutes to play in the third quarter in a game that all but seemed like a wrap and another blowout loss for the team. Prior to this loss, the Bruins hadn’t scored more than 14 points in a game and 17 looked like it was going to be the ceiling.

The rest is history. Touchdowns and turnovers led the Bruins on an exciting comeback, which culminated in a go-ahead 15-yard touchdown to go up, 67-63. Washington State’s fourth fumble after taking the 32-point lead sealed the deal on the subsequent drive.

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It was amazing. Dorian Thompson-Robinson had his best game as a Bruin, completing 25 of 38 passes for 507 yards and five touchdowns to go along with his two rushing touchdowns. Everything worked for the Bruins in those final 22 minutes.

This has led some fans to overvalue the team. And while we obviously want the LA teams to win, being an LA website, we have to be realistic. This was an amazing comeback for the Bruins that will give the fans at least one great moment from this season.

But it does not change who the Bruins are. It does not remove the fact that before this, DTR was floundering as the starting quarterback and Chip Kelly‘s offense looked uninspired. It does not change the fact that when UCLA was on the field with an elite program like Oklahoma they looked like a JV squad.

Could it give the team a kick in the rear and lead to more wins than they would have had? Maybe. But the difference between three and five wins isn’t all that special.

And the absolute worst thing for fans to do is overvalue the Bruins and expect a win against Arizona, who is not as formidable of a foe as Washington State. Vegas certainly isn’t, at UCLA is still 6.5-point underdogs against Arizona.

That line might even be too small. I think the UCLA football team is going to have a come to earth game against Arizona, who has what it takes to give the team fits.

Arizona does not have an elite defense but they are certainly better than the defense that Washington State brought against UCLA. Bruins Nation did a great job of breaking down Arizona’s defense and I suggest you take a look here.

Offensively, Arizona may not be as high-profile as Washington State but they are still coming up a UCLA team that struggles immensely against the passing attack. It is not like UCLA had some heroic defensive game against Washington State as Cougars’ quarterback Anthony Gordon threw for 570 yards and nine touchdowns.

That’s concerning! I know they won the game and they won’t allow nine passing touchdowns every single night but nine passing touchdowns? That shows how poor the UCLA secondary really is.

And the bottom line is this: UCLA deserves credit for that miraculous comeback, but they also got a ton of help. How often do you see a team fumble and lose possession four times in less than 20 minutes?

Chances are that Arizona is not going to do that and if the Cougars would have just recovered one of those fumbles then the narrative would have been completely different.

dark. Next. Don't expect USC to win against Washington

Enjoy the win. That is part of the greatness of being a fan and you need these victories. But don’t overvalue the UCLA football team and definitely don’t overlook the Arizona Wildcats.

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