The Arizona Wildcats have lost game after game after game. Sure, about six of them came against top ten competition, but them's the breaks, and losing to a painfully bad Oregon St. Beavers team isn't going to earn them any brownie points.
Nevertheless, for reasons unbeknownst to us, Arizona is favored this Thursday night by a field goal over the UCLA Bruins. UCLA is 2-1 in-conference (although their two wins are to OSU and Washington State), so it's surprising to see that Vegas sees these teams on equal playing field.
It could be that Arizona is better than their record and have just played a brutal stretch--playing Stanford, Oregon and USC to start conference play is a death sentence. Or perhaps it's just the fact that they're facing a UCLA defense plays right into the hands of the Wildcats offense. Last season Arizona lit up UCLA for 583 yards behind the backup play of Matt Scott, and you figure UA will not let up at home with Nick Foles at the helm.
The Wildcats will be really seeking a win for their interim head coach Tim Kish, and have a good chance to end their streak of futility in big conference games against a vulnerable opponent. This line makes sense, and Arizona could be a very strong pick.
To talk about the Arizona-UCLA game with Wildcats fans, head to Arizona Desert Swarm. To talk about the game with UCLA fans, head to Bruins Nation.