UCLA wants to erase 2014 memories in Arizona matchup on Saturday

Finding a UCLA football player who watched last season’s Pac-12 championship game is almost as difficult as finding a UCLA player to sing the USC fight song.

Arizona and Oregon played in the title game. It left the Bruins a little ill.

“There was this little sick feeling in my stomach,” center Jake Brendel recalled. “I couldn’t watch any football that week. It’s something I never want to feel again. It is something I will do, and the rest of the team will do, to never feel again.”

That mission begins in earnest when the No. 9 Bruins (3-0) face No. 16 Arizona (3-0) in Tucson on Saturday.

A year ago, UCLA looked as if it were ready to head to Santa Clara to face the Ducks in the conference championship game. One problem: There was still a regular-season game left to play against Stanford, and the Bruins, in effect, didn’t show up.

The Cardinal’s 31-10 rout gave Arizona — a team UCLA had dominated — the Pac-12 South championship and a spot in the title game.

Paul Perkins went with teammate Devin Fuller to eat dinner at the home of Fuller’s aunt on the night of the Oregon-Arizona game. “I definitely couldn’t watch that game,” he recalled. “We felt like we should have been competing in it. It’s tough when it is so close and slips away.”

UCLA’s visit to Tucson will not necessarily settle the Pac-12 South this season. Eight conference games follow. “Every week is a battle,” Arizona Coach Rich Rodriguez said. “Not just with the ranked teams, even teams not ranked are pretty good.”

UCLA was declared Pac-12 South champion in 2011, even though USC finished atop the standings. The Trojans were on probation and ineligible for postseason play.

The Bruins won the division in 2012, followed by Arizona State the next year. Arizona took the title last season, but with two weeks left in the regular season there were four teams within one game of the division lead.

“That’s just the way the South is,” Brendel said. “We’re all pretty even.”

Saturday’s game also has a few subplots.

UCLA will be playing its first game without all-everything linebacker Myles Jack, who suffered a season-ending knee injury during practice this week. The Bruins also lost their best cornerback, Fabian Moreau, who sustained a broken bone in his foot in the Brigham Young game, and defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener against Virginia.

“If you’re a leader on this team, your coaches and your teammates are looking for you to step up,” linebacker Deon Hollins said.

Arizona hopes to have its best defensive player back. All-American linebacker Scooby Wright practiced this week for the first time since injuring his knee in the Wildcats’ season opener against Texas San Antonio.

“The biggest thing is whether he is 100% cleared,” Rodriguez said of Wright. “Not only from an injury standpoint, but is he back to where he can be effective?”

The same could be asked about the Arizona offense. The Wildcats have been limited to fewer than 24 points six times since Rodriguez brought his up-tempo, spread offense to Tucson. UCLA has done it twice, defeating Arizona, 66-10, in 2012 and, 17-7, last season.

The Wildcats were held to 255 yards by the Bruins last season. Quarterback Anu Solomon completed 18 of 48 passes for 175 yards.

“They played well and we didn’t,” was Rodriguez’s explanation.

In this year’s game, Josh Rosen, UCLA’s freshman quarterback, will get his first taste of Pac-12 hospitality. Arizona’s crowd is one of the more hostile that the Bruins will experience.

Rosen had three passes intercepted against Brigham Young, last week, and that was in front of a home crowd at the Rose Bowl.

“It’s going to be loud, we know that,” Brendel said. “We, as a team, have played in loud environments. I bet Josh has too.

“We’ll be fine.”

chris.foster@latimes.com

Twitter: @cfosterlatimes