THE LOCALS

UCLA (4-3, 1-3)

at No. 24 Arizona (5-2, 3-1)

* Kickoff: 4 p.m. Saturday at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Channel 7.

* Story line: The Wildcats need a victory to stay in the Rose Bowl race. The Bruins need a victory to snap an eight-game road losing streak. Last year’s UCLA season disintegrated with consecutive losses to California, Oregon State and Arizona, and this year’s Bruins are coming off consecutive losses to California and Oregon State.

* UCLA update: The Bruins have scored 38 points in each of their past three games, losing two. Another 38 would likely be enough to win against an Arizona team that has scored that many points once, and only then in a triple-overtime game.

* Arizona update: If the Bruins insist on running, they’ll do so against the best rushing defense in the Pacific 10 Conference. Arizona opponents average 2.2 yards a rush and have scored two rushing touchdowns in seven games.

* Edge to UCLA: The Bruins appear embarrassed by losses to California and Oregon State, and they played well as an underdog in defeating Alabama and Michigan. The Wildcats have yet to beat a highly regarded team.

* Line: Arizona by 5 1/2.