Stanford @ UCLA preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 1, 2011 ) UCLA 19, Stanford 45

The comeback season for UCLA football has already included wins over three ranked teams and a spot in the Pac-12 title game. The 16th-ranked Bruins are hoping their high-powered offense still has a few more wins in it. UCLA will put its five-game winning streak on the line when it hosts No. 11 Stanford on Saturday. The Cardinal are trying to lock down the Pac-12 North Division and a rematch with the Bruins in six days. If Stanford wins on Saturday, it would host UCLA in the Pac-12 championship game. If the Bruins win and Oregon beats Oregon State, then UCLA would travel to Eugene, Ore., for the title game. If the Bruins win and Oregon State wins, UCLA would host the Cardinal in the title game. Both Stanford and the Bruins are working overtime this week to focus on the task at hand and not dwell on big wins last weekend. The Cardinal put itself in this position by knocking off the No. 1 Ducks while UCLA clinched the South by defeating rival Southern California.

TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Stanford -1.5

ABOUT STANFORD (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12): The Cardinal did the impossible last week by slowing Oregon’s speed attack down in a 17-14 overtime victory. Stanford’s defense has carried it in this post-Andrew Luck season while freshman Kevin Hogan has gotten his feet wet at quarterback. Hogan made his third straight start against the Ducks and went 25-of-36 for 211 yards and a touchdown. He has thrown three interceptions in the past two weeks, but has the luxury of that stout defense, which ranks No. 2 in the country against the run and was able to set the edges against Oregon last week and get pressure on the quarterback at the same time. The Cardinal easily dispatched the Bruins last season 45-19 behind three touchdowns from Luck and 112 yards and a pair of scores from Stepfan Taylor.

ABOUT UCLA (9-2, 6-2): The Bruins are operating under their own freshman QB in Brett Hundley, who needs 23 yards to reach 3,000 and has 25 touchdowns against nine interceptions. Hundley picked apart USC last week, completing 22 of 30 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown, and added two scores on the ground. He got plenty of help from senior running back Johnathan Franklin, who has gone over 160 yards in three of the last four games and scored twice in last week’s 38-28 triumph. Franklin was one of the only Bruins to have a decent afternoon against the Cardinal last season, rushing for 96 yards on 12 carries.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Franklin (4,110) needs 60 rushing yards to move into fifth place on the Pac-12 career list. He needs 90 all-purpose yards to move past Maurice Jones-Drew (4,688) for first place on UCLA’s career list.

2. Stanford won its last trip to the Rose Bowl 35-0 in 2010.

3. The Cardinal can reach 10 wins in three straight seasons for the first time in school history.

PREDICTION: Stanford 24, UCLA 14