Pac-12 talking points: Will UCLA finish 8-4?

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BY SCOTT M. REID

Los Angeles ? UCLA, 1-2 and left for dead only a month ago, heads into Tucson Thursday night and the second half of the 2011 season with a chance to build some real momentum.

With a schedule that includes neither No. 10 Oregon nor No. 22 Washington and with a loss against No. 7 Stanford already behind them, the Bruins end the season with six winnable games, at least three of which (Cal, Utah and Colorado) UCLA should be favored in. In Arizona, Rick Neuheisel and Co. face a Wildcat squad that is last in the Pac-12 in rushing defense (196 yards per game), good news for an offense that features tailbacks Jonathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman.

Could Rick Neuheisel and UCLA really finish the regular season 8-4? Click on the photo for this week's Pac-12 Talking Points. CLICK ON THE PHOTO for news around the conference.

PHOTO BY ARMANDO BROWN/THE REGISTER, TEXT BY SCOTT M. REID/THE REGISTER

On Nov. 5 the Bruins host an Arizona State team that UCLA led 17-0 in Tempe early last season.

All of which could send the Bruins into the regular season finale against USC in the Coliseum with a shot at 8-4 or better.

Click on the photo for a slide show of the rest of this week's Pac-12 talking points.

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