FACTS & STATS: Site: Sun Devil Stadium (71,706) -- Tempe, Arizona. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: UCLA 3-3, ASU 3-3. Away Record: UCLA 1-3, ASU 1-3. Neutral Record: UCLA 0-0, ASU 0-0. Conference Record: UCLA 3-4, ASU 3-4. Series Record: UCLA leads, 15-8-1.

GAME NOTES: With the possibility of a postseason berth still in the cards for both teams, the Arizona State Sun Devils and the UCLA Bruins hit the field for a Pac-10 Conference bout in Tempe on Friday night. The two programs have identical records across the board and both need to win out just to become bowl eligible. In the case of UCLA, it snapped a two-game slide the last time out on November 15th with a 27-7 victory over Washington on the road, making the team 4-6 overall and 3-4 in conference. As for the Sun Devils, they too took a break from the action last week and enjoyed the fruits of their 31-0 romp over Washington State in their previous outing. For ASU, the victory was the second in a row after the program had fallen in six straight. As far as the all-time series is concerned, one that dates back to 1976, the Bruins are in control with a 15-8-1 mark heading into action this week. However, the Sun Devils won last year's meeting in the Rose Bowl by a score of 24-20 after trailing by 10 points early on. The last time in this venue, UCLA picked up a 24-12 victory in 2006.

The Bruins had a lot of promise with the 2008 campaign on the horizon, but then the team found out that it was going to have to lean on third-string quarterback Kevin Craft after injuries took out the top two signal-callers. As a result, Craft has struggled in the lineup, to the point where he has thrown just seven touchdowns against 16 interceptions. But for as much trouble as he has had, Craft continues to sling the ball down the field 35 times a game on the average. Despite starting only two games, Ryan Moya leads the receiving corps with his three TD grabs. Rushing has been a huge problem for the Bruins as well this year, the team averaging a mere 85.7 ypg to rank last in the conference and 116th in the nation this week. Put it all together and UCLA is 108th in total offense with 293.6 ypg and is 101st in the country with 19.6 ppg. It hasn't helped that the offensive line has permitted three sacks per game, second-most in the Pac-10 and 111th in the country.

Because of Craft's penchant for turning the ball over, the defense hasn't been able to catch up and try to level the playing field in terms of turnovers. At this point the Bruins rank eighth in the league and 104th in the nation with a turnover margin of minus-0.80 per game. Trying to balance the scales is Rahim Moore who leads the program with three interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries, but he can't do it alone. Reggie Carter, the team leader with 72 tackles, has three forced fumbles for the group, and yet the Bruins have recovered a total of only seven fumbles. Korey Bosworth leads the team with 5.5 sacks and has nine tackles for loss to his credit, while Brian Price trails him in the sacks department with four and a half, but is out ahead with a team-high 12 TFLs, even though he has just 29 total stops through 10 games in 2008.

Rudy Carpenter was supposed to be the savior for the Sun Devils this season after throwing for more than 2,500 yards and 23 touchdowns a year ago but he just hasn't been able to get the job done consistently. However, Carpenter has looked better in recent games with six TDs and more than 600 yards without an interception, but he can't do the job all by himself. Completing 63.6 percent of his attempts, Carpenter has made Michael Jones his favorite target for 2008, issuing 52 receptions, 668 yards and four touchdowns for the wideout. Now third in the conference and 35th in the nation in passing yards with 241.9 per game, the Sun Devils appear to be moving in the right direction, even though the running game continues to hold them back. Ranked seventh in the conference and 107th in the nation, ASU is producing just 101 ypg on the ground. Problems in the running game have also come because the offensive line is giving up 2.8 sacks per game, ranking the group 108th in the nation.

Since giving up 54 points to Oregon back on October 25 the Arizona State defense has steadily stiffened up and permitted fewer and fewer points down the stretch. On November 15 it all came together when the program shut out Washington State. Then again, the Cougars have been simply dreadful this season and have been shutout three times in four games. On an individual level, Dexter Davis is among the best at his position in the Pac-10 this season, currently second in the league and tied for 11th in the country with 0.90 sacks per game. Davis is also the top man on the team with his 13 tackles for loss, a number that is made all the more remarkable given that he has a total of only 32 stops this season. Giving Davis a run for his money for the top defender on the roster, Mike Nixon is first on the team with 74 stops, has seven TFLs and four interceptions.

Being at home should be just enough for the Sun Devils to put this one in the win column. Well that and the fact that Craft and the Bruins are prone to making quite a number of mistakes.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Arizona State 28, UCLA 23

Friday, November 28th, 9:30 p.m. (et).