Here are some things to watch Saturday when UCLA (2-1) hosts Stanford (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12) at the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m. PT (ABC, WatchESPN).

1. Can Josh Rosen create favorable matchups versus Stanford linebackers?

We know that the Cardinal’s defensive backs are very physical and very talented. The results spoke for themselves last week, when USC’s very talented receivers struggled to find any traction against Stanford. JuJu Smith-Schuster finished with only three catches for 34 yards.

Christian McCaffrey and Stanford rushed for 311 yards and rang up 56 points on UCLA in 2015. AP Photo/Tony Avelar

The Trojans were able to find some passing success by exploiting matchups against Cardinal linebackers, who struggled in pass coverage. USC tight end Tyler Petite took most advantage of this, roaming free on three catches for 73 yards. UCLA will obviously need more production than that to beat Stanford, but it looks like they may have an opening.

Can Rosen identify the Cardinal’s soft spots at the line of scrimmage and adjust the Bruins’ formation and play accordingly? UCLA players have said that Stanford defensive coordinator Lance Anderson has surprised them with new looks in the past, so it’ll be up to Rosen to hold his own in this pre-snap chess match.

2. Which UCLA run defense will show up?

The Bruins were missing Eddie Vanderdoes last year, and it got ugly for them against good running attacks. UCLA’s 56-35 loss at Stanford was particularly brutal: The Cardinal gashed them for 311 yards on 6.5 yards per carry. Aside from being unable to tackle Christian McCaffrey, the Bruins couldn’t beat any of the blocks in front of him, so this was a case of untouched yardage galore for Stanford.

The first two games of this season were not exactly promising from the standpoint of the UCLA run defense. Both Texas A&M and UNLV averaged about 5 yards per carry against the Bruins, and this rematch against Stanford began to look like it would produce more carnage. But then the Bruins stiffened up at BYU last week, allowing only 23 yards on 25 carries. That was the type of rigid performance we expected from a talented crew.

But will that talent hold up against a Stanford offense that has had UCLA's number?

3. How much will UCLA’s change of scheme help?

Jim Mora has made it clear UCLA’s eight-game losing streak to Stanford doesn’t matter. Those games were between different teams and, largely, different coaching staffs. The Bruins’ lack of success against the Cardinal, though, played a factor in his decision to install an offensive scheme similar to what Stanford has ridden to three conference titles in the past four years.

In the last three games against UCLA, the Cardinal has controlled the ball for an average of 36:20 a game, to just 23:40 for UCLA. The discrepancy was a least partly to do with how both teams operated offensively. UCLA had one of the most up-tempo offenses in the country the last few years and when it wasn’t efficient on third down, that presented problems. Stanford’s more methodical approach amplified those issues. In the same three-game span, UCLA converted on just 29 percent of its third downs, while Stanford converted at a 54-percent clip.

This year, UCLA’s more pro-style offense has allowed the Bruins to run more clock and give its defense more rest. The Bruins have won the time of possession battle by an average of 5:58 per game.

4. Will Stanford continue to hold UCLA’s pass rush at bay?

How’s this for a stat: In the last three games against Stanford, UCLA did not record a single sack, while the Cardinal sacked Brett Hundley and Josh Rosen a combined 12 times.The Bruins sackless streak has to end eventually and if Takk McKinley and Vanderdoes are healthy, it should on Saturday.