Despite pounding out 350 rushing yards and 456 total yards of offense, the Arizona Wildcats dropped their Pac-12 opener Saturday night 56-30 to UCLA.
Sophomore Nick Wilson churned out 136 yards on 24 carries and quarterback Jerrard Randall added 128 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, but it wasn't enough to overcome a strong offensive performance by the Bruins.
Led by freshman quarterback Josh Rosen, UCLA posted 497 yards of total offense and built a 42-14 lead by halftime. The Wildcats (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) committed three first-half turnovers and the Bruins scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive each time.
“There were some unforced errors, certainly,” Coach Rich Rodriguez said after the game. “You have to give them credit for the way they played. But you could see at times we were pressing a little too much, instead of just playing and not worrying about scenarios.”
On Arizona's first drive of the game, that didn't seem like an issue. Anu Solomon orchestrated a 10-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a 34-yard touchdown pass from Solomon to junior Nate Phillips to give Arizona an early 7-0 lead.
But Rosen and the Bruins responded right away. The freshman quarterback found Thomas Duarte for a 35-yard touchdown to tie the game up. On Arizona's next drive, Solomon couldn't corral a snap that sailed over his head and UCLA recovered at the Wildcats' 16-yard line.
One play later, Bruins running back Paul Perkins scored on a 16-yard touchdown to give UCLA (4-0, 1-0) its first lead of the game.
The Bruins never gave it back.
UCLA extended its lead to 21-7 early in the second quarter when Perkins scored from one yard out. The Wildcats again ran into turnover trouble on their next drive and fumbled on their third play. UCLA's Deon Hollins pounced on the ball, setting the Bruins up at Arizona's 30-yard line.
Rosen and the Bruins worked it down to the 5-yard line before the quarterback hit Jordan Payton for a touchdown and a 28-7 lead.
”You can't beat a good team with some of the errors we made today, some of the unforced errors,” Rodriguez said. “We just didn't play to the level we are capable of. It wasn't one thing. We have to get a lot of stuff corrected.”
Following the Rosen to Payton touchdown, Arizona worked the ball into UCLA territory on a 12-yard run by Solomon. But on the play, the quarterback took a hit above the shoulders and exited. At halftime, Rodriguez told ABC Sports that Solomon likely wouldn't return.
Randall entered for Solomon and scored on a 39-yard rush on his first play from scrimmage. He showed off his speed that helped him gain 149 yards on just three carries last week against Northern Arizona.
“I thought he was pretty composed,” Rodriguez said of Randall. “We shifted some things in play calling. I thought he competed well. But we got down to the red zone and didn't execute. You can't not score when you get in the red zone and expect to win.”
Randall's touchdown dash infused some energy into the 56,004 fans at Arizona Stadium, but it didn't seem to bother Rosen. He led the Bruins on a 75-yard drive midway through the second to answer Randall's touchdown and make the score 35-14.
One drive later, Perkins scored his third touchdown of the half when he plunged in from a yard out to make it 42-14. Arizona had a chance to cut into the lead one last time before half, but missed a field goal as time expired.
The Wildcats scored the first nine points of the second half to put a scare into the Bruins. Randall found David Richards for a 16-yard touchdown on Arizona's first drive. Casey Skowron then hit a 44-yard field goal to make it 42-23.
But again Rosen responded with a 75-yard drive, this time needing eight plays and scored on an 8-yard rush. The two teams then traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter for the final result.
“The focus was there during practice, but for some reason during the game we didn't execute,” senior defensive end Reggie Gilbert said. “We will come back tomorrow and look at the film and correct everything.”
The Wildcats did get some good news in the setback. Scooby Wright played his first game since suffering a knee injury in the first game of the season against UTSA. The junior finished with seven tackles and was active for all four quarters.
“He made some plays,” Rodriguez said. “It's still his first game, and he's still working himself back into shape. One thing that happens when you're injured and coming back, you may be coming back healthy and ready to go, but you're not in game shape. You work your way into game shape and this is really his first game. He's an outstanding player, and he'll get better every week.”
Arizona will return to action next week when it travels to Stanford. The start time is expected to be announced by the conference Sunday morning.
