Saturday storylines: Arizona win last year over UCLA showed UA football's positive trend

Five storylines for Arizona's "white out" showdown with 19th-ranked UCLA in Tucson on Saturday night.

Win at UCLA in '22 proved Cats were on track

Arizona and UCLA will face off for the last time as Pac-12 opponents on Saturday night before they splinter into their respective new conferences (the Bruins to the Big Ten; the Wildcats to Big 12). 

UCLA's departure from the Pac-12 alongside rival USC last year kickstarted the demise of the Pac-12, allowing other major conferences to cherry-pick teams from the West Coast super conference.

In the final contest at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena last year, Arizona took down the 12th-ranked Bruins (No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll) 34-28 for the first marquee win of the Jedd Fisch era. A season after Arizona struggled to find any win at all and end its 20-game losing streak en route to a 1-11 record, the Wildcats stunned their first-ranked opponent under Fisch. 

"It meant a lot, especially for me," said Arizona running back Michael Wiley, who accounted for two touchdowns against the Bruins. "That was probably the biggest win that I've had here."

Arizona safety Gunner Maldonado said the win over UCLA "was a great experience" for the players who were a part of Fisch's first two seasons. 

"Probably the last time in Pac-12 play we'll play at the Rose Bowl, so that was a big deal for us," he said. "It was a huge confidence boost."

Arizona's historic triumph at the Rose Bowl, a venue the Wildcats have longed to play at during the postseason, "was the only chance to remain bowl eligible," Fisch said. 

"We had to get that win to make the next week more important," Fisch added. "That win was a huge win in terms of being able to stay alive in the playoff race."

More notably, "for us to go on the road and play, at that time, our best game, showed our team that you can win and compete with the best teams in the (Pac-12)," Fisch said. "It showed our guys that we have the ability to compete with an elite coach and en elite program."

In some ways, the win over UCLA helped the UA football program begin to turn a corner. The Wildcats ended the fourth quarter of the 2022 season 2-1, including a Territorial Cup win over Arizona State.

Arizona's young talent that contributed in the UCLA game and the second half of last season, including star linebacker Jacob Manu, who had 10 tackles against the Bruins, along with transfers added to holes on Arizona's roster set up the Wildcats for a productive season.

This season, the Wildcats have two overtime losses to Mississippi State and USC and a one-possession loss to Washington, a team on pace to represent the Pac-12 in the College Football Playoff — all by a combined 16 points — in addition to their most recent wins over No. 19 Washington State and No. 11 Oregon State. 

"Confidence always rises when you win. You always feel like the process is working," Fisch said. "That doesn't mean confidence falls if you don't win. When you do win, there's always more excitement around the building. ... Everyone likes to have more points than the other team, so you can puff your chest out a little bit more, when you come back with a couple wins."

UCLA's defensive front tough test for UA

Saturday could be the toughest challenge for an Arizona offensive line that's playing at a high level this season. 

Under first-year defensive coordinator and former NFL assistant coach D'Anton Lynn, the Bruins have one of the top defensive fronts that's allowing just 63.1 rushing yards per game and 2.1 yards per carry. UCLA's defense, which allowed 29 points per game last season, is only surrendering 15 per game in 2023. 

"They've got really good pass-rushers and they're going to give you some illusions of certain coverages and play something different," Fisch said. "It's a big, challenging defense that we certainly have to be at the top of our game offensively."

Fisch said the Bruins defense "reminds me a little bit of what we saw at Stanford," albeit the Cardinal didn't have potential Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year like UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu, who is the highest-graded defensive player (94.2) nationally by Pro Football Focus. Latu is second in the Pac-12 in sacks (9.5) and has 41 quarterback pressures this season. The Murphy twins, Gabriel and Grayson, transfers from North Texas, have combined for 41 tackles and eight sacks. 

Protecting the edge — and quarterback Noah Fifita — "will be a challenge, but we're ready to go and attack it. We're excited to play against them," said UA offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll. 

Arizona sophomore right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea's three worst-graded games as a pass-blocker by PFF this season are against Washington (52.2), Washington State (68.6) and Oregon State (58.5), but still has an 82 grade on the season. He gave up two sacks against the Beavers last week, the most of his career.  

"You learn from experience," Fisch said. "He was a guard all of last year. He's been a tackle most of this year, but we also have him going at guard. With reps will come more opportunities for him to really have a better stand there."

Running backs also help out with pass-protection in case there's leakage on the defensive line. Arizona senior running back Michael Wiley, who scored two touchdowns against Oregon State in his return from an ankle injury, said pass-blocking for a running back "is all about mentality."

"It's a big collision and guys might be afraid to do it. I think it's all about mentality," Wiley said. "Of course, technique is involved, but I feel like it comes down to mentality."

Willie Tuitama recalls UCLA game in '05

When Rob Gronkowski was a star tight end for the Arizona Wildcats in two seasons, he hauled in 16 touchdowns. Gronkowski is in Tucson for homecoming weekend and his induction into the UA Sports Hall of Fame — and serving as honorary captain for the Wildcats on Saturday. 

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The man who threw "Gronk" those 16 touchdown passes, quarterback Willie Tuitama, will also be in Tucson this weekend, along with over 200 ex-Wildcats.

Tuitama's first-ever home start at Arizona was the Wildcats' 52-14 upset victory over the seventh-ranked Bruins in 2005, which he said was "probably one of our better wins as a unit my whole career there."

"I remember it was a good week. We were coming off a win at Oregon State, which was my first actual start. Our defense came up with six (interceptions) in that game, so that definitely helped," Tuitama said on ESPN Tucson's "Spears and Ali" this week. "Getting ready for that game, I just remember all the hype around it. My first homecoming at U of A and just seeing what all that entails with all the people coming back, and the stadium was rocking. We're playing a Top-10 opponent, but we had all the faith in the world we'd go out and get it done." 

Here are three questions Tuitama answered this week on ESPN Tucson (the full interview can be found on the "Spears and Ali" podcast).  

Is it safe to say your first-ever home start is the most memorable game you've played against UCLA?

A: "Yeah, I think so. My first start at home and still trying to figure it out. That game really set the tone for my career there. Definitely that one.

"My sophomore year, we played there and I got a concussion so I'm not really counting that one. Junior year, we played them on homecoming and won that one as well. Senior year, we won at the Rose Bowl and it was our first game bringing out the red pants."

You were in quarterback Noah Fifita's shoes once as a young quarterback taking over the starting role as a freshman. How did you prepare? 

A: "One of the things is you just prepare the way you prepare. You don't try to change it for who you're playing.

"Not only is Noah in the same position himself being a young guy, but the program, from when I was there and what is now, is in the same place. We were rebuilding and now this is year everyone wants to see us make the leap, and that was the same situation when I was there as well.

"The one thing you can see when he's playing is how his teammates have his back, how Jayden de Laura is right there having his back. That just shows the kind of person he is, because you can see how teammates react to you and see if it's real or not."

What did going to a bowl game as a senior and ending the program's decade-long postseason drought mean to you?

A: "When I first went to Arizona, that was one of my personal goals was to get to a bowl game. The way that it happened, too. We came out at home my senior year and beat ASU to get into a bowl and keep them out of one. That was a win-win there.

"That whole 10-year drought, it was something that weighed on me, especially my senior year; you want to end with a bang and leave the program better than when you got there. For us to be able to do that with guys I was around and finished with me, it was was a common goal for us." 

Fina returns to Old Pueblo 

UCLA left tackle Bruno Fina was among the several football stars at Salpointe Catholic High School that graduated in 2020, along with Ohio State safety Lathan Ransom and Atlanta Falcons rookie running back Bijan Robinson.

Fina, the son of UA legend and former NFL offensive lineman John Fina, recently told reporters his decision to sign with UCLA over the hometown Wildcats was because "Arizona's program was in a hard place at that time" under then-head coach Kevin Sumlin. 

"There weren't a lot of great things going on at that time," the younger Fina said. "Another big thing for me was education and you can't really beat UCLA.

"That definitely drew me here and that was a big thing."

Fina signed with the Bruins to play on the offensive line and major in business economics, however, he needed to bulk up for the former. Fina was about 240 pounds when he inked with UCLA. Now? He's 6-5, 300 pounds.

Fina said he was on a "see-food diet" — see food, then eat it — and has consumed anywhere from 5,000-6,000 calories daily to build up his weight. After bulking up the last three-plus seasons, Fina has started every game this at left tackle. 

"The only thing more stressful than playing in the NFL is watching your kids play anything," John Fina said. "That I found to be absolutely true. It's been great though, because I've been coaching him over the phone from a distance. We review plays together and we talk conceptually and philosophically about the play. It's more fun postgame — postgame win, of course." 

Added the younger Fina: "I'm just trying to take strides week-by-week and I'm satisfied with the way I'm trending." 

Cats go bowling?

One win. Four attempts. That's what's standing between Arizona and the program's first bowl berth since 2017 when the Khalil Tate-quarterbacked Wildcats lost to Purdue in the Foster Farms Bowl in Rich Rodriguez's last season as head coach. 

CBS currently projects Arizona playing against future Big 12 opponent Kansas in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28. ESPN has two projections for Arizona's bowl game: the LA Bowl (hosted by Gronkowski) against Fresno State and the Sun Bowl against North Carolina State in El Paso.

Fisch isn't hiding the message of what's at stake from the UA players. 

"I don't subscribe to coach speak, really. I just like to tell it honestly. Heck, we win, we go to a bowl," Fisch said. "Why would I not talk about that?

"I believe in, 'Hey, it's right in front of us, go take it, if you can do it. Let's do everything we can to do it and see what that looks like.'"