The Arizona Wildcats lost to UCLA 27-10 on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Here are some pertinent notes, quotes and statistics:
NOTES
* The loss was Arizona’s 10th in a row, extending the Wildcats’ school-record losing streak. It was also the UA’s fifth straight loss on the road against UCLA.
* Kevin Sumlin fell to 9-18 as Arizona’s coach. The Wildcats are 2-11 on the road under Sumlin.
* Freshman quarterback Will Plummer made his college debut, replacing Grant Gunnell, who got hurt on the first play. Plummer accounted for 200 total yards. He also threw two interception, both in the final four minutes.
* Arizona held UCLA to three points in the first quarter. The Wildcats held opponents to three or fewer points in the first quarter only twice last season (Arizona State, Colorado).
* The seven points allowed by Arizona’s defense in the second half were its fewest after halftime since holding Texas Tech to seven points on Sept. 14, 2019.
* The Wildcats allowed 129 passing yards, the second fewest under Sumlin. The UA held Arizona State to 104 yards through the air in the 2019 Territorial Cup.
* Arizona has yet to record a takeaway this season. The Wildcats are the only team in the Pac-12 that hasn’t forced a turnover. They have just five takeaways in their past 12 games.
* Arizona’s 10 points were a season low. The Wildcats have scored 10 or fewer in three of their past six games.
* Arizona’s longest drive was 65 yards. Its lone touchdown came on a 22-yard drive that followed a fourth-down stop.
* Stanley Berryhill III led Arizona in receptions for the third straight game, totaling five catches for 58 yards.
* Receiver Drew Dixon had a season-high three catches for 46 yards, including a career-longer 28-yarder.
* Sophomore cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace led Arizona with a career-high 10 tackles. He also had a pass breakup and half a tackle for loss.
* Senior defensive tackle Trevon Mason had a career-high nine tackles, including 1.5 TFLs.
QUOTES
Sumlin on his message after another defeat: “Everybody in that locker room is frustrated. The overall message is, you gotta come back and you gotta go to work. You’ve gotta believe and trust in yourself and trust each other. The only way to climb out of this thing is to get to work and keep working. Some people, particularly defensively, at times did some good things. But we gotta find some consistency.”
Sumlin on having to switch quarterbacks so early: “Obviously, it had an effect. There's always a learning curve there. With any situation like that, anywhere in the country, the starter gets the majority of the reps during the week, and then you do get a little handcuffed with a guy who is not getting that much, combined with (it being) his first real action.”
Sumlin on Plummer’s mobility: “Their defense had a lot to do with that. They were pressuring him. A lot of off-the-edge pressure, corner blitzes, some internal pressure. Obviously, his mobility helps him in those situations to escape, and he utilized that. That's something that we’ll look at.”
WR Jamarye Joiner on the QB switch: “It didn’t really change much. Grant is a really talented quarterback. Will is a real talented quarterback. He’s a little more mobile than Grant. Just knowing that he can extend plays more with his legs, we just gotta help him out as a young quarterback to get comfortable with the game.”
Joiner on the offense moving the ball in the second half but not scoring touchdowns: “Our offensive tempo worked really good. They couldn’t keep up with us. They were huffing and puffing on the field. (We were) running the ball down their throat. Popping them for quick passes. We just couldn’t put it in at the end.”
LB Anthony Pandy on what’s most frustrating about the losing streak: “Just us putting in the work. The work we’re putting in is good work. Monday through Friday, we are working to get wins, to end this streak. We’re just not getting the results.”
Pandy on the defense yielding 281 rushing yards: “We knew what we were getting into. We knew who the running backs were. We knew who was gonna play. We knew their formations. We knew they have a flavor of the week every week. We prepared well for this game.”
UCLA coach Chip Kelly on the Bruins’ offensive struggles in the second half: “I thought that (Arizona defensive coordinator) Paul Rhoads made some really good adjustments at halftime. They did a couple of things. And then we had to counter their counter. I would give Arizona credit. I thought Paul did a really nice job at kind of figuring out what we were doing schematically in the first half. ... But we expected that coming in. Paul is a hell of a football coach.”
STATS
* UCLA had 23 first downs; Arizona had 17.
* UCLA had 281 rushing yards; Arizona had 147.
* UCLA had 410 total yards; Arizona had 300.
* UCLA averaged 5.4 yards per play; Arizona averaged 4.0.
* Arizona had eight penalties for 54 yards; UCLA had six for 43.
* Arizona converted 7 of 19 third downs; UCLA converted 5 of 14.
* Arizona scored a TD on 1 of 3 trips into the red zone; UCLA went 3 of 5.
* Arizona’s average starting field position was its 26-yard line; UCLA’s was its 32.
* UCLA’s Demetric Felton carried 32 times for 206 yards and a touchdown.
* UCLA quarterback Chase Griffin completed 12 of 20 passes for 129 yards and a TD.
* UA tailback Gary Brightwell rushed for 57 yards on 17 carries.
* Arizona’s Tyler Loop averaged 38.8 yards on six punts, dropping three inside the 20-yard line.
* Pandy had nine tackles
* Arizona CB Lorenzo Burns had eight tackles.
* UA linebackers Jalen Harris and Rourke Freeburg each had seven tackles and half a stop for loss.
* UCLA’s Bo Calvert had eight tackles.
* UCLA’s Stephan Blaylock had seven tackles and an interception.
* UCLA’s Obi Eboh had six tackles, including two TFLs (one sack).
