PASADENA, Calif. — The injury-riddled Arizona Wildcats gave UCLA everything they had Saturday night.
They came up one point short.
With Khalil Tate in street clothes, Rhett Rodriguez at quarterback and multiple subs playing in the secondary, Arizona lost to UCLA 31-30 in front of an announced crowd of 54,686 at the Rose Bowl.
The Wildcats rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit, twice took the lead but couldn’t close the deal. The loss was Arizona’s fourth in a row on the road against UCLA and its second straight this season. The Wildcats are 3-5, 2-3 in the Pac-12 heading into next week’s homecoming game against Oregon.
“This one hurts,” said receiver Shawn Poindexter, who had six catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns. “One point? Come on now.”
Arizona safety Scottie Young Jr., bottom, tackles UCLA running back Joshua Kelley on Saturday. Kelley ran for 136 yards and helped the Bruins run out the clock late.
Rodriguez — the son of fired UA coach Rich Rodriguez — made his first career start. He made plays, but he also made mistakes. He finished 15 of 34 for 231 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Tate sat out to rest the sprained ankle that has bothered him off and on since early September.
“It’s definitely an experience I’ll never forget,” Rodriguez said. “At the end of the day, though, I could have been a lot better. And we lost the game.”
Arizona rediscovered its running game, compiling 289 yards despite the absence of left tackle Layth Friekh, who also sat out because of ankle issues. J.J. Taylor (154 yards) and Gary Brightwell (121) each topped 100 yards.
The UA defense had a season-high four sacks but couldn’t get the final stop it absolutely had to have. UCLA backup quarterback Wilton Speight — subbing for Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who exited in the second quarter — ran for a first down and passed for one as the Bruins ran the final 6 minutes, 28 seconds off the clock.
Down 17-7 at halftime, the Wildcats refused to let this game turn into another lopsided loss at the Rose Bowl.
UCLA coach Chip Kelly saw his team win its second straight game Saturday after the Bruins started the season 0-5.
After forcing a three-and-out on the opening possession of the half — thanks to a PJ Johnson-led stop of Joshua Kelley on third-and-1 — Arizona drove for a field goal. The drive began with a 31-yard pass from Rodriguez to Devaughn Cooper. It also featured a 25-yard run by J.J. Taylor and a 10-yard run by Gary Brightwell. The field goal, a 29-yarder by Josh Pollack, made it 17-10.
Dereck Boles then made a momentum-turning play. On the next snap from scrimmage, Boles stripped a stumbling Speight and recovered the ball at the UCLA 15-yard line.
Three plays later, Rodriguez connected with Poindexter for an 11-yard touchdown. It was their second TD hookup of the game.
Arizona took a 20-17 lead on Pollack’s 39-yard field goal — set up by a career-long 72-yard run by Brightwell — but it was short-lived. UCLA responded with a six-play, 75-yard drive that took just 1 minutes, 50 seconds. It ended with Speight’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Demetric Felton.
UCLA wide receiver Demetric Felton, left, celebrates his touchdown with tight end Devin Asiasi during the second half of the Bruins’ 31-30 victory.
On the next possession, UCLA’s Elijah Gaines intercepted Rodriguez, tipping a back-shoulder throw intended for Stanley Berryhill III and corralling the ball at the UCLA 29-yard line.
But the UA defense held, forcing a three-and-out, and the Wildcats drove for the go-ahead touchdown. The eight-play, 72-yard march featured Rodriguez’s best throw of the night. Rolling to his right, with a defender in his face, Rodriguez connected with Cooper for 20 yards to the UCLA 8. Two plays later, Taylor dove over the goal line from the 1 to make it 27-24 in Arizona’s favor.
The defense, missing several key performers because of injuries, looked gassed on the next possession. UCLA needed just four plays to go 75 yards and regain the lead. Kelley finished the drive with a 28-yard TD run.
UCLA tight end Devin Asiasi, left, makes a touchdown catch as Arizona cornerback McKenzie Barnes watches during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Arizona advanced to the UCLA 11 on the next possession, but Rodriguez’s pass into the end zone to a well-covered Poindexter sailed high and wide. Pollack’s 29-yard field goal made it 31-30 with 6:28 remaining.
The Wildcats couldn’t get the ball back. The Bruins converted three third downs, including a 15-yard pass from Speight to Caleb Wilson on third-and-6 that put the game away.
“It just goes back to everybody doing their job and reading their keys properly,” linebacker Colin Schooler said.
Arizona turned the ball over three times in all, including a fumble by Taylor when it appeared he was headed for a touchdown.
“This team continues to play extremely hard,” UA coach Kevin Sumlin said. “But we’ve gotta be a smarter football team.”
Extra points
- Arizona played without starting cornerbacks Lorenzo Burns and Tim Hough. Burns was out because of an undisclosed injury. Hough is no longer with the team, Sumlin said. The Wildcats also were without projected 2018 starter Jace Whittaker, who has played only one series this season because of injuries.
- With Burns, Hough and Whittaker unavailable, Arizona started a pair of freshmen at corner: McKenzie Barnes and Christian Young. Young had been playing safety until this week. It was the first career start for both.
- Arizona elected to hold out senior left tackle Layth Friekh, who has been battling ankle issues the past several weeks. With Friekh out, Donovan Laie moved from right tackle to the left side; Cody Creason moved from left guard to right tackle; and Michael Eletise started at left guard.
- “Stud” Kylan Wilborn returned to the starting lineup after missing the Utah game because of an undisclosed injury.
- Dereck Boles started at nose tackle after missing the final two-plus quarters at Utah.
- Freshman receiver Jalen Bailey made his UA debut.
- Redshirt sophomore Thomas Reid III had his first career catch, a 6-yarder in the second quarter.
