Arizona won its first Pac-12 home game of the season Saturday by holding off the Cal Golden Bears 24-17.
UA quarterback Khalil Tate finished the game 15-of-25 passing for 141 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Arizona's defense forced five turnovers, including three interceptions. Two of UA's turnovers resulted in touchdowns.
Scottie Young Jr. had an interception with just over eight minutes left in the game, but the Wildcats came up empty on offense. The next drive, defensive end JB Brown sacked Cal quarterback Brandon McIlwain and forced a fumble with defensive tackle Dereck Boles falling on the ball.
Arizona couldn't take advantage of its late turnovers until Young hawked in for another interception and returned it for a touchdown, which gave the Wildcats a 10-point lead.
Arizona improves to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in Pac-12 play, and will travel to Utah on Friday.
For the Star's full game recap, click here.
THIRD-QUARTER UPDATE:
Arizona has regained the lead on Cal on a play that had to be seen to be believed.
The Wildcats lead the Golden Bears 17-14 entering the fourth quarter of their game Saturday night at Arizona Stadium on a defensive touchdown. But it was no ordinary defensive touchdown.
Colin Schooler intercepted Brandon McIlwain on a deflected pass at the UA 16-yard line. Schooler returned the ball 39 yards before Cal’s Jeremiah Hawkins punched the ball out of his grasp.
The ball bounded forward. Arizona’s Azizi Hearn scooped it up at the Cal 34 and raced into the end zone.
This is how Arizona scored its last touchdown. This gotta be a @SportsCenter Top 10 play right?Holy moly. pic.twitter.com/pkpIgrSCri
— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) October 7, 2018
Cal has the ball at the UA 23 to start the fourth quarter.
McIlwain, making his first career start, has passed for 204 yards and rushed for 105 and two touchdowns.
Arizona’s Khalil Tate is 10 of 19 for 117 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
HALFTIME UPDATE:
The Arizona Wildcats changed quarterbacks — for one series. The move didn’t have the desired effect.
With Arizona leading Cal 10-7 early in the second quarter, freshman Jamarye Joiner replaced Khalil Tate. The Wildcats went three-and-out.
Arizona never rediscovered its rhythm on offense and trails Cal 14-10 at halftime of their game Saturday night at Arizona Stadium.
Tate returned but struggled. He completed only 2 of 8 passes in the second quarter and again appeared to be hobbling on his sore left ankle. Tate also went down hard after Cal’s Chinedu Udeogu twisted his facemask and yanked him to the ground.
Cal quarterback Brandon McIlwain, making his first career start, has a pair of touchdown runs. His 23-yard sprint through the heart of the UA defense gave the Golden Bears the lead with 41 seconds left in the half.
Arizona led 10-0 entering the second quarter. It took Cal four plays to cut its deficit to three points.
On second-and-6 from the UA 25-yard line, McIlwain ran a QB draw from an empty backfield. Colin Schooler read the play and got a piece of McIlwain. But the redshirt sophomore eluded Schooler and darted through the middle of the Arizona defense for a 25-yard touchdown.
Cal has outgained Arizona 217-154. McIlwain has 123 passing yards and 80 rushing yards.
FIRST-QUARTER UPDATE:
The Arizona Wildcats are off to an excellent start against Cal.
The Cats lead the Golden Bears 10-0 entering the second quarter of their game Saturday night at Arizona Stadium. All three units have contributed so far.
Khalil Tate led a crisp opening series that ended with his 31-yard touchdown pass to Tony Ellison.
The defense stopped Cal on fourth-and-1 on the ensuing possession. Tony Fields II and Colin Schooler teamed to stop Brandon McIlwain just short of the line to gain.
A 26-yard J.J. Taylor run put Arizona in scoring position again on the next drive. A sack pushed the Wildcats back to the Cal 35. After a 7-yard run by Gary Brightwell, Josh Pollack nailed a 46-yard field goal.
It was Pollacks’ first field-goal attempt of the season. He unseated struggling sophomore Lucas Havrisik this week.
Tate is 5 of 7 for 69 yards, connecting with five different receivers. Taylor has 34 yards on six carries.
