A look at the five most memorable games between Arizona and UCLA in Tucson

The Arizona-UCLA rivalry is probably the best men’s basketball rivalry on the West Coast. You’d be hard-pressed to come up with another one — and that’s not a hot take.

But the Wildcats and Bruins have provided plenty of gems on the gridiron over the years, too, like Arizona’s upset win over a highly-ranked UCLA team last season in what could be the last game the UA plays at the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium for a lengthy period of time.

Since Saturday will mark the final matchup between these two teams in Tucson until who knows when, here’s a look back at memorable games between the Wildcats and Bruins at Arizona Stadium:

2005: Arizona 52, No. 7 UCLA 14

What happened: UCLA entered this matchup red-hot after rattling off eight wins behind star running back Maurice Jones-Drew. The Bruins were in the national championship picture until Arizona powered its way to 519 yards of total offense, including 204 passing yards from true freshman quarterback Willie Tuitama, who made his first home start at the UA.

He said it: “It was our most flawless game as a whole. ... We had a punt return for a touchdown, ran the ball as much as we wanted, threw the ball when we needed to. It was probably one of our better wins as a unit my whole career there.” — Tuitama

2015: No. 9 UCLA 56, No. 16 Arizona 30

What happened: Ten years after Arizona’s colossal win over the Bruins, UCLA returned the favor on the national stage with ESPN’s “College GameDay” in Tucson for the first time since 2009. Arizona star linebacker Scooby Wright returned from a meniscus injury he suffered three weeks prior but exited the game with a foot injury and missed most of the season. UA quarterback Anu Solomon left the game with a concussion after taking a severe hit to the head, and UCLA handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season.

He said it: “It was real disappointing. I thought we tackled OK prior to today, but they had some good skill players, good running backs that make you miss. Our tackling was really poor. Really, really poor. And that’s been a concern for us all year just because it’s hard to practice it particularly when you’re hurt and banged up.” — Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez

2011: Arizona 48, UCLA 12

What happened: Arizona fired head coach Mike Stoops following the Wildcats’ road loss to Oregon State, which put the UA at 1-5 in the first half of the season. Defensive coordinator Tim Kish was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Coming out of a bye week, the Wildcats hosted UCLA on a Thursday night and led 42-7 entering the second half. Seconds before halftime, UA student Jacen Lankow, dressed up as a referee (but sticking out like a sore thumb with shorts instead of pants), trots onto the field, takes the football from a game official, and runs towards the north end zone while simultaneously stripping his clothes down to his Speedo.

On the 10-year anniversary of the streaker-brawl moment, Lankow said he remembered going “down the ramp and once I’m on the field, I’m just stunned that I’ve made it this far and as I’m walking to the players, my friends sitting in the first row are going nuts and start cheering.”

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“They were probably drinking a little bit. I was really happy that I got onto the field, but at the same time I was like, ‘Guys, shut up; don’t get me caught here.’ ... I gathered my thoughts and had the courage to run out onto the field. It was pretty surreal and almost like an out-of-body experience.”

While Lankow is being tackled by law enforcement, the Wildcats and Bruins had a bench-clearing brawl on the other side of the field; 10 combined players from both teams were suspended for the fight.

He said it: “After all that stuff happened, regardless of suspensions or people missing games, we put a major ass-whooping on them, which we’re always going to be happy about.” — Arizona linebacker Jake Fischer

1980: Arizona 23, No. 2 UCLA 17

What happened: Arizona’s defense forced four takeaways — two interceptions and two fumbles — on UCLA quarterback Tom Ramsey. UCLA was two quarters away from securing the top ranking in college football, with Alabama losing to Mississippi State earlier in the day until the Wildcats blanked the Bruins in the second half. It was Arizona’s first home win of the season.

He said it: “That’s the greatest upset I’ve been a part of.” — Arizona head coach Larry Smith via The Associated Press

1998: No. 3 UCLA 52, No. 10 Arizona 28

What happened: The Wildcats led 28-24 until the Bruins scored 28 unanswered points to finish the game and rout the UA. That would be the only blemish on Arizona’s best season under head coach Dick Tomey. UA finished the season 12-1 and went on to beat Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl, which remains the winningest season in UA football history. UCLA, later in the season, lost a makeup game at unranked Miami after the game had been rescheduled due to a hurricane. The 49-45 loss knocked UCLA out of contention for a BCS national championship, so as the Pac-10 champion, the Bruins played in the Rose Bowl. If the Bruins had gone to the national championship game, the Wildcats, the next Pac-12 team in line, would’ve played Wisconsin in the program’s first and only Rose Bowl. What could’ve been ...

He said it: “That’s the only game that we lost, man. We always had a tough time against the Bruins. ... After we lost that game, we came together, ran the table and won seven more games. That showed the type of heart that we have. ... I think we would’ve had a chance to play (for a national championship) in Phoenix.” — Arizona running back Kelvin Eafon

Bonus:

1983: Arizona 27, UCLA 24

1927 (first one): Arizona 16, UCLA 13

1992: Arizona 23, No. 11 UCLA 3

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