No. 10 Arizona football had to settle for field goal attempts five times, missing three, including a potential game-winner with 12 seconds to go as the Wildcats lost 28-26 to USC.
UA redshirt sophomore receiver Cayleb Jones recovered an onside kick with a minute to go, giving the Wildcats a chance, but redshirt junior kicker Casey Skowron missed a 36-yard field goal.
Third-string running back and redshirt junior Jared Baker ran for a one-yard touchdown with 1:07 left to get the score to 28-26. But his two-point conversion run, after a USC pass interference on the first two-point version try, failed.
Attendance was 56,754, the first sold out game at Arizona Stadium since 2012.
UA redshirt freshman quarterback Anu Solomon was 43-for-72 passing for 395 yards and a touchdown. He ran for -7 yards on four carries.
Senior running back Terris Jones-Grigsby started and ran for 32 yards on 12 carries in the first half. He left the game with an injury.
Baker ran the ball 12 times for 43 yards.
USC junior quarterback Cody Kessler was 20-for-30 passing, for 185 yards with one interception and a touchdown. USC junior running back Javorius Allen had 205 yards and three touchdowns on 26 rushes for the Trojans. Six different receivers caught balls for USC.
The Trojans out-rushed the Wildcats 239 yards to 77.
The Wildcats cut USC’s lead to 28-20 on a 41-yard touchdown pass with 10:19 left in the game.
Arizona scored its first touchdown of the game with 6:05 left in the third quarter on a six-yard run by Baker. The Trojans answered with a one-yard touchdown run by Allen on the next drive, though.
USC opened the second half with a 21-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Nelson Agholor on its first drive to go up 21-6.
The Trojans led 14-6 at the half.
USC went up 14-6 on a 48-yard touchdown run by Allen with 10:30 left in the first half. The Wildcats threatened to narrow the gap, but Jones-Grigsby fumbled at the USC nine-yard line with about five minutes left in the half.
Arizona cut the Trojans’ lead to 7-6 with a 25-yard field goal by Skowron just before the first quarter ended.
USC took an early 7-3 lead on a 34-yard touchdown run by Allen with 6:03 left in the first quarter.
Arizona scored first, with a 32-yard field goal by Skowron. It came after Neal returned a USC punt 43 yards.
The Wildcats missed a 48-yard field goal attempt by Skowron on their first drive. Arizona closed the first half by having a 34-yard field goal try blocked.
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