With the news of both Khalil Tate and JJ Taylor being out for tonight’s game against UCLA, Arizona fans didn’t quite know what to expect. UCLA, a team that is coming off a 67-63 win on the road against Washington State last week, seemed to have the momentum with them going into the game.

Right out the gates, Arizona football looked different. Perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that true freshman Grant Gunnell started for the first time tonight. After throwing for three touchdowns at home against the NAU Lumberjacks on Sept. 7, head coach Kevin Sumlin decided to start Gunnell tonight against the Bruins.

In terms of numbers, both Arizona and UCLA were fairly comparable in the first 30 minutes of play. The Wildcats threw for 170 yards and ran for 55 yards, while the Bruins threw for 89 yards and ran for 96 yards.

Gunnell looked good on the field tonight as he went 16-for-27 for a total of 170 yards in the first half.

The Wildcats were in the red zone three times in the first half and converted field goals on two of the three attempts with zero touchdowns.

Arizona’s penalties seemed to have a profound impact on the flow of the game in the first half. The Wildcats had 6 penalties for a total of 49 yards in two quarters.

Arizona trails UCLA by a score of 6-7 going into halftime. With Tate and Taylor out tonight, the Wildcats seem to be trying to stay afloat against the Bruins, but we’ll see how the second half plays out.

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