With all eyes and the national spotlight on Arizona football and ESPN College GameDay, No. 9 UCLA defeated No. 16 Arizona 56-30. The Wildcats appeared lost on both sides of the ball throughout the game.

“They were a really good, talented athletic football team,” Rodriguez said. ”You gotta give them credit, they played well. You can’t beat a good team with some of the errors we made today.”

During the second quarter, quarterback Anu Solomon was shaken up and did not return for the rest of the game. He walked off the field under his own power and was taken into the locker room with a suspected head injury.

“He’s with the trainers now,” Rodriguez said. “I haven’t talked with him since the game is over.” 

Arizona defense was carved up by UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen and running back Paul Perkins, missing a plethora of tackles. The Bruins managed close to 500 total yards on offense.

“We didn’t play Arizona,” said defensive end Reggie Gilbert. “We didn’t play to the level that we are capable of.” 

Mistakes killed the Wildcats throughout with three total turnovers. Solomon had two fumbles, both of which produced touchdowns on the UCLA side. Randall added an interception. Even Scooby Wright III, making his first appearance since a week one injury sidelined him, had an offsides call against him and a key missed tackle.

“We didn’t tackle well, I was really disappointed,” said Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez. “I thought we had tackled okay prior to today, but they landed some good skill players, good running backs that make you miss. Our tackling was really, really poor.” 

On the Wildcats offensive side, running back Nick Wilson rushed for 136 yards on 24 attempts. Quarterback Anu Solomon threw for 55 yards on 4-10 attempts and one touchdown before going down with an injury.

The hero and savior for Arizona was backup quarterback Jerrard Randall who did his one job: rushing for touchdowns. On his first play of the game, he rushed for a 39-yard touchdown. He was 4-16 for 45 yards, one touchdown and an interception. He also added 128 yards on 16 attempts.

“He was pretty composed,” Rodriguez said. “I thought he competed well. We got down to the red zone and didn’t execute. You can’t not score when you get inside the red zone and expect to win a game like this.”

Many had questioned Arizona’s non-conference schedule and the challenges it has faced in its past three games. 

“We just didn’t play well,” said receiver David Richards. 

Once again, the Wildcats failed in the national spotlight overcome by UCLA for the fourth straight year. Sure wasn’t the way Lee Corso had predicted Arizona to perform when he predicted the Wildcats to defeat UCLA on ESPN College GameDay.

Photo by Tyler Baker / The Daily Wildcat

Game notes:

First Quarter

-With 12:20 remaining in the first quarter, QB Anu Solomon throws a 34-yard touchdown pass to Nate Phillips

-With 9:59 remaining in the first, UCLA QB Josh Rosen throws a 35-yard touchdown to receiver Thomas Duarte

-With 8:31 remaining in the first, RB Paul Perkins rushed for a 16-yard touchdown

Second Quarter

-With 14:36 remaining in the second quarter, RB Perkins rushes for a one-yard touchdown

-With 10:34 remaining in the second, QB Jerrard Randall rushed for a 39-yard touchdown

-With 6:41 remaining in the second, UCLA RB Nate Starks rushes for a one-yard touchdown

-With 3:08 remaining in the second, UCLA RB Perkins adds another one-yard rushing touchdown

Third Quarter

-With 11:05 remaining in the third quarter, Randall throws a 16-yard touchdown pass to WR David Richards

-With 5:54 remaining in the third, Kicker Casey Skowron converts a 44-yard field goal

-With 3:39 remaining in the third, Rosen keeps for a eight-yard touchdown run

Fourth Quarter

-With 3:37 remaining, Jamabo rushes for a 10-yard touchdown

-With 1:12 remaining, Jared Baker rushes for a two-yard touchdown

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