In a stunningly inept performance, the UCLA football team was
manhandled 52-14 by an unheralded Arizona team that has not had a
winning season in the 21st century.
UCLA was the highest-ranked team to lose to Arizona since the
Wildcats beat No. 1 Washington 16-3 in Tucson on Nov. 7, 1992.
When the home team kneeled to run out the clock, hundreds of
fans, mostly students, stormed the field at the finish and the
biggest upset of the weekend was official.
The Bruins (8-1, 5-1 Pac-10) came into the game riding the
momentum of four fourth-quarter comeback wins, and their eyes on a
potential national championship run. But any championship hopes
were dashed by the Wildcats (3-6, 2-4), who came into the game
ranked near the bottom of the Pac-10 in nearly every offensive
category.
Despite its previous woes in putting points on the board,
Arizona moved the ball at will against UCLA. Freshman quarterback
Willie Tuitama, in his second college start, threw for two early
touchdowns as he led his offense to score a touchdown on each of
its first four possessions of the game.
Tuitama, who has now won his only two collegiate starts, gave
the Wildcats their first consecutive wins in conference play since
2000. Losers of their past 19 of 21 Pac-10 games, Arizona was able
to stun a previously unbeaten Bruin team and give second-year coach
Mike Stoops the biggest win in his brief tenure at Arizona.
As for the Bruins, they were completely dominated in just about
every facet of the game, and they never really had had an
opportunity to win the game. They surrendered 320 rushing yards, as
senior running backs Mike Bell and Gilbert Harris proved to be far
too much to handle. Bell racked up 153 rushing yards on 16 carries
while Harris had 112 yards on 16 carries, and they each had a
touchdown.
Although the Bruins’ rushing defense has been notoriously
shaky the entire season, ranking dead last in the conference in
yards allowed per game, their secondary had been more than steady.
However, Tuitama threw all over the field with relative ease and
got into a rhythm with freshman wide receiver Mike Thomas, who
finished with 104 receiving yards on five catches with a touchdown.
Thomas opened the scoring in the first quarter on a 17-yard reverse
play in which he dove for the corner of end zone.
Tuitama was given plenty of protection throughout the game by
his offensive line, finishing an efficient 14 of 24 passing for 204
yards and a pair of touchdowns.
As bad as the Bruins’ defensive line played, their
offensive line was not to be outdone. Senior quarterback Drew Olson
had little time to distribute the ball, and the running game was
essentially nonexistent due in large part to the injury-riddled
offensive line that had trouble opening up holes for junior running
back Maurice Drew.
Olson was able to complete his share of passes, with 24
completions on 39 attempts for 234 yards and two touchdowns, but he
could not engineer a drive when it mattered. The definitive moment
came when Olson failed to convert a quarterback sneak on fourth
down and inches on the Wildcats’ five-yard line. The turnover
on downs proved to seal the game.
Senior tight end Marcedes Lewis had perhaps the best performance
of his college career from strictly a numbers standpoint, raking up
11 catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns. But it all came in the
midst of a disastrous night for the Bruins.
UCLA must now turn the page, knowing that any flirtations with a
national title run are out the window, as they return home to play
Arizona State at the Rose Bowl next weekend. After that, they have
a three-week hiatus before playing crosstown rival USC.
The luster of that game, however, which looked like it might
feature two undefeated teams on the last Saturday of the regular
season, has been lost somewhat after the Bruins’ devastating
loss to the Wildcats.