TUCSON, Ariz. “”mdash; And so the struggles continue for the UCLA football team.
In a game in which their offense was woefully inept, the Bruins lost their fourth consecutive game on Saturday night, a 27-13 loss to the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium.
All across the board the same Bruin mistakes that have been made during this current four-game losing streak ““ costly penalties, missed tackles and an offense that can’t find its rhythm ““ were on full display Saturday night.
The Bruin offense managed a total of just 211 yards and six points, courtesy of two Kai Forbath field goals.
The game also featured all three UCLA quarterbacks getting some playing time. Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince was the first, starting his third consecutive game since returning from a fractured jaw, and did not resemble the quarterback from the start of the season. In two quarters and one series of play, Prince completed just seven-of-15 passes for 60 yards and was sacked three times.
With the Bruins down just 13-6 in the third quarter, Prince was pulled for redshirt senior Kevin Craft, who completed six-of-17 passes for 75 yards. True freshman Richard Brehaut played the final series of the game and completed two-of-three passes for 11 yards.
Christian Ramirez was a surprise start at running back for Bruins, finishing with 31 yards on six carries. Redshirt freshman running back Johnathan Franklin, who had started the Bruins’ previous six games, entered the game midway through the first quarter and finished with 36 yards on nine carries.
After the Bruins were able to move the ball only 13 yards on their first possession of the game, the Wildcats looked poised to continue their recent tremendous play on offense, driving the ball 56 yards to the UCLA 26-yard line. On 1st and 10, Arizona quarterback Nick Foles threw a pass that deflected off of the hands of David Douglas and into the hands of UCLA safety Rahim Moore.
After the Bruins could not take advantage of the turnover and were forced to punt, Arizona scored the first points of the game on a 41-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Juron Criner that put the Wildcats up 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
While the Bruins could not make the Wildcats pay for turning the ball over, Arizona proved it could. On the first play of the Bruins’ next possession, Prince did not see the corner blitz and fumbled the football, giving the ball back to the Wildcats. Three plays later, Nic Grigsby ran the ball for a six-yard touchdown. The Bruins blocked the ensuing extra-point attempt to keep the game at 13-0.
Moore came up with his second interception of the game near the start of the second quarter with the Wildcats driving deep in UCLA territory.
The interception set up the Bruins’ lone score of the half, a 52-yard field goal by Forbath that cut the deficit to 13-3.
The Bruins’ third interception came late in the second quarter when defensive end Korey Bosworth deflected the pass, and defensive tackle Jerzy Siewierski came up with the ball.
In the second half, the Bruins seemed poised to find their way back into the game, forcing an Arizona fumble on the Wildcats’ first possession and recovering it on Arizona’s 17-yard line. Yet the Bruins’ inability to move the offense was yet again an issue as a three-and-out led to Forbath’s second field goal of the night to cut the deficit to 13-6.
The Bruins’ lone score came in the third quarter courtesy of their defense. On a 1st and 10, Foles threw a lateral to Criner. UCLA linebacker Akeem Ayers read the play perfectly and stepped in front of the pass for a near interception. Instead Ayers knocked it down and the Arizona players thought the ball was dead. Yet UCLA safety Tony Dye alertly picked the ball up and raced to the end zone for a touchdown that made the game 20-13.