Dorian Thompson-Robinson sat down and looked at the ground, and the Rose Bowl fell quiet as UCLA’s trainers ran out to the quarterback.
The true freshman immediately headed to the injury tent on the sideline and left for the locker room several minutes later.
In his place, graduate transfer quarterback Wilton Speight led the Bruins (1-5, 1-2 Pac-12) to a 17-7 lead over the Arizona Wildcats (3-4, 2-2) at halftime Saturday night.
Thompson-Robinson returned to the sideline with a couple of minutes left in the second quarter, fully dressed but without a helmet. He jogged back to the locker room at halftime with his helmet in hand.
UCLA started quickly by forcing a three-and-out from Arizona and then scoring on its first opening possession this season.
Thompson-Robinson completed 3-of-3 passes for 43 yards, and completed the drive with a 16-yard pass to freshman running back Kazmeir Allen, who was uncovered on his wheel route from the backfield.
Arizona drove down the field on the subsequent possession, but on the Wildcats’ first play in the red zone, free sophomore safety Quentin Lake intercepted quarterback Rhett Rodriguez’s pass in the back of the end zone.
Rodriguez, the son of former Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez, started 2-of-10 for 33 yards and an interception.
But the Arizona signal caller redeemed himself by leading a five-play, 71-yard drive culminating in a 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Shawn Poindexter.
The Wildcats looked like they would score earlier when Taylor sprinted past the Bruin defense and had nothing but grass in front of him for 30 yards, but sophomore cornerback Darnay Holmes chased Taylor down from behind and punched the ball out at the 5-yard line. Holmes then recovered it in the end zone for a touchback.
Speight finished 8-of-14 for 87 yards and a 24-yard touchdown to redshirt sophomore tight end and fellow former Michigan teammate Devin Asiasi – his first career catch for the Bruins. Thompson-Robinson finished 5-of-8 for 103 and a score.
Redshirt junior running back Joshua Kelley started slowly in his quest for a fourth consecutive 100-yard performance, finishing with 36 yards on 13 carries. Arizona carved up UCLA’s offensive line for nine tackles for loss in the first half.