Arizona Football shocks the World, Upsets No. 12 UCLA

PASADENA, CA – Entering as massive underdogs, Arizona Football (4-6, 2-5) shocked the World by beating No. 12 UCLA (8-2, 5-2) by a 34-28 final. 

Chants of “UofA” rained down as the finals seconds ticked off the clock inside the Rose Bowl on Saturday evening. The lowly Wildcats completed the improbable, 34-28 upset over the No. 12 Bruins. And for Arizona Football, it would be bittersweet as this would be the last time that the Wildcats visit Pasadena as Pac-12 foes.

However, things weren’t so high-spirited for Arizona entering Saturday’s action. Riding a four-game losing streak and considered to be a double-digit underdog, the Wildcats played fearless, with nothing to lose!

Adversely, UCLA was No. 12 in the country, with a marquee showdown with USC awaiting them next week, and an outside chance at earning a college playoff spot still on the table. That’s enough moving pieces to unnerve any team.

And uncharacteristic of their previous games, the Wildcats were in complete control from the start.

A pair of rare back-to-back defensive stops allowed Arizona to pull ahead with a commanding, 14-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to back-to-back touchdowns from Michael Wiley.

Unfortunately, the Bruins would begin to find their rhythm, cutting Arizona’s lead to seven after a rushing touchdown from Zach Charbonnet.

Five minutes later, UCLA struck again. This time driving 99 yards on five plays to even the game at 14-14 after a touchdown from Dorian Thompson-Robinson to Hudson Habermehl.

Getting the ball back with a little over eight minutes to play in the first half, Jayden de Laura had a masterful drive. Moving the ball 75 yards on 10 plays, and melting over six minutes of game clock, the Cats regained the lead, this time a three-yard rush by de Laura made it 21-14, Cats.

Leading at halftime, Arizona Football would have a tough challenge holding UCLA, but luckily, the Wildcats made just enough plays in the second half.

Starting a bit slow in the second half, UCLA would be the ones to strike first, scoring a touchdown with 3:38 to play in the third quarter to make it 21-21 after Charbonnet plunged one in from one yard out.

Before that, Arizona would block UCLA’s field goal attempt early in the third quarter to keep their lead intact.

Needing to show some kind of life on offense, finally, the Wildcats would score again, this time it was a field goal from Tyler Loop with 13:20 left to play in the fourth quarter to make it 24-21, Arizona.

However, a touchdown by Charbonnet and the Bruins on the ensuing drive made it 28-24 UCLA with 10:22 left in the game.

Responding with urgency, de Laura would lead the Wildcats on a miraculous, 82-yard, eight-play drive that was capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass on 4th and 4 to Tetairoa McMillan (his only catch of the night) to make it 31-28.

A quick three-and-out by UCLA gave Arizona the ball right back, where the Wildcats were then able to score a field goal after driving 30 yards on nine plays to make it 34-28 while also eating nearly five minutes of the game clock.

With a little over a minute left, the Bruins would drive 43 yards on seven plays, but an errant pass from Thompson-Robinson would be uncatchable for Jake Bobo and the Bruins as the ball tumbled to the turf to end the game.

Upset complete, Wildcats win 38-24!

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 4-6 (2-5) on the season and will return to action next week against Washington State in Tucson. The Cougars are coming off a 28-18 win over Arizona State.

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