Saturday, September 28
Tucson, AZ
7:30 PM
UCLA
1-4 , 1-1
17
at
20
Arizona
3-1 , 1-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
UCLA
7
0
10
0
17
Arizona
0
6
7
7
20
Joshua Kelley posted a season-best 127 rushing yards on the way to posting his seventh 100-yard rushing game of his career.
Photo by: Greg Turk
UCLA Drops Heartbreaker to Arizona, 20-17
September 28, 2019 | Football
TUCSON, Ariz. – A back-and-forth affair between UCLA and Arizona saw the Wildcats use a fourth-quarter touchdown to steal a 20-17 win on Saturday night.
UCLA's Pac-12 record evened at 1-1 on the season, while Arizona improved to 3-1 and won its 2019 conference opener.
The Bruins did most of their damage on the ground, tallying a season-high 217 rushing yards, led by Joshua Kelley's season-best mark of 127 yards on 27 carries, including a season-long 36-yard effort. It marked Kelley's seventh 100-yard rushing game of his career. Arizona edged UCLA in total yards, 451-445.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who left the game in the third quarter with an injury, went 17-for-33 and threw one touchdown. He finished with 180 passing yards and also had 63 rushing yards on nine carries. UCLA quarterback Austin Burton made his first-career appearance.
Jaylen Erwin caught a career-best seven passes for 63 yards, and Kyle Philips also had a career-high six receptions.
Defensively, UCLA was led by Krys Barnes and Stephan Blaylock, who tallied six solo tackles apiece. Barnes totaled three tackles for loss, and Shea Pitts came away with four solo tackles and one sack.
JJ Molson finished the night with five points, giving him 262 for his career to move into a tie with Chris Griffith (1999-02) for ninth on UCLA's all-time list.
Thompson-Robinson racked up 40 rushing yards in the first quarter alone, including a 26-yard carry that sparked UCLA's 12-play, 85-yard drive into the end zone to put the Bruins on the board. He found Matt Lynch for the two-yard snag, which marked Lynch's first reception of his career and first-career touchdown.
UCLA held Arizona scoreless in the first stanza, but the Wildcats used two field goals in the second quarter to make it a one-point game at the break.
Molson drilled a 37-yarder to extend UCLA's advantage to four (10-6) early in the third frame before Arizona scored its first touchdown of the affair to take the lead.
The Bruins fired right back, winding down the third quarter with a 9-play, 80-yard drive that resulted with Kelley rushing 36 yards into the red zone and then using a 3-yard march into the end zone to put UCLA back on top.
But once again, the Wildcats had the answer, notching a 10-yard rushing touchdown to take a three-point (20-17) edge.
With Burton directing the offense, UCLA started its final drive of the game at its own 9-yard line and methodically made its way into Arizona territory. The Bruins attempted a 39-yard field goal to tie the game late, but the ball sailed wide right to give the Wildcats possession with just 34 seconds left.
UCLA will look to bounce back on Saturday, Oct. 5, when they host Oregon State at 6 p.m. PT.
Team Stats
UCLA
ARIZ
Total Yards
445
451
Pass Yards
228
352
Rushing Yards
217
99
Penalty Yards
40
74
1st Downs
25
21
3rd Downs
8
6
4th Downs
1
2
TOP
31:56
28:04
1st Quarter
UCLA 7, ARIZ 0
UCLA - Lynch, Matt 2 yd pass from Thmpsn-Robinson (Molson, JJ kick) 12 plays, 85 yards, TOP 4:45
2nd Quarter
UCLA 7, ARIZ 3
ARIZ - Havrisik, L. 40 yd field goal 9 plays, 33 yards, TOP 3:31
UCLA 7, ARIZ 6
ARIZ - Havrisik, L. 41 yd field goal 11 plays, 47 yards, TOP 3:10
3rd Quarter
UCLA 10, ARIZ 6
UCLA - Molson, JJ 37 yd field goal 17 plays, 56 yards, TOP 6:32
UCLA 10, ARIZ 13
ARIZ - Smith, D. 75 yd pass from Gunnell, G. (Havrisik, L. kick) 1 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:11
UCLA 17, ARIZ 13
UCLA - Kelley, Joshua 3 yd run (Molson, JJ kick), 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:36
4th Quarter
UCLA 17, ARIZ 20
ARIZ - Brightwell, G. 10 yd run (Havrisik, L. kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:11
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
17
TD
1
YDS
180
INT
1
CMP
5
TD
0
YDS
48
INT
0
Players Mentioned
LB
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DB
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WR
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RB
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TE
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QB
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