It's once again game day and this week Arizona is in Pasadena taking on UCLA. A lot of changes coming this week mostly out of necessity. We know Khalil Tate will not be in uniform tonight, but there have been some other changes as well both injury and non-injury related.
As always join the conversation and follow along tonight as I bring you some game updates from the Rose Bowl in what could be an interesting game for the Wildcats.
Pregame
* A lot of news and notes to get to starting with both of Arizona's starting cornerbacks not playing tonight. Tim Hough is out for undisclosed non-injury reasons while Lorenzo Burns is working through an undisclosed injury that will keep him out tonight. Arizona has moved Christian Young over to help with the cornerback group and right now the expectation is that he and McKenzie Barnes will make their first starts.
* Arizona brought Khalil Tate on the trip out to Los Angeles but he has spent zero time during warmups with the quarterbacks. He isn't dressed but has spent all his time during warmups working with the receivers and running backs helping where he can and giving some instructions by the look of it.
* The word right now is that there are going to be a lot of players who have yet to get into games for an extended period get a look as the staff tries to figure out if there are any remedies for the issues especially on offense. That COULD mean you see more than just Rhett Rodriguez taking the snaps, but especially at the receiver position is where I think you could see some players get their shot.
1st half
UCLA wins the toss and opts to defer meaning Arizona will get the ball to start this game
* Rodriguez hits JJ Taylor for no gain on the first play; Rodriguez incomplete to Shawn Poindexter on second down and high to Taylor on third down and it forces a punt on the first drive after a 3 and out
* Chistiphany Murray with a false start to start the drive; Joshua Kelley runs it for 6 yards; Dorian Thompson-Robinson runs it for 9 yards and a first down; illegal forward pass called on UCLA and the Bruins lose a down after a short gain; Third and long and DTR hits Kelley for 17 yards and a first down as the UA defense again can't get off the field despite being in a good spot to do so after a couple early penalties; PJ Johnson gets called for a neutral zone infraction to open this next series; DTR to to Kelley for 10 yards and a first down for the Bruins; Kelley tackled for a 3 yard loss by Colin Schooler; DTR for 10 yards on the ground; DTR to Kazmeir Allen for 16 yards and the score [SCORE UPDATE: UCLA 7 Arizona 0 - 9:51 1st]
* Taylor runs it for 5 yards to open Arizona's second drive; Taylor for 2 yards on the second play bringing up a 3rd and short situation; Rodriguez to Shawn Poindexter down the left sideline for 33 yards and a big play for the Wildcats on third down; Taylor with a big 13-yard rush to get the Wildcats down the field even more; Taylor for 4 yards on first down to get the Wildcats inside the red zone; Rodriguez picked off by Quentin Lake in the end zone as the UA quarterback looked for Tony Ellison
* Lake returned it 12 yards and that is where UCLA will begin its next drive; Kelley runs it for 4 yards to open the drive; DTR incomplete looking for Demetric Felton; A false start on Boss Tagaloa is followed by an incompletion to Dymond Lee and UCLA will have to punt it; it's a good one of 55 yards and Shun Brown is brought down right away and UA will begin its drive at its own 40
* Rodriguez to Ellison with what would have been a fantastic grab but Ellison can't bring his foot down in bounds; Keisean Lucier-South gets pressure and hits Rodriguez as he throws it out to the right side and it falls incomplete; Rodriguez is incomplete as he looks for Poindexter running across the middle of the field and Dylan Klumph will punt it away
* Kelley taken down for a loss of 5 to open the drive for UCLA; Felton runs it for 14 yards to get the Bruins close to the marker; DTR is incomplete on the next play and UCLA has to punt; it's another good one but Brown gets a nice return of 21 yards to get the Wildcats out to near midfield
* Rodriguez can't find Brown on the first play of the drive for UA; Taylor runs it for 4 yards to get something positive for the Arizona offense; Rodriguez again can't find Brown and the Wildcats will punt one more time; Dylan Klumph with a 30-yard punt and UCLA's next drive will begin at its own 24
* PJ Johnson tackles Kelley behind the line for a loss of one yard; A short pass out to Felton who gains 2 yards bringing up a longer third down and this has been a dangerous area for the Wildcats; On 3rd and 9 the Bruins get a 58-yard pass paly from DTR to Theo Howard to get down to the 17; Felton runs it for 7 yards; DTR tackled for a loss of 6 yards by Schooler who now has 1.5 tackles for loss; Finton Connolly sacks DTR on third down with a big play from the defense forcing a field goal try from JJ Molson and he will kick it after the break as the quarter comes to and end ...
SCORE UPDATE: UCLA 7 Arizona 0 - 1st QTR
2nd QTR
* ... Molson makes the 40-yard field goal try and UCLA extends its lead [SCORE UPDATE: UCLA 10 Arizona 0 - 14:56 2nd]
* Rodriguez hits Ellison for 4 yards to open the next Arizona drive; Gary Brightwell gets the carry and gains a few yards bringing up quick third down for the Wildcats; Rodriguez hits Thomas Reid III for 6 yards and a first down and then UCLA gets called for unnecessary roughness to move the Wildcats further down the field; Brightwell runs it for 4 yards on the next set of downs; A mistimed pass from Rodriguez as he's looking for Cedric Peterson goes out of bounds and it's another third down for the Wildcats; Brightwell goes for 3 yards bringing up a fourth down and UA will go for it; UA takes a timeout and decides to punt it and Klumph pins the Bruins inside the 5 with a good punt;
* Kelley with a nice run to open this drive but a holding is called on UCLA and the Bruins get pushed back again; Kelley rushes it for 2 yards but is stopped by Schooler; Schooler with a sack on DTR and the UCLA quarterback is injured on the play; Wilton Speight comes in and can't complete a pass to Felton and UCLA had to punt it away
* Taylor runs it 55 yards on the first play of the drive for the Wildcats but is caught by Darnay Holmes and the ball is popped out just feet from the end zone and UCLA gets a touchback
* A couple incompletions by Speight and a short Kelley run means another punt for UCLA and the Wildcats don't get stung by the turnover
* After a short run and personal foul on Tyler Manoa, Rodriguez goes down the field to Ellison for 38 yards and gets the Wildcats in the red zone; Brightwell runs it for 2 yards; Rodriguez runs it for no gain bringing up a 3rd down for the Wildcats; Rodriguez hits Poindexter on the fade route and Poindexter gets away with a little bit of a push but there is no flag and UA is on the board with the 13-yard pass play [SCORE UPDATE: UCLA 10 Arizona 7 - 6:38 2nd]
* Speight hits Kelley but Jake Burton is called for a block in the back and the play will come back; Kelley runs it for 2 yards on the next play; Speight hits Kelley for 13 yards bringing up a 3rd and short play; Kelley gets the first down with an 8-yard run and UCLA continues to move it down the field; Kelley runs it for 8 more on the next play; JB Brown brings down Kelley for a loss of 4 yards bringing up a 3rd down; Speight hits Felton for 12 yards and another UCLA first down; Tristan Cooper brings down Felton for a loss of 3 yards; Speight runs it for 7 yards bringing up another 3rd down; Speight tries to go out to Allen down the sideline and he has him open but the pass is a little too long and the Bruins will go for it; Speight has all kinds of time to throw as Nah Sulunga gets knocked down and the Wildcats can't get any pressure and he hits Caleb Wilson for 11 yards and a first down; Kelley runs it for 4 yards; Speight to Devin Asiasi and the lead gets extended for the Bruins [SCORE UPDATE: UCLA 17 Arizona 7 - 1:34 2nd]
* Rodriguez hits Taylor on a swing pass for 11 yards and a first down to start this drive; Rodriguez to Poindexter for 6 yards; Rodriguez looking for Devaughn Cooper and can't find him out to the left and it brings up a third down; Rodriguez can't find Tony Ellison going back to the left side and UA will have to punt it away with just over a minute to go in the half
* Speight hits Wilson for 6 yards to begin this drive for the Bruins; Schooler nearly has an interception but he just breaks up the pass out to Felton; Speight goes to Dymond Lee down the field and Azizi Hearn grabs him and gets called for the pass interference; Jalen Harris gets a sack on the next play forcing UCLA to take a timeout; Speight finds Wilson for 13 yards but he's short of the marker and UCLA takes another timeout with third down coming up; A false start on Jake Burton as the Bruins now have 10 penalties in the game now; Speight can't find Felton over the middle and UCLA will go for it; Speight hits Martell Irby but the tackle is made right at the marker and the refs will measure; the ball is short and U Awill get the ball back with six second left
* Rodriguez looks for Taylor but the pass falls incomplete and that is how the first half will end
HALFTIME SCORE: UCLA 17 Arizona 7
As always join the conversation and follow along tonight as I bring you some game updates from the Rose Bowl in what could be an interesting game for the Wildcats.
Pregame
* A lot of news and notes to get to starting with both of Arizona's starting cornerbacks not playing tonight. Tim Hough is out for undisclosed non-injury reasons while Lorenzo Burns is working through an undisclosed injury that will keep him out tonight. Arizona has moved Christian Young over to help with the cornerback group and right now the expectation is that he and McKenzie Barnes will make their first starts.
* Arizona brought Khalil Tate on the trip out to Los Angeles but he has spent zero time during warmups with the quarterbacks. He isn't dressed but has spent all his time during warmups working with the receivers and running backs helping where he can and giving some instructions by the look of it.
* The word right now is that there are going to be a lot of players who have yet to get into games for an extended period get a look as the staff tries to figure out if there are any remedies for the issues especially on offense. That COULD mean you see more than just Rhett Rodriguez taking the snaps, but especially at the receiver position is where I think you could see some players get their shot.
1st half
UCLA wins the toss and opts to defer meaning Arizona will get the ball to start this game
* Rodriguez hits JJ Taylor for no gain on the first play; Rodriguez incomplete to Shawn Poindexter on second down and high to Taylor on third down and it forces a punt on the first drive after a 3 and out
* Chistiphany Murray with a false start to start the drive; Joshua Kelley runs it for 6 yards; Dorian Thompson-Robinson runs it for 9 yards and a first down; illegal forward pass called on UCLA and the Bruins lose a down after a short gain; Third and long and DTR hits Kelley for 17 yards and a first down as the UA defense again can't get off the field despite being in a good spot to do so after a couple early penalties; PJ Johnson gets called for a neutral zone infraction to open this next series; DTR to to Kelley for 10 yards and a first down for the Bruins; Kelley tackled for a 3 yard loss by Colin Schooler; DTR for 10 yards on the ground; DTR to Kazmeir Allen for 16 yards and the score [SCORE UPDATE: UCLA 7 Arizona 0 - 9:51 1st]
* Taylor runs it for 5 yards to open Arizona's second drive; Taylor for 2 yards on the second play bringing up a 3rd and short situation; Rodriguez to Shawn Poindexter down the left sideline for 33 yards and a big play for the Wildcats on third down; Taylor with a big 13-yard rush to get the Wildcats down the field even more; Taylor for 4 yards on first down to get the Wildcats inside the red zone; Rodriguez picked off by Quentin Lake in the end zone as the UA quarterback looked for Tony Ellison
* Lake returned it 12 yards and that is where UCLA will begin its next drive; Kelley runs it for 4 yards to open the drive; DTR incomplete looking for Demetric Felton; A false start on Boss Tagaloa is followed by an incompletion to Dymond Lee and UCLA will have to punt it; it's a good one of 55 yards and Shun Brown is brought down right away and UA will begin its drive at its own 40
* Rodriguez to Ellison with what would have been a fantastic grab but Ellison can't bring his foot down in bounds; Keisean Lucier-South gets pressure and hits Rodriguez as he throws it out to the right side and it falls incomplete; Rodriguez is incomplete as he looks for Poindexter running across the middle of the field and Dylan Klumph will punt it away
* Kelley taken down for a loss of 5 to open the drive for UCLA; Felton runs it for 14 yards to get the Bruins close to the marker; DTR is incomplete on the next play and UCLA has to punt; it's another good one but Brown gets a nice return of 21 yards to get the Wildcats out to near midfield
* Rodriguez can't find Brown on the first play of the drive for UA; Taylor runs it for 4 yards to get something positive for the Arizona offense; Rodriguez again can't find Brown and the Wildcats will punt one more time; Dylan Klumph with a 30-yard punt and UCLA's next drive will begin at its own 24
* PJ Johnson tackles Kelley behind the line for a loss of one yard; A short pass out to Felton who gains 2 yards bringing up a longer third down and this has been a dangerous area for the Wildcats; On 3rd and 9 the Bruins get a 58-yard pass paly from DTR to Theo Howard to get down to the 17; Felton runs it for 7 yards; DTR tackled for a loss of 6 yards by Schooler who now has 1.5 tackles for loss; Finton Connolly sacks DTR on third down with a big play from the defense forcing a field goal try from JJ Molson and he will kick it after the break as the quarter comes to and end ...
SCORE UPDATE: UCLA 7 Arizona 0 - 1st QTR
2nd QTR
* ... Molson makes the 40-yard field goal try and UCLA extends its lead [SCORE UPDATE: UCLA 10 Arizona 0 - 14:56 2nd]
* Rodriguez hits Ellison for 4 yards to open the next Arizona drive; Gary Brightwell gets the carry and gains a few yards bringing up quick third down for the Wildcats; Rodriguez hits Thomas Reid III for 6 yards and a first down and then UCLA gets called for unnecessary roughness to move the Wildcats further down the field; Brightwell runs it for 4 yards on the next set of downs; A mistimed pass from Rodriguez as he's looking for Cedric Peterson goes out of bounds and it's another third down for the Wildcats; Brightwell goes for 3 yards bringing up a fourth down and UA will go for it; UA takes a timeout and decides to punt it and Klumph pins the Bruins inside the 5 with a good punt;
* Kelley with a nice run to open this drive but a holding is called on UCLA and the Bruins get pushed back again; Kelley rushes it for 2 yards but is stopped by Schooler; Schooler with a sack on DTR and the UCLA quarterback is injured on the play; Wilton Speight comes in and can't complete a pass to Felton and UCLA had to punt it away
* Taylor runs it 55 yards on the first play of the drive for the Wildcats but is caught by Darnay Holmes and the ball is popped out just feet from the end zone and UCLA gets a touchback
* A couple incompletions by Speight and a short Kelley run means another punt for UCLA and the Wildcats don't get stung by the turnover
* After a short run and personal foul on Tyler Manoa, Rodriguez goes down the field to Ellison for 38 yards and gets the Wildcats in the red zone; Brightwell runs it for 2 yards; Rodriguez runs it for no gain bringing up a 3rd down for the Wildcats; Rodriguez hits Poindexter on the fade route and Poindexter gets away with a little bit of a push but there is no flag and UA is on the board with the 13-yard pass play [SCORE UPDATE: UCLA 10 Arizona 7 - 6:38 2nd]
* Speight hits Kelley but Jake Burton is called for a block in the back and the play will come back; Kelley runs it for 2 yards on the next play; Speight hits Kelley for 13 yards bringing up a 3rd and short play; Kelley gets the first down with an 8-yard run and UCLA continues to move it down the field; Kelley runs it for 8 more on the next play; JB Brown brings down Kelley for a loss of 4 yards bringing up a 3rd down; Speight hits Felton for 12 yards and another UCLA first down; Tristan Cooper brings down Felton for a loss of 3 yards; Speight runs it for 7 yards bringing up another 3rd down; Speight tries to go out to Allen down the sideline and he has him open but the pass is a little too long and the Bruins will go for it; Speight has all kinds of time to throw as Nah Sulunga gets knocked down and the Wildcats can't get any pressure and he hits Caleb Wilson for 11 yards and a first down; Kelley runs it for 4 yards; Speight to Devin Asiasi and the lead gets extended for the Bruins [SCORE UPDATE: UCLA 17 Arizona 7 - 1:34 2nd]
* Rodriguez hits Taylor on a swing pass for 11 yards and a first down to start this drive; Rodriguez to Poindexter for 6 yards; Rodriguez looking for Devaughn Cooper and can't find him out to the left and it brings up a third down; Rodriguez can't find Tony Ellison going back to the left side and UA will have to punt it away with just over a minute to go in the half
* Speight hits Wilson for 6 yards to begin this drive for the Bruins; Schooler nearly has an interception but he just breaks up the pass out to Felton; Speight goes to Dymond Lee down the field and Azizi Hearn grabs him and gets called for the pass interference; Jalen Harris gets a sack on the next play forcing UCLA to take a timeout; Speight finds Wilson for 13 yards but he's short of the marker and UCLA takes another timeout with third down coming up; A false start on Jake Burton as the Bruins now have 10 penalties in the game now; Speight can't find Felton over the middle and UCLA will go for it; Speight hits Martell Irby but the tackle is made right at the marker and the refs will measure; the ball is short and U Awill get the ball back with six second left
* Rodriguez looks for Taylor but the pass falls incomplete and that is how the first half will end
HALFTIME SCORE: UCLA 17 Arizona 7
