UCLA Football Falls to Arizona in Shocking Upset at the Rose Bowl
Even after all the mistakes, the Bruins still had a chance to win it.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson dropped back to pass four times deep in Wildcat territory, down six and needing a touchdown to win. As had been the case for most of Saturday night's contest, the blue and gold could not execute, and their conference and national title hopes took another major hit as a result.
No. 12 UCLA football (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12) fell to Arizona (4-6, 2-5 Pac-12) at the Rose Bowl, setting them back in the Pac-12 standings and slightly diminishing the stakes of next week’s showdown against crosstown rival USC. The Bruins had opportunities all night, but every time they appeared to get back into it, they committed major mistakes on both sides of the ball to cough it away once again.
After trailing 14-0 early, UCLA tied it up in a matter of minutes. The Bruins didn’t score for the first of the first half, however, and their defense continued to give up long, draining drives.
Running back Zach Charbonnet, who led UCLA with 219 total yards and three touchdowns, gave his team the lead with just over 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Instead of holding on to win, the defense let Arizona go right back ahead while the offense failed a fourth down conversion their next time out.
While it was an uncharacteristic performance in the context of the 2022 season, it was just more of the same for fans who have been around for the past few decades.
UCLA started 8-0 in 2005, only to get blown out by Arizona 52-14. Their once-promising seasons in 1998 and 2014 ultimately fell apart as well, making Saturday’s collapse just the latest season-crushing breakdown for the program in the modern era.
The 2022 season felt different, thanks in large part to Charbonnet and Thompson-Robinson’s star-power and gaudy statistics. Thompson-Robinson put up decent numbers himself Saturday, completing 67% of his passes for 245 yards and no picks.
Still, neither Charbonnet or Thompson-Robinson were able to carry their team to a win against Arizona, and the misfortunes started hitting from the very beginning.
The Bruins came into Saturday averaging fewer punts per game than any other team in the country. They exceeded their season average in a matter of minutes, punting it away on their first two possessions of the night.
That helped the Wildcats run out to a quick 14-0 lead, in addition to UCLA’s inability to get stops on the other end. Missed tackles, poor angles and big cushions continued to cost them, and Arizona moved the ball at will for basically the entire first half.
A methodical drive that took 12 plays to go 73 yards finally got the Bruins on the board – capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by Charbonnet – and they came right back with a 51-yard touchdown pass to tight end Hudson Habermehl that tied it up midway through the second quarter.
Arizona answered by bleeding over six minutes of game time on a 10-play, 75-yard drive, resuming their dominance over UCLA’s defense.
The Bruins got the ball back with just over two minutes until halftime, and after marching well into Wildcat territory, the drive stalled out with a few negative runs, penalties and a fumble by Thompson-Robinson. UCLA looked like it would make up for those lost points coming out of the locker room, only to have yet another drive fizzle out and get their field goal blocked by former Bruin defensive lineman Tia Savea.
Arizona punted on its next drive thanks to a pass rush that started to finally throw quarterback Jayden de Laura off his rhythm. UCLA made the most of the change-of-possession, marching down the field and converting a key fourth down before Charbonnet punched it in for his second 1-yard touchdown of the night.
The Bruins’ defense reverted right back to its porous ways, though, and the Wildcats were able to pick up 30 yards on 4th-and-3 when linebacker Darius Muasau matched up with No. 1 receiver Jacob Cowing. A sack from edge rusher Grayson Murphy prevented Arizona from finding the end zone again, but they still hit a 35-yard field goal to retake the lead.
Charbonnet strung together a few more runs – including a 5-yard touchdown – to actually giving UCLA its first lead of the night with 10:22 to go. The defense appeared to hold strong on the other end, too, potentially preserving that lead for more than one possession when they got a sack on second down and a stop on third.
De Laura converted on fourth down, however, delivering a 17-yard strike into the end zone that virtually erased Charbonnet's touchdown.
UCLA went for 4 yards in four players before turning the ball over on downs the next time they got the ball, and Arizona hit a field goal with 1:07 remaining to make it a 34-28 game.
Thompson-Robinson got a few big completions and was aided by a pass interference call to get the Bruins down to the Wildcats' 29. His next four throws all fell incomplete, including the one on fourth down with time expiring when he was forced to throw on the run to a diving Jake Bobo in the back of the end zone.
Bobo had it for a moment, but lost control when he landed out of bounds.
This wasn't any ordinary upset win, either, considering the Wildcats were 2-26 in their last 28 games versus Power Five opponents entering the game. Arizona came out firing on all cylinders, though, and they were able to beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2018 in the process.
With the loss, UCLA will now need to win out and hope Oregon beats Utah next week in order to earn a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Their next game is against crosstown rival USC, with that game set to kick off at 5 p.m. on Nov. 19.
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