TWO WINS FOR THE BRUINS

Bruins and Wilton don’t wilt under pressure — UCLA comes back from two Second Half deficits behind backup QB Wilton Speight and RB Joshua Kelly to edge Arizona 31-30, giving the Bruins a 2-game winning streak

It wasn’t pretty.  It wasn’t easy.  But it’s a win, and it makes the Bruins 2-2 in the Conference, after an exciting see-saw 31-30 victory over Arizona.  The Wildcats came in without their star QB Khalil Tate, and therefore were 10-point Underdogs playing on the Bruins’ turf.  UCLA actually got out to an early 10-0 lead to equal that spread.  Soon thereafter, UCLA lost THEIR starting QB to an injury, and that could be seen as an equalizer.  UCLA had a 17-7 lead at the Half, but Arizona came on strong in the 3rd Quarter, taking the lead 20-17.

UCLA then had to rely on Back-up Quarterback Wilton Speight.  The 5th-year Senior graduate transfer from Michigan showed some rust, missing his targets on several easy throws, and losing a fumble in his own territory, but Speight came through when it mattered.  He ended up 17-27 for 204 yards with 2 TD tosses, and he made some solid plays in the topsy-turvy Second Half that moved the chains and kept the Bruins alive.  Of course, Speight was the beneficiary of the third straight 100-yard rushing game by Joshua Kelly, who gained 136 yards on the ground, including a game-winning 28-yard scamper in the 4th.

The Bruin Defense was tough in the First Half, giving up only 1 score, thanks to 2 Forced Turnovers deep in Bruin territory.  Quentin Lake Intercepted a ball in the end zone, and Darnay Holmes forced a fumble (and recovered it himself in the end zone) on a long Arizona run that would have been a Touchdown if not for Homes’ heroic play.  The Defense did not fare as well in the Second Half, giving up 23 points.  While the Bruin Offense amassed a season-best 460 yards, the Bruin D allowed 520 to the Cats.  The Bruins also had their first bad game in terms of penalties, committing 12 (twice as many as Arizona), for 103 yards.

So 12 penalties, 1 big turnover, missed tackles, allowing 289 yards rushing, and giving up 30 points, at Home, to a pretty bad team, is NOT a great sign, after a 37-7 Road win.  But it’s still a win, while missing your #1 QB for much of the game.  Before getting injured, Dorian Thompson- Robinson hit a wide open Kazmeir Allen for a TD pass, and then Speight found Devin Asiasi for a 24-yard TD strike.  Speight’s other TD pass went for 25 yards, to Demetric Felton,  the Wide Receiver finding redemption after failing to bring in two catch-able deep passes earlier in the game.

This game could have gone either way, which does not create optimism as Utah heads to Pasadena for a Friday Night battle.  The Utes just destroyed u$c 41-28, scoring 34 straight on the trojans.  Utah is favored to beat the Bruins by 10, so it will be a true test to see if UCLA can be competitive this year, or whether fans will have to wait until next year to be a factor in the division.

Here are 63 more photos from the game (and pregame Cheer festivities).