Noah Fifita leads Arizona past UCLA, 27-10, clinching a bowl appearance

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Noah Fifita leads Arizona past UCLA, 27-10, clinching a bowl appearance

Noah Fifita threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns, and Arizona knocked off No. 20 UCLA 27-10 on Saturday night to give the Wildcats victories over ranked opponents in three consecutive games for the first time in program history.

Coming off wins over then-No. 19 Washington State and No. 16 Oregon State, the Wildcats (6-3, 4-2 Pac-12) picked apart one of the nation's top defenses to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2017 - two years after going 1-11 in coach Jedd Fisch's first season.

Arizona ran for 129 yards against the FBS' best run defense and Fifita was sharp in his fifth straight start. He connected with Tetairoa McMillan on a 12-yard touchdown pass - originally ruled incomplete - early in the fourth quarter and hit 25 of 32 passes.

The Bruins (6-3, 3-3 Pac-12), one of the nation's most aggressive pass-rushing teams, had a hard time putting pressure on Fifita and couldn't get out of their own way on offense.

UCLA missed two field goals - a recurring problem this season - and turned the ball over on downs after recovering a blocked punt at Arizona's 31 in the fourth quarter.

The Bruins got off to a sluggish start last week against Colorado, turning it over four times in the first half before rallying for a 28-16 win.

UCLA was slow out of the gate again in the desert.

The Bruins had a holding call negate a first down deep in Arizona's end on its opening drive and Blake Glessner missed a 41-yard field goal. A fumble and a sack on another drive forced the Bruins to settle for a field goal and Arizona blocked Glessner's kick - UCLA's fifth straight miss over three games.

The Bruins finally found an offensive rhythm late in the half, quickly moving 75 yards for Ethan Garbers' 17-yard touchdown pass to Carsen Ryan with three seconds left.

Fifita picked apart the Bruins in the first half with quick-hitting passes to set up a pair of scores. He threw two 9-yard TD passes, to Montana Lemonius-Craig and Jacob Cowing, to put the Wildcats up 14-7 at halftime.

BIG PICTURE

UCLA: The Bruins managed to overcome a slow start last week against Colorado. UCLA couldn't do it against Arizona in a loss that will likely drop the Bruins out of the AP Top 25.

Arizona: The Wildcats played one of the most difficult stretches of any team in the country, facing five straight ranked opponents. Arizona went 3-2 in that stretch, its two losses coming by a combined nine points. The Wildcats could be ranked in next week's poll for the first time since reaching No. 23 in 2017.

UP NEXT

Arizona: Plays at Colorado next Saturday.

Box score


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