WILDCAT BLOG: Wildcats win ugly

Updated 6:45 p.m. -- That was about as uneventful of a fourth quarter as you're likely to see. Outside of one extended UCLA drive, not much happened as the Wildcats held on for a 27-13 win.

Even though UA turned the ball over five times, UCLA was unable to do anything on offense. The Cats stuffed the Bruins on two different fourth-down plays down the stretch and successfully ran out the clock when they took over for the last time with 4:34 remaining.

The Wildcats dominated the game on every level, but those miscues will definitely prove costly against a team with a competent offense. UCLA went through three different QBs (Kevin Prince, Kevin Craft and Richard Brehaut) trying to find a rhythm, but nothing seemed to work.

This had all the makings of a trap game for the Wildcats, but good teams find ways to win ugly. UA is off next week, with Washington State coming to town on Nov. 7 for homecoming.

Check back in a few minutes, when I'll have my game recap posted. Thanks for reading!

Updated 6:20 p.m. -- Those last two possessions were practically mirror images. First, UCLA gets a great kick return and sets up for a field goal, but misses. Next, Arizona gets a couple of big plays from Keola Antolin, but Alex Zendejas misses his field goal attempt. It's still 27-13 UA, with 11:36 remaining.

Kai Forbath lined up for another 52-yarder, but like a golfer trying to hit the ball too hard, he took a big divot and shanked it, leaving it well short. Zendejas' kick had plenty of leg on his 39-yard try, but it drifted wide to the right. Does he have any confidence left at all?

Updated 6:05 p.m. -- Arizona needed that in the worst way. With Greg Nwoko and Nic Grigsby both tweaking injuries this quarter, Keola Antolin kept the ground game going, with Nick Booth tallying his first career TD -- a tough six-yard run off right tackle to put Arizona ahead 27-13 with 0:34 left in the third quarter.

Arizona desperately needed a solid, sustained offensive possession. This drive lasted 10 plays and 4:38, covering 63 yards. Terrell Turner had a big drive, gaining more than half of those yards.

The statistical descrepancies are alarming. Arizona has 23 first downs, compared to six for UCLA. The Cats have 379 total yards, UCLA has 135. UA has held the ball for eight more minutes. Yet it's only a two-possession ballgame with the fourth quarter still remaining.

Updated 5:55 p.m. -- Mike Stoops has every right to be furious on the sideline right now. Akeem Ayers nearly picked off Nick Foles (yet again), but the officials somehow ruled that pass a lateral. Even worse, the call was allowed to stand, despite many replays showing that the ball did, in fact go forward. To its credit, UCLA didn't quit on the play and scored on the 40 yard "fumble" return. Arizona 20, UCLA 13.

Make no mistake -- UCLA shouldn't be anywhere near striking distance in this one. But anytime you committ five turnovers, you're going to have a tough time winning against anybody.

Foles was looking for Terrell Turner on that quick out that has worked so well today, but Ayers jumped the route -- much like he did on Matt Scott's only pass attempt.

Arizona needs a time-consuming drive in the worst way. The Wildcats are totally out of sorts right now.

Updated 5:45 p.m. -- Arizona reclaims momentum. After an ugly start to the third quarter, the Cats took advantage of another UCLA miscue (Christian Ramirez's fumble at the 48, recovered by Devin Ross), leading to Juron Criner's 25-yard touchdown run. Arizona 20, UCLA 6.

Criner has quietly had the best game of anyone on the field, leading all players in rushing (39 yards) and receiving (77 yards). He's been deadly after the catch/rush, making people miss almost every time he gets his hands on the ball.

UCLA has benched the freshman Kevin Prince in favor of embattled veteran Kevin Craft. He had a little more success moving the ball before Ramirez's fumble.

One final tidbit -- Matt Scott made a quick cameo appearance at the 12-minute mark. He looked to throw a short quick out, but Akeem Ayers almost picked it off. It didn't take long before he went back to the bench.

Updated 5:25 p.m. -- Well, that's not the way UA wanted to start. On the first play of the second half, Greg Nwoko dropped the handoff from Nick Foles, giving UCLA the ball on the 17. But UCLA's offense was unable to do anything, leading to another Kai Forbath field goal. Arizon 13, UCLA 6.

If UCLA was even half-decent on offense, the Bruins would probably have the lead. Arizona has shot itself in the foot four times today. This is a game the Cats should be leading by at least three touchdowns, but they're only up seven. Weird stuff happens when you let a team hang around. Remember the Washington game?

Updated 5 p.m. -- The nation's most accurate passer is having a day to forget. Even though Nick Foles is 14-20 for 157 yards and one TD, he's thrown three picks, his latest coming just 30 seconds before the half. Arizona still leads 13-3 at the half.

The Cats were putting together yet another strong drive when Foles' arm was hit from behind. He didn't see the pressure, and the ball popped up into no-man's-land. Big UCLA defensive tackle Jerzy Siewierski was in the right spot for the INT. Foles came into today's game with only two picks charged to his name. He's topped that in less than a half.

The Bruins did nothing with the turnover, running three useless plays before punting.

Even with Foles' three picks, Arizona is completely dominating this game. The Cats have 260 yards of total offense, compared to 97 for UCLA. UA has 103 yards on the ground -- many of them coming on those effective stretch plays from the wideout spots.

If UA can cut out these turnovers, this game should be a rout. UCLA has yet to show that it can sustain a drive. However, this should be a 28-0 game and it's only 13-3. Missed opportunities ALWAYS come back to haunt a team. It'll be interesting to see how UA opens the second half, as it'll be starting with the ball.

Updated 4:35 p.m. -- UCLA capitalized (somewhat) on Rahim Moore's second pick, with kicker Kai Forbath (coming to an NFL roster near you soon) booming home a 52-yard field goal (with at least 15 yards to spare) to put the Bruins on the board. Arizona 13, UCLA 3.

Arizona should be ahead by three touchdowns, but red zone errors are always costly. The big play on that drive came when Kevin Prince found tight end Ryan Moya running all alone for a 22-yard gain.

The drive stalled, however, when UCLA couldn't get out of its own way. What started as a third-and-2 turned into a third-and-7 (false start), then to a fourth-and-long after Sterling Lewis planted Prince on a blitz -- one of the hardest hits of the season.

But Forbath converted that 52-yard FG try with no problems. One member of the press box said, "So that's what it looks like to have a kicker." It was a heck of a boot.

Updated 4:20 p.m. -- With Arizona well on its way toward a third touchdown, Rahim Moore picked off Foles for a second time near the goal line. Arizona still leads 13-0, but momentum is on UCLA's side.

The first interception was Douglas' fault. The blame for this one falls squarely on Foles. It was third and 9 at the UCLA 11, and Foles tried to squeeze it into Terrell Turner, but just missed him. The pass appeared to be intended for Moore, actually, and he took it back 38 yards to give UCLA solid field position as it tries to get something (anything) going on offense.

Updated 4:10 p.m. -- Arizona forces a UCLA fumble on its first play from scrimmage and scores three plays later on a Nic Grigsby 6-yard jaunt. Alex Zendejas' PAT gets blocked, however. Cats still lead 13-0 with 3:19 left in the first quarter.

UCLA's Kevin Price was levelled by defensive tackle Earl Mitchell, who is just overpowering UCLA's interior linemen. Cam Nelson came on another safety blitz to cause the fumble, which was recovered by Vuna Tuihalamaka.

UA wasted no time getting into the end zone, with Juron Criner's 14-yard end around (Arizona is having a lot of success with these WR stretch plays) setting up Grigsby's short TD run. Grigsby even slowed up near the goal line in order to lower his shoulder into a UCLA defender -- not a smart move, if you ask me.

But Zendejas' PAT try was way too low for it to have any chance of success. His confidence is awfully shaky right now, especially with John Bonano out-kicking him on kickoffs. At some point, UA is going to need him to convert a long field goal to win a game. Will Zendejas be up for it?

Updated 4 p.m. -- Nick Foles bounces back from that unlucky interception to hit Juron Criner on a beautiful 41-yard bomb (set up nicely by an excellent play-fake) to put Arizona ahead 7-0 with 4:39 left in the opening quarter.

Foles faked handing it to Grigsby, which froze the defense in its tracks. UCLA failed to generate any sort of pressure up front, giving Foles all afternoon to spot Criner sprinting open on a post route. Foles delivered the ball on stride for the game's first score.

Early on, it appears as if Arizona is simply too physical up front for UCLA. In addition, the Bruins' offense has been awfully inept in the early going.

Updated 3:50 p.m. -- Just as Arizona was putting together an excellent drive into the UCLA red zone, Nick Foles' pass to David Douglas bounced off the wideout's hands and into the grasp of the nation's interception leader, Rahim Moore. UCLA takes over on its own 10, no score.

The Cats were moving the ball with ease, thanks to an assortment of Grigsby runs, end arounds (Delashaun Dean's was particularly open), and short passes, but Douglas (running all alone in the middle of the field) blew it.

Foles threw it a little high, but the ball hit the wideout on the hands. It appeared as if Douglas was worried about taking a big shot over the middle, so he short-armed it. Moore (now with six INTs on the year) was right there waiting for it.

There needs to be a stat that shows which INTs are the QB's fault and which should be blamed on the WR. That one is on Douglas.

Updated 3:30 p.m. -- We're moments away from kickoff at Arizona Stadium. The Arizona Wildcats (4-2, 2-1) host the UCLA Bruins (3-3, 0-3) in their second game of this three-game homestand.

The weather conditions are immaculate, or, the complete opposite of what they're seeing at the New Yankee Stadium tonight. The Wildcats should win this one, but if UA comes out flat, this game could have "trap game" written all over it. UCLA might be in the midst of a three-game losing streak, but the Bruins still have plenty of athletes -- including standout safety Rahim Moore.

Vegas has the Wildcats favored by eight. If Nic Grigsby (still dealing with a lingering shoulder injury) can get going early and provide some balance to the Nick Foles air show, look for UA to cover that spread.