Quarterbacks: C-. It was a weird night all around, but particularly here. Anu Solomon rushed for 13 yards and passed for 46 yards and a touchdown on his first drive. Then, Arizona botched a snap and it all went downhill. Solomon was 4-for-10 with 55 yards by the time he left in the first half with an apparent head injury. Jerrard Randall was his usual productive self running the ball — 16 carries, 128 yards, 1 TD — but wasn’t very good passing the ball, missing badly on more than a few throws and throwing 12 incompletions on 16 passes. It’s unclear if Solomon will play Saturday.
Running backs: A-. Another day, another productive night for Nick Wilson. For all that went wrong for Arizona, Wilson was on the money, gaining 136 yards on 24 carries. Backup Jared Baker was solid, although he got most of his 58 yards in garbage time.
Receivers: D+. It was a rough night for the wideouts. UCLA’s corners jammed them routinely at the line of scrimmage, and all in all struggled to get open. A banged up Samajie Grant didn’t record a catch, and Cayleb Jones led with 44 yards on four receptions. Nate Phillips (2 catches for 37 yards) was the only other receiver with more than one catch.
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Offensive line: C+. The O-line only allowed one sack and generally kept the pressure away from the QB, although there were six tackles for loss. Randall and Wilson often create their own pathes in running the ball, but the offensive line was solid regardless in the run game. Freddie Tagaloa, supposed to be a top-tier offensive lineman for Arizona, was shuffled in and out of the line-up for back-up Layth Friekh. It’s unclear if that was injury related or a coach's decision. Center Camyan Bundage had a rough night, with at least two bad snaps, one producing a costly fumble early in the game.
Defense
Front six: C-. Tackling was a major issue, and Scooby Wright in his first game back was still shaking off some rust. Bonus points for getting two sacks on an offensive line that hadn’t allowed a single sack coming in, along with six tackles for loss. Jake Matthews started for DeAndre' Miller and only had one tackle.
Back five: C-. Again, the inexperienced corners struggled, this time with the most talented receiving corps the Wildcats have faced so far this season. Jordan Payton (7 catches, 136 yards, 1 TD) feasted on DaVonte’ Neal. In the second half, UCLA only had 72 passing yards in the second half, but by then the game was already so lopsided that it didn’t really matter. Will Parks — expected to be Arizona’s leading playmaker this season not named Scooby Wright — led the team with seven tackles, but is still yet to record an interception or fumble recovery this season.
Special teams: D. It was a bad night for this unit. Casey Skowron missed a 29-yard field goal and badly whiffed on one PAT, although he did nail a 44-yarder. Devin Fuller returned two kicks for 62 yards (one for 46 yards) and three punts for 36 yards, 29 of that coming on one return. The Wildcats didn’t have a single kick or punt return.
— Zack Rosenblatt
