UA hangs tough, can’t complete upset bid
After Arizona finally broke its losing streak last week, the prevailing thought among fans and media was that only one other game mattered this season: the finale against Arizona State.
The Wildcats entertained other thoughts. They envisioned winning out and generating momentum heading into 2022.
No one gave them much of a chance to defeat first-place Utah on Saturday. Yet there the Cats were, trailing the Utes by only two points in the fourth quarter.
Arizona’s valiant effort came up just short. The UA lost to Utah 38-29 in front of an announced crowd of 32,008 at Arizona Stadium.
The Wildcats fell to 1-9, 1-6 in the Pac-12. They visit Washington State next Friday.
The Utes — who were favored by 24 points — won their third in a row, improving to 7-3, 6-1. They host No. 3 Oregon next Saturday in a likely preview of the Pac-12 Championship Game.
After trimming the deficit to 31-29 with 10:34 left in the fourth quarter, Arizona couldn’t get Utah off the field. The Utes pieced together a 15-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that lasted more than eight minutes. TJ Pledger’s 2-yard touchdown run with 2:10 remaining put the game away.
Will Plummer started at quarterback for Arizona despite an injured throwing shoulder. He passed for 219 yards and accounted for two touchdowns. Counterpart Cameron Rising passed for 294 yards and accounted for three TDs.
Down 21-17 at halftime, Arizona got the ball to start the third quarter and drove inside the Utah 10-yard line.
There, a familiar bugaboo resurfaced — struggles in the red zone. The Wildcats faced second-and-goal from the 9. A swing pass to Jalen John lost 4 yards. A third-down incomplete pass led to Tyler Loop’s 31-yard field goal, which made it 21-20 with 11:33 left in the third quarter.
Arizona held Utah to a field goal on the next possession. Kenny Hebert and Jerry Roberts teamed up for a 2-yard tackle for loss on third-and-2 from the UA 10. Jadon Redding’s 30-yarder bumped Utah’s lead to 24-20.
A three-and-out put Arizona’s defense back on the field on a warm, sunny afternoon. Utah needed only six plays to go 76 yards for a touchdown. Dalton Kincaid beat Jaydin Young in the right corner of the end zone. The 17-yard TD made it 31-20 with 2:57 left in the third
quarter.
The Wildcats wouldn’t wilt. They responded with another field goal (on another trip inside the red zone) to make it 31-23 with 11:31 remaining.
After stopping Utah on the next possession, Arizona blocked a punt for the second time this season. It was the same combination of players as the first time — Nazar Bombata made the block, and Rhedi Short recovered the ball. Only this time, Short scooped and scored.
His 3-yard touchdown return trimmed the deficit to two points. Jedd Fisch went for a 2-point conversion to try to tie it up. He called a double reverse to Michael Wiley. It was stopped for a loss, leaving the score at 31-29.
It took almost 58 minutes of game time for either side to score a touchdown in the Arizona-Cal game last week. This one featured offensive fireworks from the get-go.
Utah took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in nine plays for the game’s first touchdown. The key play: a blitz-beating 27-yard pass from Rising to Micah Bernard on third-and-5 from the UA 43. The final play: an 11-yard run by Rising inside the right pylon.
Arizona answered on the next possession — and capped the drive in a most unexpected manner.
On fourth-and-5 at the Utah 43, the Wildcats lined up in an empty formation. The Utes blitzed and got almost immediate pressure. Plummer eluded the rush and dashed through the Utah secondary for a 43-yard touchdown. It was the longest TD run by a Wildcat since Khalil Tate’s 84-yard score against Texas Tech on Sept. 14, 2019.
After a three-and-out, Arizona took the lead. A 14-yard keeper by Jamarye Joiner set up Plummer’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Michael Wiley, putting the Wildcats up 14-7 with 1:41 left in the first quarter.
It didn’t take long for Utah to tie the score. The Utes went 75 yards in less than two minutes. TJ Pledger’s 14-yard run on the first play of the second quarter knotted the score at 14-all.
It remained that way until the waning moments of the half. Arizona reclaimed the lead on a 57-yard field goal by Lucas Havrisik, who tied his own school record (and had plenty of room to spare).
Utah had 1:24 left before halftime and took full advantage. A 29-yard pass from Rising to Brant Kuithe set up a 2yard scoring toss from Rising to Kuithe with two seconds left on the clock, giving Utah a 21-17 advantage.