Wildcats stun No. 12 Bruins in Rose Bowl behind de Laura’s big night
Nov 13, 2022, 12:34 AM
Jayden de Laura #7 of the Arizona Wildcats celebrates a 31-28 win over the UCLA Bruins with fans at Rose Bowl on November 12, 2022 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Jayden de Laura accounted for three touchdowns and had his fifth 300-yard passing game of the season as Arizona upset No. 12 UCLA 34-28 Saturday night, snapping an eight-game road losing streak against ranked teams.
Michael Wiley ran for 97 yards and scored two touchdowns while Jacob Cowing caught nine passes for 118 yards.
Zach Charbonnet rushed for 181 yards and three touchdowns for the Bruins (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12), whose chances of making the Pac-12 title game took a big hit.
de Laura completed 22 of 28 for 315 yards and two TDs. He also ran in from 3-yards out during the second quarter to give the Wildcats (4-6, 2-5) a 21-14 halftime lead.
The sophomore is averaging 340.1 passing yards with 18 touchdowns and a 64.7% completion rate in his last seven games.
The Wildcats were in the lead most of the night but fell behind 28-24 with 10:22 remaining in the fourth quarter when Charbonnet had a 5-yard TD.
Arizona responded with an 8-play, 82-yard drive, capped by de Laura’s 17-yard pass to Tetairoa McMillan on fourth-and-4.
After UCLA turned the ball over on downs, Tyler Loop extended the lead to six with a 23-yard field goal with 1:07 remaining.
The Bruins drove down to the Arizona 29, but Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw three straight incomplete passes to give the Wildcats their first road win over a Top 10 team since they defeated No. 2 Oregon in 2014.
Thompson-Robinson was 26 of 40 for 245 yards and a touchdown.
Arizona took a 14-0 lead with 3:50 remaining in the first quarter on a pair of Wiley touchdowns.
The junior running back had a 10-yard run up the middle to open the scoring and then caught a 22-yard pass from de Laura to extend the Wildcats’ lead to two scores.
HIGHLIGHT REEL
UCLA tight end Hudson Habermehl’s strength and balance won out when he went 51 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 14 during the second quarter.
On first-and-10 from the UCLA 49, Habermehl caught the ball at the Arizona 30 and shed attempted tackles from Arizona defensive backs Christian Roland-Wallace and Jaxen Turner before going the rest of the way.
THE TAKEAWAY
Arizona: It was a satisfying win for coach Jedd Fisch, who was the Bruins’ offensive coordinator in 2017 and interim coach for the final two games after Jim Mora Jr. was fired.
UCLA: Besides a key loss to their conference title hopes, the Bruins had an eight-game home winning streak snapped.
UP NEXT
Arizona: Hosts Washington State next Saturday.
UCLA: Hosts USC next Saturday in the Crosstown Showdown.
