ESPN analyst: Arizona Wildcats’ comeback win ‘spectacular,’ QB Solomon ‘legit’

ESPN college football analyst Mark May said the Arizona Wildcats’ amazing last-second 49-45 win over Cal on Saturday, along with the performance of its redshirt freshman quarterback, was an awesome sight to behold.

“I thought it was spectacular,” May told Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Tuesday. “When you can come back from that kind of deficit (31-13 in the fourth quarter) and win the game, you know how much that does for your confidence?”

In particular, May was impressed with QB Anu Solomon, who threw for 520 yards and five touchdowns — including a 47-yard Hail Mary TD in the final seconds — during Arizona’s win over the Golden Bears to move the Wildcats to 4-0.

In his first four career NCAA games, Solomon has 13 TD passes and just three interceptions, and he’s averaged 363.5 passing yards per contest. He’s also contributed 167 rushing yards on 39 carries.

“He’s legit,” May said. “Every time I’ve seen him play, he’s gotten better. The first time I saw him play (in a 58-13 win over UNLV), he threw for over 400 yards, and I’m like, ‘Wow, this kid’s something.’

“He’s big. He’s physical. He can run. He’s got all the tools. He’s got great pocket presence. He knows what to do. He’s more mature than his redshirt freshman year (would indicate).”

May said Solomon’s skill will also help the Wildcats in the recruiting department.

“If you’re a skill-position kid in high school right now, you’re seeing this kid and he’s got potentially three more years after this to throw me the ball. That’s going to help them in recruiting, big time,” he said.”

“They just have to make sure they keep him healthy, but he was very impressive so far this year. His numbers speak for themselves.”

While a miracle come-from-behind win at home against a team that went 1-11 last season may not look terribly impressive on paper, May said the Wildcats’ victory against an improved Cal team was notable.

“Cal’s a lot better this year than last year,” he said. “Look at the way they’ve played thus far this season. They’ve won every game until that game, and they should’ve won that game. But I give (credit) to Arizona for coming back.”