Tucson, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Myles Jack played both ways Saturday at Arizona Stadium, and UCLA's true freshman linebacker was simply sensational.
Jack, forced to play offense due to several injuries in the backfield, carried the ball six times and gained an eye-popping 120 yards, 66 coming on what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the 16th-ranked Bruins' 31-26 victory over the Arizona Wildcats in a Pac-12 clash.
"I thought they were joking about it the whole year," Jack said of playing offense. "They finally just threw me back there and I just followed my blockers and everything worked out."
Jack's iron-man effort, coupled with Brett Hundley's three total touchdowns, gave UCLA (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12) its second straight win and the ability to control its own fate in the South Division.
"We tried to recruit him as a running back. He's really good. We didn't tackle him," Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez said.
Hundley threw two TD passes to Shaquelle Evans and finished with 227 yards through the air and 56 yards and a score on the ground.
B.J. Denker also tossed a pair TD passes to Nate Phillips but was intercepted on Arizona's final drive. Denker completed 20-of-33 passes for 186 yards, while Ka'Deem Carey ran for 149 yards and a TD for the Wildcats (6-3, 3-3), winners of three straight coming in.
In addition to his terrific offensive performance, Jack totaled eight tackles and was in the right place midway through the third quarter when he recovered a Carey fumble in the end zone after the running back was flipped and had the ball knocked out just before the goal line.
Arizona recovered a Damien Thigpen fumble deep in UCLA territory later in the third and pulled within 24-13 on Jake Smith's 27-yard field goal.
It became a one-possession game after Denker found Phillips for a 15-yard touchdown 3:14 into the fourth, but on 3rd-and-1 on the ensuing drive, Jack took a handoff off right tackle, busted it outside, broke several tackles and outran everyone else for a back-breaking score.
Denker and Phillips hooked up again for a 14-yard TD with 8:02 to go, but that's as close as the Wildcats got. They went three-and-out on their next drive and Ishmael Adams' interception of Denker with 1:57 remaining sealed UCLA's first win in Tucson since 2003.
Smith put Arizona on the board with a 44-yard field goal, but UCLA's first snap saw Evans streak down the right sideline for a 66-yard touchdown off a play-action pass from Hundley.
Hundley showed off his legs later in the opening quarter as he danced his way through the defense en route to a 15-yard TD to cap a 12-play, 84-yard drive.
The Bruins' failed fake punt at their own 25-yard line gave Arizona great field position early in the second quarter, and Carey ran for a 4-yard score to get the Wildcats within 14-10.
UCLA scored just before halftime as Evans caught a tipped ball in the right corner of the end zone on 3rd-and-goal from the 4, and Ka'imi Fairbairn made it a 14-point game with a 34-yard field goal early in the third quarter.
Game Notes
Arizona suffered its first home loss ... UCLA is unbeaten against Pac-12 South foes under Jim Mora (8-0) ... Carey has 12 straight 100-yard rushing games ... Evans and Phillips each had 97 receiving yards ... UCLA converted half of its 18 third-down tries, while Arizona was 5-of-14 on third downs and 0-for-2 on fourth.
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