As Arizona looked for its first win in over a year, the Wildcats nearly pulled off a major upset in their 2020 season opener Saturday.

UA held lead over No. 20 USC with just 1:35 left to play in the fourth quarter, but the Trojans found a way to squeeze out another late victory for the second week in a row.

USC running back Vavae Malepeai scored on an 8-yard rushing play to cap a 75-yard drive that took only 1:10 sealing a victory for the Trojans and spoiling Arizona's first game of the season.

UA's defense had some injuries in the secondary late in Saturday's game that allowed USC to connect on three pass plays of at least 14 yards on the final scoring drive setting up Malepeai's touchdown.

The Trojans (2-0) appeared to be just a little too much to handle in the end, but the Wildcats were able to come away feeling positive about how the team played for most of the day.

"Athletically we're better," UA head coach Kevin Sumlin said. "I thought our guys gave effort. We gotta be smarter in some situations to get over the hump, because ultimately in those kind of close games it comes down to making plays and doing your job. We had a couple breakdowns in that area, but that could be fixed."

Defensively, Arizona (0-1) was a bit of an enigma coming into Saturday's game with new coordinator Paul Rhoads guiding a group that lost its three most productive players in the offseason. That has led to a lack of depth and experience at several positions, but overall the group looked improved Saturday.

“In the first half, I thought we did a good job," Sumlin said of the Arizona defense. "We only had three penalties in the first half, but they were three third-down penalties. One questionable call and then some others that gave them first downs to keep some drives alive. But the rotation upfront I thought has improved, particularly in our run defense.

"... Overall we're better. One thing I would say is we didn't force a turnover today. That's credit to USC as well. So, we have some things that we can build off of."

Arizona quarterback Grant Gunnell, once settled down after an interception on the first drive of the game, showed no hesitation to tuck the ball and run it when needed. Gunnell did his part to keep the offense moving throughout the day racking up 40 yards on ground and 286 through the air. He also ended up with three touchdown passes in his 2020 debut.

Still, not being able to finish off what would have been the biggest win of his career left a sour taste for the sophomore despite being encouraged by what he saw Saturday.

"We're optimistic and we're driven right now," he said. "That's a close game with the 20th-ranked team in the nation in our first game of the year. Defense looked great. Everyone on the offensive side of the ball looked great. ... We want to be great. We want to win games here.

"We're not settling for losing ever. We're tired of losing, and we are gonna bring some wins."

Gary Brightwell, another key player for the Wildcats, showed his experience and boosted the offense with an average 5.3 yards per carry. The senior ended his first game as the team's starting running back with 112 rushing yards on 21 carries to go with three catches for 20 yards.

"I think he played great," sophomore running back Michael Wiley said of his teammate. "There's things that he did really good on. There was a drive where it was pretty much him for the most part. I think he did wonderful this game."

In the first half the Wildcats held the edge in both rushing and passing yards, but costly penalties and missed opportunities held them back as they found themselves down 17-10 as headed into halftime.

As the second half got underway, Gunnell found receiver Tayvian Cunningham for a 75-yard touchdown to tie the game 20-20 answering a USC field goal in one play. Despite lacking depth, Arizona’s defense continued to help keep the team in the game with one of the highlight plays coming on fourth down late in the third quarter.

Redshirt junior linebacker Rourke Freeburg, who made his first career start Saturday, came up with a tackle for loss as he stopped USC running back Markese Stepp in the backfield at the Arizona 4-yard line.

"I take a lot of pride in being a walk-on that's starting on this defense," Freeburg said after the game.

He finished the loss with five tackles and tied two others for the game high with two tackles for loss.

Arizona will return to action next Saturday night when the team travels to Seattle to face Washington.

****

> DISCUSS the article with other Arizona fans as the Wildcats continue Building The Tradition

> WATCH the latest videos from GOAZCATS.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel

> FOLLOW us on Twitter (@goazcatscom, @MattGOAZCATS)

> FOLLOW us on Instagram (@goazcats)

> LIKE us on Facebook

> SUBSCRIBE for all the latest Arizona Wildcats team and recruiting news (subscribe now)