After 20 straight losses and an 0-8 start to the season, Arizona (1-8, 1-6 Pac-12) and coach Jedd Fisch finally were able to end the program's longest losing streak with a gritty 10-3 victory over Cal (3-6, 2-4) during homecoming weekend.
"Will Plummer was in and out of the locker room two or three times during this game and kept coming back and battling; there were times I didn't think he would be able to play the rest of this game. He was just so resilient and so tough. He did not back down. He is going to be sore and tired tomorrow, though. I know that. We'll have to evaluate how we practice this week.
"And our defense, I can't say enough about them. Don Brown and what he does with his defensive staff, I mean those guys just work and work. And they deserve this one; we gave the whole defense a game-ball," said Fisch after his first win as the Wildcats head coach.
Arizona, against a shorthanded Cal team, had its best defensive performance of the season Saturday by holding the Golden Bears to 122 total yards and forcing them to go 1 for 14 on third down in the game.
It started up front for Arizona's defense. The front seven not only held Cal to 28 rushing yards, but they were also able to get in the backfield and sack quarterback Ryan Glover four times.
That defense was led by Kyon Barrs, who missed last week's game due to injury. Against the Golden Bears, Barrs took his game to another level with five tackles and a career-high 2 1/2 sacks.
The defense was challenged to the final minutes of the game when it needed to come up with a stop with two minutes left to secure the win. On the final offensive play in the game for Cal, Arizona defensive end Jalen Harris applied pressure on Glover, forcing an incomplete pass to seal things for the Wildcats.
"I just wanted to make the play. I knew before I got out there that I was going to get the quarterback. They're were throwing the ball and I love to get the quarterback, so I was just ready to go. I was excited to be able to get a hit on him.
"You want to be able to hold people to a low amount of points and we wanted to hold them to zero. They ended up getting a field goal, but you definitely take pride in that," said Harris about the final play for the defense and the team's performance.
On the offensive side of the ball, Arizona, even with players rotating in and out along the offensive line, was able to run the ball for 202 yards on 52 rushes.
It was running back Michael Wiley who scored the go-ahead touchdown with a 10-yard rush to finish the game with 12 carries for 37 yards rushing.
Arizona was dealing with injuries the entire game, including Plummer, who was banged up with what appeared to be a shoulder injury in addition to a hand injury that required stitches. In all he made three trips to the locker room, however, he ultimately returned to the field and finished the game going 16 for 28, totaling 129 yards and showing his toughness with 11 carries for 68 yards.
"I've never had to leave a game like that or come back and forth, back and forth, but we got the win. So it's all it matters.
"It never crossed my mind about not being able to come back. I just had to go and get some things fixed up real quick, get a little medicine and get back out there. But that never crossed my mind about sitting out the rest of the game. I wanted to be out there with the guys and I wanted to get that win," said Plummer after battling through injuries throughout the game.
Arizona has officially ended its 20-game losing streak and now will have the opportunity to start a winning streak against Utah (6-3, 5-1) Nov. 13 with another 12 p.m. MST kickoff at home.
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