Be more like JJ could turn into a type of mantra for Arizona over the last three games of the regular season. The Wildcats need two more wins to become bowl eligible with two of those remaining contests coming on the road and two of them coming against the team teams at the top of the two Pac-12 Divisions, Utah and Oregon.

It will be no small task, but as head coach Kevin Sumlin said after last weekend's loss to Oregon State the only option his team has is to continue working. There was no better example of that than what veteran running back JJ Taylor showed at the end of the loss to the Beavers.

With the game clearly headed for an Oregon State victory, the redshirt junior continued to give maximum effort delivering hits on running plays and fighting for extra yards when given the opportunity.

It was impressive to see and it came down to one simple thing for the UA running back.

"Your mindset is to never give up, I don't care what the score is," he said. "If we're up by 50, down by 50 or it's a tie game it doesn't matter. You gotta play, you gotta have love for the game and give it all you got."

Taylor finished his day as both the leader in rushing yards and receiving yards for UA with 78 yards on the ground and seven catches for 89 receiving yards to go with two touchdowns. It was an impressive day, but it ended with a 56-38 loss leaving a sour taste for the veteran running back.

"We just need to pick it up and stay together as a team," he said. "When stuff like this happens, a lot of people like to point fingers but we can't do that."

Taylor's passion for the game has never been questioned and the Wildcats miss that when he's not able to be on the field. He had to miss time earlier this season to let a leg injury heal and what he showed Saturday is an example of something his head coach can use to show his other players what is necessary to turn the season around.

"He plays like that all the time regardless of score, regardless of situation," Sumlin said. "That's who he is. You want to have 100 of those guys on your team, but he's a leader by example. Doesn't say much but he's extremely effective and, yes, you can point to that as 'here's how you would like for everybody to play.'"

The Wildcats have been dealing with a number of injuries up front along the offensive line that only continued during the loss to Oregon State making Taylor's performance in the game even more important.

"His effort was phenomenal tonight," Sumlin said after the loss. "He's a leader by example. He ran hard, he made guys miss, he caught balls. ... With the issues we're having health-wise with our offensive line I thought his performance was outstanding."

As the Wildcats move forward the team will need to show the same type of determination that Taylor showed last week against the Beavers. The road only becomes more difficult from there, but the season is not over yet and that is the only opening someone like Taylor needs to see.

UA has the weekend off and will return to action next week when it prepares to face Oregon on the road.