Arizona 42 UTSA 32

Arizona Wildcats Football


"We have a lot of work to do," said coach Rich Rodriguez, following the Wildcats 42-32 victory over UTSA tonight at Arizona Stadium.

But a win is a win and the victory was seven points better than last year when the Wildcats won by three in the Alamodome over the Roadrunners.

Tonight, quarterback Anu Solomon wasn't exactly sharp with his passes, but he did manage to throw four touchdowns passes for 229 yards and also rushed for 35 yards. Solomon's main target: Johnny Jackson. A surprise starter tonight, Jackson caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Nick Wilson rambled for 97 yards on 22 carries, but did not score. The two remaining scores came on defensive plays by Anthony Lopez, who intercepted a pass and ran in for a score from 23 yards out at the beginning of the first quarter, and from Jamar Allah, who picked up a fumble and ran it from 22 yards out midway through the third quarter.

The Wildcats had a couple of things go wrong from the start. Three players --receiver Samajie Grant, safety Tellas Jones and defensive lineman Anthony Fotu -- were suspended prior to the game for violation of team rules and Scooby Wright went down with a knee injury in the first quarter and spent the rest of the game on the sideline.

Arizona fans will have to wait until tomorrow to find out the plight of Grant, Jones, Fotu and Wright. Not a great way to start off a season.

Up next for the No. 22 Wildcats: Nevada on Sept. 12 in Reno.