UCLA vs. Arizona: Key story lines as Bruins take on Wildcats

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel talks on his headset during a blowout loss to Arizona on Sept. 24, 2011, in Tucson, Ariz..

(Wily Low / Associated Press)

The most embarrassing part of UCLA’s 48-12 loss to Arizona in 2011 wasn’t the score. Six Bruins players were later suspended in the wake of a brawl that started shortly after a fan dressed as a referee ran onto the field after a play. The fake referee motioned for a real counterpart to throw him the football and when that failed, removed his clothes and ran across the field.

Neuheisel was fired a little more than a month later.

Dorrell suffered a similar fate in 2007 after a midseason road loss to Arizona. Stunningly, it wasn’t his biggest desert humiliation. That came in 2005, when his unbeaten team got flattened during a 52-14 loss to the team with the worst offense in the Pac-10. The headline in The Los Angeles Times the next day said it all: “Bruins in ruins.”

Mora’s team gave up 605 yards to the Wildcats in a 2017 defeat at Arizona Stadium, prompting UCLA linebacker Kenny Young to question his teammates’ commitment. Mora was out of a job before the end of the next month.