UCLA vs. Arizona: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

In their first major test of the 2015 college football season, the UCLA Bruins put on an offensive clinic with a 56-30 win over the Pac-12 rival Arizona Wildcats.

The Bruins scored 42 points in the first half, with freshman quarterback sensation Josh Rosen going 13-of-17 for 212 yards and two touchdowns in the opening 30 minutes. He ended the game 19-of-28 with 284 yards and the two touchdown passes.

As Adam Gorney of Yahoo Sports noted, this was one step in Rosen's maturation process as a young player:

Any time a freshman is starting at quarterback, it's notable. There's often a stigma associated with throwing a young player into such a prominent position, so credit UCLA head coach Jim Mora for going with the best player and not trying to overthink it.

Speaking to Joey Kaufman of the Orange County Register leading up to this game, Mora had a clear understanding of what Rosen can do on the big stage. 

“I just feel Josh has the right type of personality, from what I’ve seen, to handle anything,” Mora said. “That doesn’t mean he’s going to be perfect and it’s not going to affect him early. It may. But I feel like he’s a young man that adjusts very quickly.”

Rosen has experienced some growing pains, throwing three interceptions last week against BYU, but he has yet to be overwhelmed on the field. Saturday's win was a perfect example of how he was able to put the previous game behind him and prepare for a Top 25 opponent.

It also helped that Rosen had Jordan Payton on the outside making plays. The senior wideout finished with 136 yards and one touchdown on seven receptions, including a 59-yarder to set up a Paul Perkins touchdown run.

Rosen also provided the final dagger by using his feet on this eight-yard scamper that helped make it a 49-23 game after Arizona tried to make a run, per College GameDay:

Thomas Duarte also chipped in with four catches and 65 yards, including this terrific one-handed grab that got UCLA on the board after Arizona took a brief 7-0 lead, as shown by the Pac-12 Networks:

Even though UCLA has not had a breakout moment in three years under Mora, he's turned the program into one of the nation's most consistent. The Bruins have won at least nine games in each of the past three seasons, reaching a high-water mark of No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25. 

The Bruins entered the day ranked ninth in the AP poll, prompting NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah to give Mora praise for what he's done with the program:

ESPN's Danny Kanell took things a step further:

Mora and UCLA deserve great praise for this win, but No. 16 Arizona had to adjust on the fly when starting quarterback Anu Solomon left early in the second quarter after suffering a head injury. 

Jerrard Randall took over for Solomon, showing his running skills with 128 yards on 16 carries, but the Wildcats fell so far behind that his inability to get anything going through the air prevented them from getting back into the game despite moving the ball well in the second half. 

Arizona finished the game with 354 rushing yards, with both Randall and Nick Wilson breaking the 100-yard barrier, but they were able to muster only 106 passing yards on 10-of-28 throwing. 

Randall did provide some fireworks on his first snap with this 39-yard touchdown run that helped make it a 28-14 game, as illustrated by College GameDay:

Arizona did get star linebacker Scooby Wright III back after he missed the previous two games following knee surgery, but one couldn't have expected Wright to be the tackling machine he was last season in his first game back, which he wasn't. The junior star looked fatigued and didn't show the same aggression, though B/R's Matt Miller did caution against anyone writing him off:

This was a night when nothing went Arizona's way, and things look difficult next week with a road game at Stanford looming. The health of Wright and Solomon will be the Wildcats' biggest storylines heading into that conference showdown.

On the other side, UCLA continues to build confidence and momentum moving into the Pac-12 schedule. This was the start of a three-game stretch that includes matchups against Arizona State next week and Stanford on Oct. 15 that will determine if the Bruins belong in the College Football Playoff conversation. 

Based on the early returns from the Rosen era, UCLA will be a dangerous matchup heading into the most important stretch of the season.