Quarterback Matt Scott finds an opening at the Spring Game.
Arizona quarterback Matt Scott has never had a chance to show for the Wildcats what he can do with the game on the line and the clock ticking down.
The sophomore had the pressure build during the Spring Game on Saturday with the White team needing a touchdown to pull off a victory.
Scott came through for a 5-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Turner on the final play of the game for a 23-21 victory over the Blue squad in front of 6,850 fans at Arizona Stadium.
“It was pretty exciting to do something like that, especially with steaks on the line,” Scott said.
The winners received steaks, while the losers got hamburgers and hot dogs.
Scott came back from a shaky first half to throw a pair of touchdowns after a brief halftime intermission.
Instead of having several passes knocked down at the line of scrimmage last year’s back up got into a groove.
He drove the team the length of the field on a final drive with 1:47 remaining before connecting with Turner.
“We had to calm him down. He was trying to do a lot of things that were outside of his nature,” Turner said. “He is a great player. If he just does what he does and what he is told to do and stays consistent he will be all right.”
Scott also had a 39-yard scoring pass down the sideline to Delashaun Dean. He completed 11 of 20 passes for 206 yards, but also had an interception inside the 10 while forcing the action in the first half.
“I need to make sure I don’t make those kinds of mistakes, especially down there,” Scott said.
Scott appears headed into fall camp still battling with Nick Foles and Bryson Beirne for the starting job. Arizona has not named a starter to replace Willie Tuitama.
Foles had his shining moments, completing 16 of 24 passes for 183 yards. He connected with Rob Gronkowski for a 10-yard touchdown and Juron Criner for a 70-yard score after the sophomore receiver spun off a defender on his screen pass.
Beirne was 2 for 2 for 27 yards.
“Somebody usually separates, but we are going to go through carefully and evaluate all the film from the spring,” Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes said. “We will see if we think it is as close as we do now. We are going to let the whole thing play out.”