Heading into the second half against the UCLA Bruins, Arizona Wildcats head coach Rich Rodriguez had a critical decision to make with his team trailing by seven points.
His top two quarterbacks, Brandon Dawkins and Anu Solomon, were injured — the latter didn’t even make the trip to Pasadena — and his remaining options were walk-on Zach Werlinger and true freshman Khalil Tate, a former four-star recruit.
On the surface, that may seem like a no-brainer — you go with the four-star talent — but there were broader implications to consider.