TUCSON, Ariz. – Penalties and missed opportunities undid an otherwise dominating performance by the Cal football team on Saturday night, and the Golden Bears dropped a 24-17 decision at Arizona.

After the Wildcats blitzed the Bears for two scores on each of their first two possessions, Cal's defense held Arizona in check for most of the rest of the game while quarterback Brandon McIlwain was putting together a memorable performance in his first career start until throwing two pivotal interceptions in the fourth quarter. The Bears were penalized 13 times for 115 yards, failed on two fourth down conversions and committed four costly turnovers overall.

"You can't turn the ball over that many times and expect to win," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. "We put ourselves in a hole with penalties. It was just a really poor performance on our part, coaching and playing."

Cal outgained Arizona 476-265, and 111 of the Wildcats' yards came on their first two possessions when they built a 10-0 lead. The Bears then stiffened up on defense while McIlwain and the offense got going.

McIlwain engineered two 75-yard scoring drives, each of which ended with him scampering into the end zone for a touchdown. The first came on a shifty 25-yard run in which he broke a tackle, switched directions and then accelerated into the end zone with an Arizona defender clinging to his jersey as he crossed the goal line.

McIlwain then put Cal up 14-10 with a 23-yard scoring run with 41 seconds left before the half. He finished 32-for-43 passing for 315 yards while rushing 20 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns. It marked McIlwain's second consecutive 100-yard rushing game and he became the first Cal quarterback since Joe Ayoob in 2005 to record two rushing touchdowns in a game.

The Bears' defense forced Arizona into two turnovers, one coming on Camryn Bynum's third career interception and another on a forced fumble by Jordan Kunaszyk that was recovered by Ashtyn Davis.

"We have to own it," Wilcox said. "Nobody wants to put this much time and energy into it and not have success. We have good guys on on the team and we have to play better. We have to hold ourselves accountable, starting with myself. We have to control what we can control."

Cal will return home next Saturday to host UCLA at California Memorial Stadium at 4 p.m. The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.