TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona quarterback Matt Scott says he felt fine on Saturday after leaving the field following a blow to the head during Arizona’s 39-36 win over Southern California. And two days later, he says he still feels good.
So it stands to reason that he’ll be ready to go on Saturday against UCLA in Los Angeles.
But questions came about after he was seen throwing up on the field during a crucial stretch in Saturday’s win.
Some suggested Scott had suffered a concussion, but Scott said otherwise Monday, saying he was “winded,” which created the need to vomit on the field after a play where he had been hit in what turned out to be the game-winning drive in Arizona’s on Saturday.
The vomiting came after USC was called for a personal foul after a hit to Scott's head with 6:49 left in the game. And one play after he had run for eight yards.
“I ran two plays and got winded, honestly,” he said on Monday at the team’s weekly media availability.
The concussion speculation was fueled when Scott, a senior, did not return to the game for Arizona's final possession after being seen vomiting, which is one of the symptoms of a concussion.
“I felt it coming on two or three plays before that,’’ Scott said. “I was trying to hold it down, but eventually it came up. All summer, when we were working out with the strength coaches and everything and running outside, I was throwing up all the time.
“I was probably throwing up every time we ran. That’s just me. It wasn’t because of the hit or anything like that.”
Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez took just a few questions about the incident before deciding to direct questions to this week’s opponent UCLA.
“I’m not going to talk in medical terms. I don’t think it is appropriate to do that,” Rodriguez said.
He added: “I know there was concern that Matt appeared nauseous. In talking to our trainer, I think he was nauseous all day. So, the trainers did the proper procedures and asked the questions. He appeared fine to me after the game and looked fine (on Sunday) at the walk-through.”
Scott, who concluded his gutty performance in Saturday’s win with a 7-yard touchdown pass to David Richards for a 39-28 lead, was not made available for interviews after the game, although he did speak briefly with ESPN's television crew on the sideline.
The question is whether UA officials evaluated Scott to see if had suffered a concussion.
UA called a timeout after the personal foul by USC and another right after the next play.
“When I was there talking to Matt about the next play — actually the next two or three plays that we were calling — I believe the trainer was behind me or listening," Rodriguez said. "I was just talking to Matt. ‘Are you OK?’ ‘Yes.’”
Rodriguez added that “doctors talked to (Matt) during game time when he wasn’t in the series.”
B.J. Denker entered the game to run Arizona’s offense on the final drive, though he did not throw a pass.
Scott threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 100 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown.
“After the game, I was feeling good then, and I’m feeling good now,” Scott said on Monday.
“I was trying to get back in the game, but they were just being cautious.”
