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Arizona Football: 5 players who shined win over UCLA

By Shereen Rayan

TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 09: Arizona Wildcats fans cheer in the game between the Houston Cougars and Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 09: Arizona Wildcats fans cheer in the game between the Houston Cougars and Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /
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Khalil Tate

Khalil Tate earned Pac-12 player of the week honors again this week. That’s two weeks in a row. In the same weekend, ASU beat a ranked Washington team, and Cal beat a ranked Washington State team, so one never knows what will happen in Pac-12 After Dark. Tate received more national attention after the win against the Bruins, his hometown team.

Rich Rod is very proud of Tate, “Just really proud of the way he’s really taking charge a little bit,” said Rich Rod, “He’s got great touch — I thought he thrown the ball really well and I think he saw the field really well — every week he understands more and more what we want out of our offense and what his role can be — Khalil just truly wants to win.”

Tate proved that he is not a flash in the pan, he is the real deal.

He not only led his team to 605 total offensive yards, but he also added two more rushing touchdowns. Tate Rushed for 230  yards on 15 attempts (15.33-yard average) and scored two touchdowns (45 yards and 71 yards). Tate passed for another 148 yards making nine out of 13 passes with no interceptions.

Out of Tate’s nine passes, two passes for over 40 yards (53 yards to Shun Brown and 44 yards to Tony Ellison) and one 6-yard touchdown pass to TE Trevor Wood (his first career TD) is nothing to sneeze at.

Tate made national headlines once more when he recorded his second consecutive game rushing for at least 200 yards. That feat hadn’t been accomplished since 1997 when Navy’s Chris McCoy did it. He also ranked No. 2 in ESPN’s QBR ratings for week 7.

But it was the 71-yard rushing touchdown that I cannot stop watching. He made three Bruins miss tackling him and accelerated past the rest of their team and his own to score another touchdown. “I just kind of Juked him,” said Tate. “He just did a Khalil, that’s what we call it in practice,” explained Kyle Wilborn.

In just two games, Tate has rushed for 557 yards (19.2 average yards per carry), scored six rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns, and suffered no interceptions. Overall he has earned 643 total yards rushing, an average of 74.3% pass completion and eight touchdowns.

2017 Game Logs Table
Rush Rush Rush Rush Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass
Rk Date Opponent Att Yds Avg TD Cmp Att Pct Yds TD Int Rate
1 2017-09-02 Northern Arizona W 6 62 10.3 0 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 0.0
2 2017-09-09 Houston L 4 24 6.0 0 5 8 62.5 41 0 1 80.6
3 2017-10-07 Colorado W 14 327 23.4 4 12 13 92.3 154 1 0 217.2
4 2017-10-14 UCLA W 15 230 15.3 2 9 13 69.2 148 1 0 190.2
4 Games 39 643 16.5 6 26 35 74.3 343 2 1 169.7

Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 10/16/2017.

Never once did I see Tate unravel or lose it. Even when the Bruins stepped on him and over him while he was on the turf, get in his face, he got up and continued to perform at a high level. Cool, calm and collected, he had ice in his veins.

David Malinsky, a SportsBookReview.com writer, made an excellent point about how the team will rally around their special quarterback:

"It isn’t just about what Tate does individually at the QB position, but the impact his play has across the rest of the team. When you believe that you can win, the mood around the program changes. Players hit the weight room longer and harder, and spend more time studying their game plans."

Even the basketball team is taking notice! And Jim Mora!

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