Arizona Football (1-2) got its first win of the Kevin Sumlin era, using a big second half to put away the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.
It was an important weekend for the Arizona Football team as they got off to a rough, 0-2 start to the season. Desperate for a win, the Wildcats were a bit shaky to the start of yesterdays game.
Southern Utah took the field first, driving at will, eventually settling for a field goal try that was ultimately missed. Then it was the Wildcats’ offense turn as they took to the field, showing a bit of their 2017 form, scoring quickly on a Khalil Tate pass to Tony Ellison to make it 7-0.
Arizona Wildcats
Then after a few unsuccessful drives by both teams the Thunderbirds finally got on the board, connecting on a 33-yard field goal to make it 7-3 early in the second quarter.
On the ensuing kick-off, J.J. Taylor would take the ball on the Arizona 16-yard line returning it all the way to the house to make it 14-3, Arizona! That’s when the Thunderbirds would start to expose the Wildcats’ defense.
Unable to stop Southern Utah, the Thunderbirds went on a 13-play 75 yard drive to cut Arizona’s lead to 17-10. A quick series by Arizona gave Southern Utah another chance, where they took it to the Wildcats, once again marching down the field on another 13-play 75 yard drive to tie the game at 17-17.
Frustrated, luckily the Wildcats responded with a nice drive of their own to regain the lead at 24-17 on a Tate pass to Shun Brown just before the half.
Despite the slim halftime lead, the first half was still fairly disappointing, as Arizona gave up nearly 250 yards of offense on 49 plays, allowing the Thunderbirds to convert on six of 12 third-down conversions and two of two on fourth down conversions.
In need of a better second half, Arizona and the Wildcats would come out a bit more focused, responding in a big way. From the kick, Tate and the Wildcats drove 67 yards in five plays to make it 31-17 Arizona, on a Tate pass to Cedric Peterson in the end zone.
A quick three-and-out by SUU gave Arizona the ball again, where they drove down for a field goal to make it 34-17. Then another quick three-and-out gave the Wildcats the ball again, where they would go 66 yards in three plays to make it 41-17, after Brown took a pass from Tate 65 yards to the house.
Southern Utah would have a long drive that would be unsuccessful, setting up the Cats for another big play, this time from Shawn Poindexter who took a great pass from Tate 75 yards to the end zone to make it 48-17.
However, the Thunderbirds’ offense wouldn’t go away quietly, still challenging Arizona’s defense. On the ensuing drive, SUU would go 75 yards on 14 plays, converting on a touchdown to make it 48-24.
Arizona’s offensive barrage wouldn’t stop either. Tate and the Wildcats drove 69 yards in six plays, making it 55-24, after Anthony Mariscal would scamper to the left and up the sideline to score his first touchdown as a Wildcat!
On the next series, Southern Utah would throw an interception, the Wildcats’ first turnover gained on the year. Three plays later, a Branden Leon touchdown would make it 62-24.
Unfortunately, Southern Utah would score one more time to make it 62-31 with just under five minutes left to play.
From then on, the Wildcats would run out the clock to secure their first win of 2018, and head coach Kevin Sumlin’s first win at Arizona.
Personally I am not complaining tonight, there is stuff to improve, but a 31 point win was more than projected and some really exciting plays...now let's carry that into next week!
— ZonaZealotsFS (@ZonaZealots) September 16, 2018
BEARDOWN! 1-2 Go Cats! pic.twitter.com/s0FKb0g3Rp
It’s worth noting there were quite a few positives for the game. Tate did finish with a big day, completing 13 of 20 passes for 349 yards and five touchdowns through the air to no interceptions. The offense did look a bit better too, competition aside.
Now while the win was certainly great and builds a bit of confidence for this team, there is A LOT to improve upon.
At the end of the day, the Wildcats struggled immensely against an FCS offense. Injuries aside, it’s hard to get overly excited giving up over 460 yards of offense and 31 points on nearly 100 plays ran. Even more concerning was that the Thunderbirds were 10 of 22 on third down, and five of six on fourth down.
The road doesn’t from here on out doesn’t get any easier either. Arizona faces Oregon State next week, but despite the Pac-12 South being pretty open, the teams only get better.
The Wildcats are going to have to get healthy on defense and improve in a lot of areas as this offense still finds its identity.
At Zona Zealots, we are excited for the win, but hope that the team uses this as a confidence builder and a motivator to improve next week! Bear Down, Arizona!