The Three biggest takeaways from Arizona Football this weekend

It was yet another heartbreaking loss for the Arizona Football team on Saturday, as the Wildcats fell to the USC Trojans. However, with the loss these were the three biggest takeaways in that game.

It hurts losing, it hurts losing even more when one or two plays don’t go your way, that ultimately impacted the outcome of the game. Once again, that was the case for Arizona Football, as the Wildcats found ways to beat themselves in a heartbreaking, 34-30 loss.

In a game that not many anticipated the Wildcats winning, let alone even being close in, Arizona surprisingly had a chance to win in the waning moments of their loss to the USC Trojans on Saturday.

Arizona Wildcats

Nonetheless, all that matters is being ahead when the clock strikes ‘zero’, and unfortunately Arizona was not in that position. However, even in an unprecedented year in which the Wildcats will play just a handful of games, this was a great “measuring stick” for this program.

Over the past two years, we have seen a program that has been stagnant, poorly coached, poorly prepared, etc. However, on Saturday, things looked quite a bit different (in a good way), and these are my “Three Biggest Takeaway’s”.

Grant Gunnell is the real deal –

Coming into the year, much was built on the hype of sophomore quarterback, Grant Gunnell. After a solid freshman campaign, there was a lot of hope for him this season, and as we saw on Saturday afternoon, the hype was worth it.

Better suited for this offense than Khalil Tate, despite a bad opening drive for the ‘Gun slingin’ Gunnell’, the sophomore was an impressive 24/36 passing, throwing for 286 yards and three touchdowns to just one interception. He even showed off a bit of his mobility as well, adding another 40 yards on the ground on 13 carries.

Granted, it was against a USC Defense that has been a little suspect so far this season, he showed he is certainly capable of leading this offense, and will be a great asset for the Cats this season.

Defense is better than advertised –

A lot will get lost on the Wildcats giving up 34 points and over 400 yards on Saturday, but given the circumstances, and the fact that Arizona had numerous walk-ons playing on defense, this group played rather well in my opinion.

The defensive line was able to get some decent pressure, and Arizona held the Trojans to 20 points through three quarters, before Arizona’s depth, mistakes and inexperience played into USC’s favor that helped them to get the win.

With all that said, I felt this group played fairly well, and baring any major injuries, this group should be pretty competitive. It’ll be amazing to see what Defensive Coordinator Paul Rhoads can do next season, with even more talent and depth!

This team is very resilient –

Coming into the year, we heard from these Cats that they were going to fight and compete, and that they felt disrespected by the last place/zero-win predictions.

On Saturday, they showed a fight that I have not yet seen under head coach Kevin Sumlin, and even though the outcome wasn’t what I or anyone wanted, I was very encouraged by what I saw.

I truly hope the team uses this loss to build off of, and start believing that they can truly compete, because again, if they continue to fight and play like they did on Saturday, they are going to be a solid group.

These were just my biggest takeaways, what did you see on Saturday? Let us know, and as always, Bear Down, Arizona!