By the Numbers: Taking a deeper look at the Arizona Football loss

As Arizona Football falls to 3-5 (1-4) on the year after their 45-37 loss to No. 10 USC, we break down the numbers in the Wildcats’ defeat. 

Heading into the ninth week of the 2022 season, Arizona Football suffered yet tough defeat. Despite hanging tough with the Trojans, the Wildcats ultimately fell to No. 10 USC by a 45-37 final.

Fresh off their bye week, Arizona was hoping to get back on track against a talented Trojans team, ultimately, it wasn’t a day to remember for the Wildcats’ defense as Arizona gave up 45 points and  surrendered 621 yards en route to losing their third straight game.

After the frustrating loss, the Wildcats have now fallen to 3-5 (1-4) on the season.

Trailing just 31-29 late in this one, Arizona Football competed, but couldn’t rally, as the Trojans cruised to the 45-37 win.

621 – Arizona’s defense has been atrocious this season, and once again, the Wildcats were completely overmatched in this one.

Facing a far more talented USC team, the bye week didn’t seem to help out the defense too much as the Wildcats still surrendered 621 yards of offense and 45 points. Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams totaled 425 yards for USC and five touchdowns.

11 – Still struggling to get the other team off the field, USC was able to convert on 11 of their 17 third-down attempts yesterday, and it was a big reason that the Trojans were able to sustain drives and score 45 points.

8 – On Saturday, the Wildcats struggled in a few key areas, one of them being overall team discipline. Arizona is not good enough of a team to win games against a team like USC while still being able to make mistakes.

Against the No. 10 Trojans, that was certainly the case as Arizona was penalized eight times for 76 yards, many of which were self-inflicted and non-sensical penalties. Arizona is one of the least penalized teams in the country; however, on Saturday, they made too many mistakes.

0 – Arizona predicates itself on forcing turnovers, and Saturday the Wildcats struggled in forcing the Trojans to turn the ball over.

Coming up with 0 turnovers, that was a big reason USC was able to have the ball for 31 minutes, scoring 45 points and gaining 621 yards of offense.

3 – Having the best game of his career, sophomore wideout Dorian Singer is proving his worth as he finished his day with 141 yards receiving and three touchdowns on seven receptions.

Outside of Jacob Cowing and Tetairoa McMillan, Singer has proven himself to be an excellent receiver at the collegiate level, and he has come a long way since walking on with the Wildcats.

Singer is now up to 746 yards receiving and five touchdowns on 48 receptions through eight games.

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