Arizona safety Genesis Smith was named to the Pro Football Focus National Team of the Week and interior defensive lineman Stanley Ta'ufo'ou and safety Dalton Johnson joined him on the Big XII team for week 13 for their performances as Arizona beat Houston 27-3 on Friday night.
Smith was third on Arizona with seven tackles, tied for the team lead with 1.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup, the sole interception and one of the two fumble recoveries. Johnson had four tackles and a TFL and Ta'ufo'ou had five tackles and a forced fumble as Arizona ended a five-game losing streak.
Smith tied his career high in tackles and interceptions versus Houston and the fumble recovery was the first of his career. With Gunner Maldonado and Treydan Stukes out for the season, Smith has been exceptional being elevated into a starter's role. Smith will be a candidate for Big XII Defensive Player of the Week.
Arizona had its best defensive performance of the season versus a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. Houston had a season-low for an Arizona FBS opponent with 326 total yards and 5.3 yards per play. The Cougars had 191 yards passing and 135 rushing. Houston was the first team Arizona held out of the end zone in 2024.
Arizona DB Genesis Smith had probably his best performance as a Wildcat vs. Houston: 7 tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and zero missed tackles, per PFF.
— Justin Spears (@JustinESports) November 16, 2024
Smith had an 87.6 defensive grade and 86.9 coverage grade, per PFF.
Johnson leads Arizona with 70 tackles and had two TFLs, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles in 2024. Ta'ufo'ou has 27 tackles, four TFLs, two sacks and a fumble recovery in 2024 on a defense that has lost three starters to injury. Arizona lost starting middle linebacker Jacob Manu in addition to Maldonado and Stukes.
The Arizona defense faces a tough challenge on Saturday at TCU. TCU is fourth in the Big XII averaging 33.2 points per game and third posting 439.6 total yards per game. Johnson, Smith and the Arizona secondary will be particularly tested with TCU passing on 58.80 percent of its offensive plays.