Around the middle of the second quarter on Saturday night, the Wildcats and visiting Washington Huskies somehow slipped into a time vortex.
No word if the DeLorean was set to 1955, but the passing games certainly were.
On a night when the running game would lose yet another standout, Arizona’s passing game was grounded in a 35-28 overtime loss to No. 9 Washington.
Brandon Dawkins, doing his best to wrestle the starting nod away from the injured Anu Solomon, started the game 9 for 9 for 51 yards in the first quarter, efficient enough but clearly hesitant to test a Washington defense that has allowed just 30 points all season in a 3-0 start.
What Arizona wouldn’t give for 9 for 9 for 51.
After the flawless start, Dawkins completed just five of his next 13 attempts for 34 yards.
He’d go on to finish 19 of 31 for 167 yards; 54 of those yards came on one play.
“There are a few things I wish I could have back on a few plays,” Dawkins said.
If Rich Rodriguez sent out the missing persons squad to locate his passing game, there would be little surprise.
Aside from Shun Brown, who caught a surprising seven passes for 114 yards — including a 54-yard bomb on Arizona’s final drive of regulation to set up a game-tying touchdown — the Wildcats’ receivers were invisible.
Trey Griffey: One catch, six yards.
Samajie Grant: One catch, four yards.
Nate Phillips: Two catches, five yards.
Is it possible to put three faces on the side of a milk carton?
Luckily for Arizona, while Dawkins appeared to be missing his right arm on Saturday night, he certainly had two fully functional legs.
A 79-yard Dawkins scamper in the second quarter gave Arizona a 14-7 lead.
He came up big on the ground midway through the fourth quarter, marching Arizona on a five-play, 66-yard drive that included a 56-yard Dawkins jaunt and a 2-yard touchdown run by the quarterback to tie the game at 21.
Dawkins finished with 176 rushing yards and two scores, averaging 13.5 yards per carry.
“At the end of the day, I want the ball in my hands to try to score,” Dawkins said.
Even Washington’s standout quarterback Jake Browning, one of the most decorated high school players in history, had trouble finding openings in the passing game.
The Huskies’ leader went 13 for 19 for 156 yards with one touchdown and one interception during regulation, adding a 4-yard touchdown pass in overtime to Dante Pettis.
And Arizona?
Given one last chance to score in overtime, the Wildcats’ last three plays were a sack of Dawkins, an incomplete pass on a throwaway on third down and another incomplete pass on fourth down.
Game, over.
