Arizona Wildcats rewind: Five takeaways from the UA’s 56-35 victory over ASU

Every Monday throughout the season, we’ll take a look back at Arizona’s previous game after re-watching the TV broadcast and present five key takeaways. Here are the five from the UA’s season-ending 56-35 victory over Arizona State on Friday night:

1. Extra effort

I didn’t have to watch the game again to see this, but it helped to confirm what I thought initially: The Wildcats played harder than the Sun Devils. Arizona was determined not to lose and willing to make whatever sacrifices were necessary to see it through. Even on the last, meaningless ASU possession, Kwesi Mashack practically knocked himself out making a tackle, and Anthony Mariscal and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles converged on Kalen Ballage to thwart a screen pass. A fair follow-up question would be: Why didn’t Arizona play like that all season? It’s a little more complicated than you’d think. Of course you’re going to be more amped for your rivalry game. I think the Wildcats came into all the previous games with the right intentions. But they often got down early, and their already-shaky confidence was shaken further. The most encouraging aspect of Friday’s game was that each time ASU got within seven points, Arizona almost immediately responded with a touchdown.

2. QB Quandary 2017

I didn’t realize this at the time – things are a bit frantic when the game ends at 11:10, you have to get downstairs for interviews and your story is due in less than an hour – but Arizona did not attempt a single pass in the second half. The Wildcats were so explosive on offense – and the Sun Devils so inept on defense – that throwing the ball simply wasn’t necessary. Excluding the two game-ending kneel-downs. Arizona gained 329 yards on 20 plays in the second half. That’s 16.5 yards per play. Obviously, that sort of production is not sustainable. Unless they become a full-blown option team, the Wildcats are going to have to improve their passing game. The quarterback position will be a huge focal point all offseason, and it’ll be even more convoluted than this year with touted freshman Braxton Burmeister due to arrive in January. So many questions ... Will incumbent Brandon Dawkins – an extraordinary athlete and gentleman – take the next step as a passer? Will Anu Solomon be back? Will Khalil Tate make the leap we so often see from second-year players? ... and so few answers.

3. Hello, Larry

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I wrote about defensive lineman Larry Tharpe Jr. earlier this month, suggesting the Wildcats might have unearthed a gem at a position where they desperately need big, talented players. Tharpe has done nothing to dispel that notion since. He was Arizona’s best defensive lineman against Oregon State, and he was the UA’s most active front-line defender against ASU. Not only did he make plays around the line of scrimmage – including a key pass breakup on fourth-and-3 in the second quarter – but he hustled all over the field, helping his teammates track down and contain slippery Sun Devils quarterback Manny Wilkins. Tharpe has the natural size (6-5, 275) that some of Arizona’s other linemen lack. He didn’t have the benefit of an offseason in the weight program. Now he will. If he puts in the work, Tharpe could be a real force on a defensive line that returns a lot of experienced players and adds some intriguing youngsters (Jalen Cochran, Justin Holt, et al).

4. This time it’s personnel

Every week I’ll provide some notes on individual players, so here goes … Tharpe wasn’t the only defensive linemen who shined under the Friday-night lights. Luca Bruno, who’s been battling a foot injury all year, had by far his best game. He finished with only two tackles, including one for a loss, but got consistent pressure on Wilkins. … I can’t say enough about the offensive line, which just destroyed the interior of the ASU front. The group, from left to right: Layth Friekh, Freddie Tagaloa, Nathan Eldridge, Jacob Alsadek and Cody Creason. Only Tagaloa is a departing senior. … Cornerback Dane Cruikshank remains a work in progress. After getting beaten a few times, he did not play with the same confidence in the second half of the season. There’s time to rebuild it. He has the tools. … Hopefully the injuries suffered by freshmen Isaiah Hayes and Tristan Cooper aren’t long-term. Both play with the all-out aggressiveness you want from safeties (although both also could use more refinement and technique work). … Zach Green might never be a No. 1 back for Arizona, but he opened some eyes against ASU. If he’s your No. 2 or 3 guy, that’s not such a bad thing. … Trey Griffey did not catch a pass in his final college game. I don’t think he was even targeted. But he was blocking downfield like a walk-on trying to make the team.

5. Final thoughts

The ASU game provided a happy ending to a horrible season. There’s no sugarcoating 3-9/1-8. UA coach Rich Rodriguez is optimistic about the future – not that he has an alternative – but he also knows he and his team have their work cut out. The first step is locking down the 2017 recruiting class, a task that began almost immediately after the finale. The position that worries me most: linebacker. The Wildcats lose three seniors from their two-deep – four if you include the injured Cody Ippolito, who’d like to play a sixth year but might not have that opportunity here. If you know who’s starting at middle linebacker for this team in 2017, you’re smarter than I. Arizona needs more depth at running back, as this season proved. Quarterback, as discussed above, is wide open. Shun Brown is going to need some help at receiver. The prospects are promising for the offensive line and secondary. If they are going to embrace youth as much as Rodriguez claims, the Wildcats will be awfully young in a lot of spots in 2017. That puts a cap on how good they can be. Would 6-6 and a bowl berth – with the program again heading in a positive direction – be good enough?