Arizona lost to Oregon State 42-17 Saturday night at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. Here are some pertinent notes, quotes and statistics:
NOTES
* The Wildcats have lost eight games in a row. Arizona’s last eight-game losing streak came in 2003. John Mackovic was fired in the midst of the skid.
* The Wildcats have surrendered 42 or more points in five of their past seven games. They allowed more than 42 points five times last season.
* Arizona has lost by double digits seven straight times. The average margin of defeat in those games is 29.1 points.
* Arizona needs to defeat Arizona State to avoid going winless in the Pac-12. The Wildcats haven’t gone winless in league play over a full season since 1957, when they went 0-4 in the Border Conference.
* Receiver Nate Phillips caught six passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. He has at least one reception in 44 consecutive games.
* Linebacker Brandon Rutt, in his first career start, recovered a fumble in the second half. Rutt intercepted a pass the previous week and has a team-high three takeaways.
* Three Arizona defenders set career highs in tackles: Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (13), Isaiah Hayes (nine) and John Kenny (seven).
* Arizona established a season high with 10 third-down conversions in 15 attempts. It was only the second time this season that the Wildcats have converted 50 percent or more. UA opponents have done it five times.
* Marcus McMaryion became the first Oregon State quarterback to throw five touchdown passes in a game since Sean Mannion in 2013. Each of the five went to a different receiver.
QUOTES
UA coach Rich Rodriguez on whether he felt Arizona had momentum entering halftime: “Yeah. My gosh. Put a drive together, get some momentum going. We struggle stopping anybody. Who we’re playing at linebacker is a mystery. We’re too small or too weak. We can’t get off blocks. Anything we have that’s going on, you can blame it on injuries. Paul Magloire didn’t play, DeAndre’ Miller barely played, Tellas Jones barely played, got a guy hurt (Justin Belknap) the first play of the game. But it goes back to us not getting deep enough roster-wise or big enough in recruiting. Obviously we’ve addressed that now, but it’s painful to (endure) that.”
Rodriguez on the defense’s struggles and inconsistency: “You could say it’s youth and inexperience. I’m looking out there, and everybody in the secondary is a first-year starter other than Demetrius (Flanningan-Fowels), who started some last year. (Flannigan-Fowles, a sophomore, started one game in 2015.) That could be part of it. It’s the first year in the system, a lot of first-year starters. We’re a little weak too. We get pushed around. When you struggle so much to get off blocks – you’re undersized or weak or both – maybe it’s a combination of all three. We’re certainly going to address that.”
Rodriguez on the difficulty stopping Oregon State’s run game: “Yeah. It wasn’t a mystery, right? The same play over and over again. They throw some quick screens to the back out of the backfield. It’s 7, 8, 9 yards. I don’t know if we ever stopped them for a negative-yards play. We couldn’t get off a block. It’s hard to watch. I’m sure it’s hard for our fans to watch. It’s hard for me to watch. And I’m sure it’s hard for our defensive coaches to watch.”
On not challenging Flannigan-Fowles’ near-safety in the second quarter: “They said they reviewed it. They’re not going to play the replay at home. Apparently they reviewed it and said he was out (of the end zone). They review every play. And it wasn’t like they were fast tempo, so they had plenty of time to review it. They told me they reviewed it and had the spot correct the first time.”
Flannigan-Fowles on whether the team was focused throughout the game: “I feel like at the beginning we were focused. At the beginning of the second half we were focused. As the game went on we kind of derailed a little bit. But overall we fought to the best of our ability. It just didn’t work out.”
Flannigan-Fowles on whether he believed he had a safety: “I did. I really did. When I tackled him, I felt like it was a safety. I put my hands together (to signify) safety. I guess it was forward progress and it didn’t count.”
QB Brandon Dawkins on why the offense stalled in the third quarter: “A multitude of things. Just execution. Execution on my part. I can’t speak on anybody else. I know on my part I can execute a little more no matter what I’m doing. So I put it on myself.”
Dawkins on whether he was disappointed that he didn’t start: “Yes, but at the same time no. No in the sense that I trust in the coaches and what they want to get done. If they choose not to start me, that’s their prerogative. At the end of the day I’ve got to be able to come in and be able to execute no matter when I come into the game, even if it’s overtime and there’s one drive left.”
STATS
* Arizona averaged 4.9 yards per play; Oregon State averaged 7.3.
* Arizona possessed the ball for 24 minutes, 24 seconds; OSU for 35:36.
* Dawkins had a team-high 88 rushing yards on 15 carries.
* Jake Glatting averaged 40.0 yards per punt and dropped 1 of 3 attempts inside the 20-yard line.
* Oregon State tailbacks Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce combined for 195 rushing yards on 38 carries.
* OSU receiver Jordan Villamin had a season-high six catches for 124 yards and a touchdown.
* Flannigan-Fowles, Tristan Cooper and Larry Tharpe Jr. had one tackle for loss apiece for Arizona.
* The average starting field position for both teams was their 27-yard lines.
