EL PASO – Brandon Dawkins silenced his critics for at least one night.
The Arizona quarterback, whose miscues had Wildcats fans in an uproar all week, turned in perhaps the best performance of his career Friday at UTEP.
Dawkins accounted for six touchdowns as the Wildcats drubbed the overmatched Miners 63-16 in front of an announced crowd of 22,133 at the Sun Bowl.
After struggling in a heartbreaking loss to Houston, Dawkins authored the complete game his detractors have been seeking since he took over as the starter last season.
“He showed me the competitor that I always thought he was,” UA coach Rich Rodriguez said. “That’s the one thing about Brandon. I’ve always said he’s a competitive guy. It’s important to him – probably more than he lets on at times.
“He saw that there’s so much spotlight on that position, which is natural. Guys that play that position know that. He probably heard it quite a bit. That’s OK if it fueled him. You could tell he was real serious.”
Dawkins completed 18 of 21 passes for 155 yards. He rushed for 133 yards on 14 carries. His 86 percent completion rate, three TD passes and six total touchdowns were all career bests.
“Was it six?” Dawkins asked sheepishly afterward. “It was fun.”
As for the notion that Dawkins redeemed himself under the Friday night lights, he didn’t see it that way.
“Football’s not a one-week game,” he said. “We’ve got multiple weeks to get better. I’m far from my peak, so I’m just trying to get there.”
Teammates said they saw a different Dawkins this week. Cornerback Jace Whittaker could see it in Dawkins’ expressions and his demeanor.
“He proved a lot to everybody,” Whittaker said. “I know everybody had a lot of bad things to say about him, but the guy works hard. He’s going to continue to work hard.”
Of course, in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world of college football, Dawkins will be tasked with doing it again next week against Utah. The Utes have been one of the better teams in the Pac-12 since they joined the conference. UTEP (0-3) is among the worst teams in the nation.
Dawkins can’t do it alone. His teammates provided him with the sort of support Arizona (2-1) will need to contend for a bowl bid.
Like Dawkins, Shun Brown converted the plays that literally slipped through his fingertips in last week’s loss to Houston.
Dawkins’ second touchdown pass came on a 36-yard strike to Brown in the second quarter. The play mirrored the seam-route pass they couldn’t complete at the end of the Houston game.
Brown then turned in the highlight play of the night – a 63-yard punt return for a touchdown with 5:34 left in the first half. Brown started up the middle, then veered left. A killer spin move near the sideline sent two pursuing Miners stumbling to the turf. It was Brown’s second punt-return TD of the season.
“I spin all the time in practice,” Brown said. “I didn’t know I was going to do the move until it happened. It was basically instinct.”
Having Nick Wilson back in the lineup also gave Dawkins and the Wildcats a boost. The senior tailback, who missed the Houston game because of an ankle injury, rushed for only 39 yards on 13 carries. But his presence made a difference.
On the first play of the second quarter, Arizona paired Wilson with J.J. Taylor in the backfield on fourth-and-goal from the 2. It was a tactic Rodriguez had talked about using but couldn’t because of Wilson’s injury.
Dawkins faked a handoff to Wilson. With the defense flowing to the left, Taylor slipped out to the right. Dawkins hit him for an easy touchdown to give Arizona a 7-0 lead.
The defense also did its part. Freshman linebacker Colin Schooler, getting extended playing time after Brandon Rutt reportedly suffered a concussion, forced a fumble and intercepted a pass. Junior safety Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles recorded his fourth takeaway in three games.
Schooler stripped UTEP’s Kavika Johnson on the first play from scrimmage after Dawkins’ touchdown pass to Brown. Flannigan-Fowles recovered the ball at the Miners’ 27. Five plays later, Dawkins ran the ball in from the 5 to make it 21-0.
After a wobbly sequence – UTEP’s first touchdown, followed by a 20-yard UA punt – Schooler made another momentum-swinging play.
With a pass rusher in his face, Miners quarterback Zack Greenlee threw the ball up for grabs. Schooler reeled it in and raced 63 yards to the UTEP 5.
On third-and-goal from the 3, Dawkins attempted a sweep to the right side. After encountering a pair of defenders, he reversed field. A diving Dawkins eventually extended the ball over the left pylon to make it 35-6 with 36 second left in the first half.
Dawkins somewhat surprisingly played into the fourth quarter. His 13-yard run on fourth-and-1 set up freshman tailback Nathan Tilford’s first career touchdown. In the third quarter, Dawkins helped freshman tight end Bryce Wolma score his first career TD – a 1-yard pass to the left flat.
Freshman Rhett Rodriguez replaced Dawkins on Arizona’s second possession of the fourth quarter. Sophomore Khalil Tate, who had subbed for Dawkins last week, did not play. Tate did not appear to be 100 percent during pregame warmups. He hurt his throwing shoulder in the Sept. 2 opener against Northern Arizona.
Later in the fourth, freshmen quarterback Donavan Tate made his UA debut. He directed a 53-yard drive capped by Tilford’s second score.
The touchdown put Arizona over 60 points for the second time in three weeks. The Wildcats scored all 63 of their points Friday night in the final three quarters.
