Look, sometimes it takes a little while to rev up an engine.
Maybe not in perpetually scalding Tucson, but way up where it’s cold, every so often, you’ve got to give it a little gas for a few minutes.
Rich Rodriguez turned the key, turned it a little harder, and the V-8 finally kicked it into gear on Sunday night in a 47-28 win over visiting Hawaii.
Of course, the Warriors defense is about as hard to cut through as whipped cream cheese, but efficiency is efficiency, and the Wildcats were just about as thorough and organized as a obsessive-compulsive at The Container Store. Arizona was ruthless, in a way, without being overly dominant. If that’s even a thing.
This was a thing: 271 offensive yards on Arizona’s first 25 plays in just eight minutes, 22 seconds of possession; 192 rushing yards in the first half, with three rushers over 27 yards, and 351 total rushing yards for the game; three first-quarter rushing scores for the first time since 2004; and, most importantly, an early 20-7 lead.
"I thought we did some better things offensively, certainly running the ball. we gotta drive together, a couple big plays, and better execution," Rodriguez said.
To be fair, Rodriguez gave the engine some juice at halftime of Arizona’s 31-21 win over Grambling State last week.
Juice? He might have replaced the Gatorade with straight diesel.
At the time, the Wildcats were being outscored (!?) by the Tigers, 21-3, and being outgained 303-230.
This is Grambling State, we’re talking about, not Louisiana State.
Since then, Arizona has outgained its opponent 801 yards to 588 and outscored the two patsies 75-28 over the last six quarters.
What changed? For one thing, Dawkins looked much more comfortable in the pocket in his second career start.
He started the game 6-for-6 passing for 82 yards, with 47 first-quarter rushing yards and two scores on the ground.
Dawkins’ running ability kept the Warriors on their heels; even more, it opened up the ground game for a backfield that lost starting running back Nick Wilson to an apparent left ankle injury.
"I thought Brandon was a little more comfortable," Rodriguez said. "He gets a little better with experience. He certainly is a different dynamic (than Solomon) because he can run, and he's a competitive runner."
Added Dawkins: "Just like I always preach, the more reps I take, the better I get. I got to finally showcase it a little bit."
With Wilson sidelined, J.J. Taylor took the lead in the backfield and finished with 168 yards on 18 carries, including a 61-yard jaunt on his first career touchdown.
It was the kind of performance we’ve come to expect from a RichRod offense, and hadn’t seen this year.
Last season, Arizona averaged 494.9 yards per game, and that was a down year. Week 1 against BYU this season in a 18-16 loss, the Wildcats managed just 328.
On Saturday, it was clear from the opening drive that Arizona was not in for a repeat.
Eight plays, 88 yards, 24-yard Dawkins touchdown run and it was clear.
RichRod had revved it up.
"Just game-planning and watching last week's film, (I was) seeing guys open I had last week," Dawkins said. "Not to toot my own horn, but I thought I did OK with it. There are still some plays I could've made better reads on."
