Arizona Aftermath: Stats, storylines and quotes from the Wildcats' loss to BYU

PROVO, Utah — The Arizona Wildcats dropped their second straight game on Saturday, falling to the No. 14-ranked BYU Cougars 41-19 on Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium. 

Here are notable storylines, statistics and more from the UA’s loss: 

Turnovers, offensive woes continue

Same story, different game with Arizona's offense.

Subsequent to a fourth-down stop by Arizona's defense to begin the game, the Wildcats had a promising start with their opening touchdown drive that featured quarterback Noah Fifita throwing two critical third-down passes; the first one, a 39-yard completion to wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, then a 14-yard touchdown to Montana Lemonious-Craig on a slant route for the wide receiver's first touchdown of the season — first in eight games dating back to last season.

That was Arizona's only touchdown until just under three minutes left in the game. Finding the end zone is one of Arizona's most noticeable weaknesses this season. The Wildcats have eight total touchdowns in their last five games. 

In those five outings, Arizona has finished 30 drives inside its opponents' side of the field. In those 30 drives, the Wildcats scored eight touchdowns, made 12 field goals, committed four interceptions and turned the ball over on downs four times. When Arizona's offense passed the 50-yard line in the last five games, the Wildcats have scored touchdowns on 27% of those drives. Since putting up 61 points in the season opener, Arizona averaged 18.6 points in the last five contests. 

"When we're getting to that fringe or high red area, we have not effectively kicked the door down there," said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. "That's where we tend to stall out. Because (kicker) Tyler Loop has been so effective lots of times, we've opted to swing field goals from there.

"We all know you're not going to win in this league kicking field goals. We have to find a way to put ourselves in position to get first downs and score touchdowns."

Added Fifita: "In the red zone, everything is tighter, so you have to precise in every aspect. You have to be able to throw the ball on time, receivers have to be in the exact spots, so I think it goes back to me just making sure I put the ball where I want it on time and anticipate things and let my guys win one-on-ones." 

In Arizona's last two games against BYU and Texas Tech, the Wildcats allowed 42 points off six turnovers. The Cougars scored 24 points off four UA turnovers on Saturday. Brennan said, "Coming in here, we knew that the turnover thing was going to be a big deal."

"That was something that we didn’t handle great. ... I think that there were spurts where we played good football, but just not enough," said the Arizona coach. "You’re not going to come in here and beat a team like that when you don’t play clean and you don’t protect the football.” 

All of Arizona's recent turnovers are from QB1, Fifita, who had four on Saturday, including a career-worst three interceptions; the last one was a pick-six by BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker.

To start the second half, BYU cornerback Jakob Robinson blitzed Fifita and snagged his pass attempt behind the line of scrimmage to put BYU's offense inside Arizona's 10-yard line, resulting in a touchdown pass from BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff to wide receiver Chase Roberts. Normally, Fifita is "so crafty with his arm angle, he's able to get the ball around people," Brennan said.

Glasker's strip-sack on the following drive at the Arizona 15-yard, followed by a BYU field goal, put the Wildcats at a three-possession deficit, 24-7.   

"That's a 10-point swing in, I think, two minutes. Two really bad turnovers on my part in a critical part of the field put our defense in a really tough spot," Fifita said. "Then you saw the defense's resilience not lose hope in our offense and hold them to three points on the second turnover. Our defense is playing fantastic. I gotta figure it out and help our offense get going."

In the last two games combined, Fifita has a 53% completion rate. Last season, Fifita became the only UA quarterback to finish a season with a completion rate higher than 70%. In his second season as the UA signal-caller, Fifita has more interceptions (9) than touchdowns (8). 

“I gotta fix a lot of things," Fifita said. "I gotta get better individually. Not even close to where I want to be individually, and we’re not even close to where we want to be offensively and that’s because of me." 

Brennan said, "No one cares about this team more than Noah Fifita. We absolutely love him, we're going to coach the hell out of him and get back to what we know he can do and what he's capable of."

Missing pieces

The injury bug has bitten Arizona's defense.

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After losing defensive backs Treydan Stukes, who was a captain for the pregame coin toss on Saturday, and Gunner Maldonado, the Wildcats lost cornerback Tacario Davis to injury in the second half. The only defensive starter from Arizona’s defense last season to finish the game was strong safety Dalton Johnson. Arizona nose tackle Chubba Ma'ae also missed his third straight game with a leg injury. 

"I think injuries are making things a little tough on us right now," Brennan said.

Arizona linebacker Jacob Manu was also ejected for targeting in the first quarter, which thrust second-year linebacker Kamuela Ka'aihue into the "Mike" linebacker spot next to Taye Brown. Losing Manu was "impactful, because Jacob Manu is one of the absolute leaders of this football team," Brennan said. 

"Obviously he's a very important player for us," Arizona defensive end Tre Smith said of Manu. "He's a great vocal guy; he's a great leader. But at the end of the day, we all know as individuals, no matter who goes out or what happens, we all gotta step in." 

Now what?

At the halfway point of the season, Arizona is 3-3, the same record it had last season before rattling seven straight wins en route to the Alamo Bowl. However, the Wildcats went toe-to-toe with two Top 10 teams (Washington and USC) and lost three games by a combined 16 points. The margin of loss this season is 52 points. 

Once viewed as a potential College Football Playoff team, the Wildcats now have six games to find three wins to become bowl-eligible. 

"We're halfway through the football season, and we have a ton of football left to play. We have a choice to make. We have so much football left to play," Brennan said. "My dad is not around anymore, but one of his old (sayings) was, 'Nothing is less important than the score at halftime,' but we're at halftime of the football season.

"What are we going to do with it? What are we going to do with these six opportunities?" he added. "And our teams needs to make a strong, firm choice in which direction we're going to move." 

Brennan said, "When you go through a couple of losses like that, that are both hard ones, the challenge is to stay together and not let the outside forces of the world pull us apart. The one thing that is really powerful about these young men, is they are a true brotherhood. I'm excited to see how we come to work."

By the numbers

4: Arizona's four turnovers on Saturday are the most in a game since it had five in a loss to Mississippi State last season. The Wildcats have also lost four straight games to BYU dating back to 2016. Arizona hasn't beaten BYU since the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl. The Wildcats also haven't won in Provo since 1975.

84.7: Pro Football Focus grade for Arizona wide receiver Reymello Murphy, who made his first reception as a Wildcat after transferring from Old Dominion. Murphy had two catches for 38 yards. 

46.1: Fifita's offensive grade on PFF, which is a career- and team-low.  

64,420: Announced attendance at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, the largest crowd since 2009. 

They said it

Fifita, on BYU's defense: "We were pretty much prepared for what they were going to give us. They gave us a lot more looks and did a really good job mixing it up. I give a lot of credit to their coaching staff and players. Defensively, they did a really good job and outplayed us."

Glasker, on Fifita: “Watching film on him, he’s quick and one of the better quarterbacks we have played, so we emphasized keeping him in the pocket, and even if he scrambles, keeping him to his left side where he can’t really throw. He’s a good athlete and played a good game, so I give props to him.”

Brennan, on Fifita drifting back in the pocket: "It's also one of the things that makes him effective, his escapability and ability to throw on the run. We saw it multiple times today where he was able to escape and still deliver the ball accurately down the field. Most of the time, it's pressure-related."

Fifita, on Arizona's focus after the loss: "We don't got time to feel sorry for ourselves. At the end of the day, we've got another big-time opponent coming to our home in a week. It's an opportunity to bounce back. Like Coach B says, the best way to feel better about this loss is to get back to work and find a way to win next week."

Looking ahead

Arizona (3-3) is hosting Colorado (4-2) for homecoming at Arizona Stadium at 1 p.m. on FOX. The Buffaloes could potentially be without two-way star and Heisman Trophy hopeful Travis Hunter and wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr., who both suffered injuries in CU's loss to Kansas State in Boulder late Saturday night.

Photos: Arizona Wildcats fall to .500 after 41-19 rout at BYU, Big 12 college football