Arizona Aftermath: Stats, storylines and quotes from the Wildcats' win over UTEP

Now at 2-1 through a quarter of the 2023 schedule, Arizona clearly put together its best, most complete performance of the season Saturday night in a 31-10 victory over UTEP.

So what now for the Wildcats — after Arizona’s defense was stout again, after the UA offense (for the most part) corrected its recent turnover issues, and now that the running game finally got on track against the Miners?

“Now we gotta get into Pac-12 play and up our game,” Arizona coach Jedd Fisch said. “We gotta play better and see what we can do moving forward.”

We look into what made Saturday’s nonconference finale a well-rounded triumph for the Wildcats:

Pertinent storylines

Defense looks the part

It’s a small sample size, and there’s plenty of season left, but Arizona’s defense through three games is considerably better than the previous two seasons under Fisch. The Wildcats are surrendering 14.7 points per contest, a notable contrast to the 36.5 points allowed last season.

“The last two home games, (opponents) are averaging 6½ against us,” Fisch said. “I’m really, really proud of the way our defense is playing. I think our defense is really stepping up. Held these guys to minimal yards. We stuffed the run and played really, really good defense as a team.”

Eleven defensive linemen earned snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Four of Arizona’s five tackles for loss were credited to defensive linemen: Defensive tackles Tiaoalii Savea and Taylor Manoa along with defensive ends Taylor Upshaw and Orin Patu.

For the second game in a row, linebackers Justin Flowe and Jacob Manu were the Wildcats’ top tacklers, combining for 17. Manu and Flowe currently lead the Pac-12 in tackles through three games.

Nickelback Treydan Stukes, who returned from injury after missing the Mississippi State game, started at cornerback opposite of Ephesians Prysock, with senior Martell Irby at nickelback. Previous starting cornerbacks Dylan Wyatt and Tacario Davis came off the bench; Davis had the fourth-most snaps (45) by a UA defender, according to PFF. Arizona’s starting safety tandem included strong safety Gunner Maldonado, who had a forced fumble and fumble recovery, and free safety Isaiah Taylor, in addition to Dalton Johnson and freshman Genesis Smith.

Maldonado credits Arizona’s success on defense to the “communication.”

“Just another year with Coach (Johnny) Nansen, got a bunch of guys that were here last year and know the defense well, and it’s just another year in that,” he said.

Offense, de Laura clean it up

Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura was advised by Fisch to play more like Batman instead of Superman, and “just use your tools.”

Batman — err de Laura’s gadgets led to a season-high 544 yards of total offense, and the UA quarterback completed 23 of 29 passes for three touchdowns and no turnovers. Saturday was de Laura’s first turnover-free performance of the season, after committing six in the first two games.

Arizona’s wide receivers, led by Tetairoa McMillan — who made an acrobatic one-handed grab for a 55-yard gain in the first half — and Jacob Cowing, had 224 of their 300 yards after the catch. De Laura’s average depth of target was 4.4 yards, per PFF. McMillan and Cowing were very effective in catching screens and blocking the perimeter.

“Let them make plays, you know? I don’t need to do too much and that’s kind of what we went over while we were watching film versus Mississippi State,” de Laura said. “Just use the tools. Batman doesn’t have anything special to him, he just knows how to use what he’s got. That was our big emphasis, and not just for me but for the team.”

Running backs dazzle

The Wildcats had 244 rushing yards against UTEP — 215 from their running back quartet of Michael Wiley, Jonah Coleman, DJ Williams and Rayshon Luke. Coleman had a 59-yard run on the drive that set up Cowing’s touchdown in the second half.

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De Laura said Arizona’s “run game really helped with the pass game.”

“I made a big emphasis to Coach Fisch (Friday) night that we need to get the run game started early in the first quarter. ... We’ve got a great running back room and if they’re rolling, that makes their job (points to Cowing) easier running routes, and that makes my job easier throwing the ball.”

Added Fisch: “The fact that Speedy Luke, DJ, Michael, Jonah are all able to carry the ball and be able to move, that’s going to give us great advantages throughout the Pac-12 Conference.”

By the numbers

16: Arizona kicker Tyler Loop is a perfect 16 for 16 kicking field goals between 30-39 yards. Loop, who had a 45-yard attempt blocked, made a 38-yarder on Saturday.

90.5: Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea’s pass-blocking grade against the Miners. Savaiinaea started at right guard in place of the injured Raymond Pulido, who missed the first three games of the season due to his recovery from a bike accident. Joseph Borjon started his second game at right tackle, before Savaiinaea shifted back to tackle, with Canada native Leif Magnuson playing 33 snaps. PFF gave Magnuson an 82.4 pass-blocking grade.

79.3%: De Laura’s completion percentage on Saturday is the best of his Arizona career. He completed 84.4% of his passes in Washington State’s win over Washington in the 2021 Apple Cup.

83: Maldonado’s PFF tackling grade on Saturday — the highest of his collegiate career.

64: Total offensive plays Arizona ran on Saturday, which were evenly split between rushing and passing.

4: McMillan’s 55-yard one-handed grab was No. 4 on “SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays.”

Injury report

Pulido was the only injured Wildcat who didn’t play on Saturday.

“I keep saying I’m hopeful for Pulido,” Fisch said. “We at least got him to the game this week. He was there and that was our first step, and we’ll see what that looks like to get him back.”

They said it

De Laura, on McMillan’s highlight one-handed catch: “I’m going to put it out there: He’s probably the most athletic person I’ve ever been around. He can pick up any sport and dominate in it. Bowling? You guys are not beating him in bowling. Basketball, volleyball, it’s ridiculous. That’s just a credit to his hard work.”

Fisch on McMillan’s catch: “I’ve seen it a lot at this point. That one’s not going to do it for me. I’m going to see a lot of those over the next few years. I’ve seen a lot of them. He’s super-gifted.”

Looking ahead

Before Arizona embarks on a gauntlet of a Pac-12 schedule, with seven ranked opponents in consecutive weeks, the Wildcats open up conference play at Stanford, which fell to FCS Sacramento State on Saturday.

“Now it’s a matter of being able to really focus in on these next nine games, one game at a time. ... But we gotta be better,” Fisch said. “We gotta better in every facet, we gotta score more points, and we gotta get back to the drawing board and see what we can do to continue to be the explosive offense that we want to be.”

The Wildcats are currently 9.5-point favorites to beat the Cardinal, according to Action Sports Network. Arizona has not beaten the Cardinal at Stanford Stadium since 2006, and the Wildcats have lost the previous six matchups.

“It’s time for us to see what kind of team we are,” Cowing said. “We got a lot of teams that are ranked, so it’s a good time to go out and show what we are as a team. ... Just gotta go out there and play our game, have fun, play confident and see where that takes us.”