They lost by inches. Maybe millimeters.
The Arizona Wildcats overcame numerous obstacles — many of their own making — and came up just short in a heartbreaking yet encouraging 31-24 overtime loss to Mississippi State on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium.
Here are my top five takeaways from Arizona’s gritty but mistake-prone performance in Week 2:
Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson.com and The Wildcaster.
1. Accentuating the positives
UA fans are frustrated with quarterback Jayden de Laura; we’ll get to him in a minute. In the meantime, let’s focus on the good stuff the Wildcats displayed. Because there was plenty of it.
Despite missing multiple starters in the secondary and losing standout reserve Martell Irby for the second half, the defense limited the Bulldogs to 307 total yards. A year ago in this matchup, MSU had 426.
Despite turning the ball over five times, the Wildcats gained 431 yards. A year ago, they had 316.
If that doesn’t signify program progress, I don’t know what does.
Mississippi State wide receiver Justin Robinson (3) fumbles the ball after a hit by Arizona defensive back Martell Irby during the first half Saturday. UA rallied but lost in overtime 31-24.
The Bulldogs did not dominate the lines of scrimmage. The Wildcats held their own. There was no clear SEC superiority in Starkville.
The Bulldogs did not wear the Wildcats down in the fourth quarter. MSU outscored Arizona 14-0 in the fourth to pull away last season. This time it was the Wildcats who rallied, overcoming a 21-7 halftime deficit to force OT.
Were there mistakes? Of course. The turnovers were untimely and, if you want to be a winning program, unacceptable. Jedd Fisch wouldn’t dispute that.
Daniel Hemuili’s missed tackle on the winning touchdown was a killer. It was hardly the only missed tackle by the UA defense.
But overall, that unit played superbly and gave the Wildcats a chance to win. Why didn’t they? Well ...
2. JDL, Part 1
The opener vs. NAU merely offered a glimpse of the Jayden de Laura Experience. Game 2 was the full 3½-hour tour.
Exhilarating. Exasperating. Exhausting.
We saw de Laura at his best, improvising, keeping plays alive, firing rockets downfield.
Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura runs but fails to get a first down against Mississippi State ion the last play of overtime.
We saw him at his worst, forcing passes into traffic that were intercepted.
Is there a happy medium? Can Fisch coax that out of him? Or is this just the way it’s always going to be — a stomach-churning roller-coaster ride that never ends?
Fisch indicated after the game that some of the interceptions weren’t entirely de Laura’s fault. An assignment was missed on the first one. Fisch termed the third an “either-or” ball — even though there were two defenders covering Jacob Cowing on the play.
Whatever the case, it’s ultimately de Laura’s responsibility to protect the ball. He’s an ultra-aggressive player, and interceptions are going to happen. But at this point in his career, they shouldn’t happen with such alarming frequency.
His knowledge of the offense is much deeper than a year ago at this time. Almost all of his weapons from last season are back. His protection is better.
And yet ... de Laura threw interceptions on each of Arizona’s first three possessions; had four in all; and put Cowing in a bind on a play where the receiver fumbled.
VIDEO: Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura on his thought process after throwing three interceptions in the first quarter against Mississippi State on Sept. 9, 2023: “Last year I would’ve handled it differently. … I gotta be cleaner. … I knew we had four quarters to play, so I can’t give up in the first quarter.” Video by Justin Spears/Arizona Daily Star
De Laura simply did not manage the game like a player with his experience and ability should.
3. JDL, Part 2
We’re supposed to value process over results, right?
If that’s true, then de Laura’s decision at the end of the first half was wrong, even though it ended with a touchdown.
De Laura completed a 55-yard pass to Tetairoa McMillan to the MSU 1-yard line with 13 seconds remaining. The Wildcats didn’t have any timeouts. That gave them two alternatives: Spike the ball or snap it and pass it into the end zone.
They lined up as if they were going to spike it. And de Laura initially made that motion. Then he decided — entirely on his own, apparently — that he would try to run into the end zone.
Judging by the reactions of his teammates, no one else had a clue. Eventually, enough of them figured it out and helped moved the pile across the goal line. It wasn’t entirely clear that de Laura had scored, but there was also no replay angle to show that he hadn’t.
If the officials had ruled him down outside the goal line — which they easily could have — the clock would have expired. The Wildcats would have headed to the locker room with a 14-0 deficit. They would have come away empty on a second drive inside the MSU 10-yard line.
Arizona was lucky to get the result it got.
4. Flowe shows up
Linebacker Justin Flowe came to Arizona with a ton of hype. He was a five-star recruit at one point. It’s rare for the UA to land a player of that stature, even if his career didn’t go as planned at Oregon because of injuries and ineffective play.
Flowe lost a tight battle for the starting “Mike” linebacker job to fellow transfer Heimuli. But if any position seemed destined for an “or” on the depth chart, it was that one.
Yet there was no “or.” And Flowe barely played against NAU, logging just 11 snaps.
VIDEO: After Justin Flowe’s 12-tackle performance at Mississippi State on Sept. 9, 2023, Jedd Fisch says “we’ll see more of Justin I’m sure.” He added: “What we’re beginning to see is the depth we’ve been trying to build.” Video by Justin Spears/Arizona Daily Star
The situation changed against MSU. And it wouldn’t be surprising if further change was afoot.
Flowe was among Arizona’s defensive standouts Saturday. He was credited with 12 tackles and shared a third-down TFL that forced a Bulldogs field goal in the fourth quarter. Fisch previously had praised Flowe’s explosiveness, and it was evident on that play as he barreled into the backfield.
Given Flowe’s promising performance and Heimuli’s missed tackle on the winning TD, it’s not hard to imagine the two switching roles against UTEP next week. Flowe has earned the opportunity to start.
5. T-Mac’s track
I made this statement on a recent episode of the “Wildcast” podcast, and I stand by it: Although Cowing was a preseason second-team All-American, he might not be the best receiver on his own team.
McMillan is becoming a star. He might already be there.
McMillan set career highs with eight catches for 161 yards against MSU. He scored his 10th touchdown in 14 career games.
McMillan’s expanded route tree was on display Saturday, as was his extraordinary talent.
He came out of nowhere to make a smooth sliding catch on that 55-yard de Laura heave to the 1. In the fourth quarter, on third-and-6 from the MSU 11, McMillan patiently worked the back line and used his big body to come down with the tying touchdown. Later in the period, his 49-yard catch-and-run set up Tyler Loop’s tying field goal.
Cowing is a terrific player, as evidenced by his own second-half TD that saw him juke a defender and dive over the left pylon. Week to week, he has a higher floor than McMillan, who’s just two games into his sophomore season and is still learning.
But McMillan’s ceiling is much higher. He grazed it Saturday on the road against an SEC defense.
It’s going to be thrilling to see how high he can go.
