Michael Lev: 5 takeaways from the Arizona Wildcats’ 27-10 victory over No. 19 UCLA

Scooby Wright, one of the many letterwinners who returned to Tucson for homecoming, wore a T-shirt that read: “We’re back.”

They sure are.

The Arizona Wildcats are going bowling for the first time since 2017. They made a compelling case for the Associated Press Top 25 (and earned the No. 23 ranking). They’re partying on defense like it’s 1999.

Arizona won its third straight game Saturday night, all against ranked opponents, defeating No. 20 UCLA 27-10.

The fans stormed the field again. The defense balled out again. Noah Fifita played smart, steady football again.

Here are my top five takeaways from the Wildcats’ latest win:

1. Accelerated timeline

It wasn’t supposed to happen this fast.

Arizona earned bowl eligibility in Game 9 of Year 3 under Jedd Fisch — or Year 2, if you subscribe to Fisch’s theory that Year 1 was actually Year 0.

This was supposed to be, at best, the “win close” year, following “lose big” (2021) and “lose close” (2022). Yet Arizona’s three-game winning streak includes dominant performances against Washington State (38-point margin) and UCLA (17). And week after week, second-year players are playing significant roles.

Saturday’s starting lineup featured eight members of the class of 2022. Several others were major contributors off the bench.

Fisch described the process of building up the program as “long and hard,” but it hasn’t been as long as most of us expected.

“The staff we hired knew they were coming here to rebuild a program,” Fisch said. “We didn’t hire them in a spot where they felt like they were just gonna walk in the door and we’re just gonna go win. ...

“And then we went and recruited a bunch of great players when we were 1-11. To get that class of ’22 to come here ... I’ll continue to brag on that class forever.”

One of its members, tailback Jonah Coleman, said he got flak for committing to such a downtrodden program. “You can do better,” people told him.

Coleman stuck with Arizona. And less than two years in, he and his teammates are headed to a bowl game.

“I trusted the vision Coach Fisch had for us,” Coleman said. “We deserve it. And we’re not done yet. That’s just a checkpoint. We still got four more games.”

Three on the schedule. One to be determined. Coleman did the math.

2. Third-and-run

Fisch was more patient and stubborn with the run game against UCLA than any game I can remember since he’s been the head coach here.

Even though it was difficult at times — the Bruins’ active, sturdy defensive front had 11 tackles for loss — it was absolutely necessary. Arizona had to keep running to deter UCLA’s elite edge rushers from flying upfield. The Wildcats finished with 129 hard-earned yards — more than twice the Bruins’ average yield entering Saturday (63.13, second-fewest in the nation).

Fisch even ran in the most unexpected of circumstances — on third-and-6 on the opening drive of the third quarter. Coleman gained 8 yards. Arizona ended up settling for a field goal, but the Wildcats took nearly seven minutes off the clock and expanded their lead to 17-7 after surrendering a touchdown with three seconds left in the first half.

That surprising run play was a result of Fisch’s self-scouting.

“I think sometimes we get caught up a little bit,” Fisch said. “About four weeks ago, I was watching the Ole Miss-Auburn game. Lane (Kiffin) and Hugh Freeze — both of which I respect offensively; I think they’re fantastic — were running the ball a lot more than I ever do on third down. And I said, ‘I gotta start thinking about this a little bit more. Maybe I’m missing something, maybe (I’m) a little bit too NFL-ized.’

“In the NFL, you just don’t run the ball on third-and-2-plus. But I just started looking at it more and more, and just started believing in certain runs and certain concepts. It was a time that we were able to hit the run, and it was a great run by Jonah.”

It was a great call by Fisch.

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3. No Flinch Noah

Inspired by Fisch, colleague Justin Spears and I have dubbed second-year QB Fifita “No Flinch.” He lived up to that moniker Saturday night.

On Arizona’s opening drive, on second-and-10 from the UCLA 29-yard line, Fifita threw an interception that wasn’t close to his intended receiver — whoever it was.

Fisch said Fifita simply misread the play and should have thrown it elsewhere. The two talked about it on the sideline, along with Jayden de Laura. And then?

“He snapped right back,” Fisch said of Fifita. “He reset. And wound up making some great decisions the rest of the game, made some spectacular throws.”

Fisch described Fifita’s pass to Tanner McLachlan on third-and-8 late in the third quarter as “ridiculous.” And the touchdown pass to Tetairoa McMillan that concluded that drive “was put in the only place the ball could have gone for that catch,” Fisch said.

Fifita finished 25 of 32 for 300 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He had almost identical numbers the previous week against Oregon State — 25 of 32, 275 yards, three TDs, one pick. That’s not a coincidence.

Fifita has been remarkably consistent since becoming Arizona’s starter. His completion rate has hovered between 69.2% and 79.1%, including four games in a row of 71.4% or better. He hasn’t thrown more than one interception in any game. And he has three or more touchdown passes in four of five games.

Oddly, Fisch hasn’t come out and explicitly stated that Fifita is the Wildcats’ starting quarterback. His performances speak for themselves.

4. Irby’s involvement

Defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen — who deserves to be in the discussion for the Broyles Award, given to the top assistant coach in college football — came up with yet another wrinkle nine games into the season.

Nansen installed Martell Irby, a defensive back, as the “Mike” linebacker alongside Jacob Manu.

Why would Nansen do that in a matchup against a run-heavy team? There are several logical reasons.

One is that Irby is an ex-Bruin who has faced Chip Kelly’s offense in practice countless times. Another is that the Bruins run a ton of play-action and misdirection plays designed to fool linebackers and get them out of position. Usual MLB Justin Flowe is a see-it-and-hit-it type of player. Irby is a seasoned, cerebral vet.

Irby said he thoroughly enjoyed being “in the box” as a linebacker. He’s listed at 5-9, 200 pounds. (Honestly, I’m not sure Manu — who’s listed at 5-11, 225 — is that much bigger.) He began his college career as a running back. He played cornerback at UCLA. He primarily played nickel back here before Saturday’s defensive twist.

Irby was credited with four tackles. But his energy permeated the defense. The front four was frisky. The secondary was alert and aggressive. Everyone seemed to be on their game. Even when UCLA took over at the UA 31 after a blocked punt in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats kept the Bruins off the scoreboard.

Irby said that wasn’t just the defense’s doing. Which leads us right into Takeaway No. 5

5. The crowd mattered

When I asked Irby about that sequence — a critical one, as it was 24-10 at the time with 11:17 remaining — the first thing he mentioned was the ZonaZoo and the overall atmosphere at Arizona Stadium.

“At that point, I felt like the stands really got involved,” Irby said. “We just kind of buckled down a little bit. It was a pivotal point in the game.”

An engaged crowd can really make a difference in college football. It can give the home defense a boost. It can discombobulate the visiting offense.

Fisch knows this, and that’s why he’s practically been begging fans to show up. It was a hard sell when the Wildcats were going 1-11. It should be the hottest ticket in town now.

I know for a fact that the UA administration has been frustrated that Arizona still struggles to sell out the stadium. Doing so is critical to the success of the program for myriad reasons, with revenue being atop the list. The more success Arizona has, the harder it’s going to be keep the coaching staff intact. Every dollar counts.

Saturday’s announced attendance of 44,956 was about 5,600 short of capacity. But most of the fans stuck around deep into the night despite numerous stoppages.

“That was awesome,” Fisch said. “That was the best environment that we’ve had since I’ve been the head coach here.”

The aftermath was just as jubilant as happy fans again flooded the field.

For the first time in a long time, Arizona Stadium is the place to be.

Photos: Arizona football defeats No. 20 UCLA, Pac-12 football