5 takeaways from Arizona football's 31-28 loss to Houston | Michael Lev

Another game Arizona could have won.

Another gut-wrenching defeat.

The Wildcats’ 31-28 loss at Houston on Saturday wasn’t exactly the same as the previous week’s double-overtime setback against BYU, but it featured many of the same notes.

When the game was on the line, the UA defense couldn’t stop the run and couldn’t push the Cougars back.

The offense had opportunities to go up multiple scores, but couldn’t take advantage of them.

The end result: Arizona heads into a bye with a 4-3 record, a two-game losing streak and more questions than answers about where this season is headed.

Here are my top five takeaways from the heartbreaker in H-Town:

1. Cougars copying Cougars

Houston basically replicated BYU’s game plan. It sent its burly running back — 6-foot, 206-pound Dean Connors — up the middle repeatedly. If Connors wasn’t the ball-carrier, 6-3, 210-pound quarterback Conner Weigman was.

Connors and Weigman combined for 198 yards on 34 attempts. BYU’s LJ Martin and Bear Bachmeier had 251 yards on 47 attempts last week.

The last drive of the game, which ended with Houston’s walk-off field goal, featured 13 plays. All but one was a rush by Connors or Weigman. Everyone in the building knew what was coming, and the Wildcats still couldn’t stop it.

Fans were clamoring for Danny Gonzales to make an adjustment. He primarily stayed with the three-down front that’s been the base look for the defense — especially since defensive end Tre Smith was lost for the season to injury.

No argument here. Something needed to change — and needs to change moving forward, or the Buffaloes, Jayhawks, Bearcats, Bears and Sun Devils will copy the Cougars, too.

Arizona doesn’t have a stable of 300-plus-pound defensive tackles who can clog up running lanes. They’re about the hardest commodity to find in recruiting and/or the transfer portal.

Gonzales has tried to compensate for that with a funky-looking defense that has succeeded in confusing opposing quarterbacks. It has failed against the last two opponents’ power rushing attacks.

It’s also helpful to understand how the defense works. Gonzales explained during the week that in his defense, the safeties play the role of pseudo-linebackers. Genesis Smith and Dalton Johnson are just as important to run defense as Taye Brown and Max Harris.

Gonzales learned the scheme when he was at New Mexico. The Lobos’ “free safety” back then was Brian Urlacher, a unicorn athlete who’d go on to become a Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears.

It’s a lot to ask of even Smith and Johnson — easily among Arizona’s best defenders — to play like Urlacher.

2. Critical calls

I’m not usually one to blame the officials for a loss, but some confounding calls that went Houston’s way played a critical role in the outcome.

The first occurred early in the third quarter, and it was pivotal.

The Cougars scored a touchdown with 10 seconds left in the first half to seize a 21-14 lead. They got the ball to start the second. The “middle eight” was theirs for the taking — unless the Wildcats could get a stop.

On third-and-8, Weigman threw a pass to the left sideline to Harvey Broussard. Broussard made a bobbling catch for an 11-yard gain.

Oh, but that bobble. The play was reviewed. I’ve watched it multiple times. Broussard bobbled it twice — first as he was going down to a knee inbounds and then as he fell out of bounds. He didn’t have firm possession until after the second bobble, when he was in the white painted area.

FS1 announcers Eric Collins and Spencer Tillman were certain the play would be overturned — and incredulous, like the rest of us, when it wasn’t.

Instead of a three-and-out to get the ball back and halt Houston’s momentum, the Cougars ran 14 more plays on a 17-play touchdown drive that chewed up more than nine minutes of clock time. They emerged with a 28-14 lead — and limited the number of possessions Arizona would get for the rest of the game.

The last possession featured a clear illegal motion infraction against Houston. It occurred on the third-to-last play of the game. Connors was moving forward as the ball was being snapped to Weigman.

After huddling, the crew decided to pick up the flag. FOX officiating analyst Mike Pereira was so confused he didn’t even know what to say.

Would 5 yards have made a difference? Maybe?

Houston was driving into a stiff wind. Ethan Sanchez had come up short on a 48-yard field goal attempt going in that direction earlier in the fourth quarter. If the illegal motion had been enforced, Houston would have faced second-and-14 from the UA 31. Instead, it was third-and-7 from the 24.

Sanchez made the 41-yard game-winner with ease. He would have had more to think about, at the very least, if it was closer to a 50-yarder.

UA supporters will be thinking about those controversial calls for the next two weeks.

3. Read and react

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Noah Fifita played a phenomenal game. He became just the ninth quarterback in FBS in the past 30 years to complete at least 90% of his passes with a minimum of 25 attempts in a road game.

Fifita was decisive and accurate. He escaped pressure and made plays outside the pocket. He didn’t come close to turning the ball over.

Unless you treat a fourth-down stop as a turnover, which is how the UA coaching staff views those plays.

Fifita made one notable mistake Saturday, and it was costly. He made an incorrect read on a fourth-down run play.

The play occurred in the final minutes of the second quarter. Arizona faced fourth-and-1 at the Houston 31. The score was tied, 14-14.

The Wildcats hurried to the line to try to catch the Cougars off guard. They ran what looked like a basic zone-read play where Fifita is supposed to read the edge defender. If he crashes toward the running back, Fifita keeps the ball and runs to the outside. If not, he hands the ball off.

Well, Houston’s Wrook Brown crashed. Fifita handed the ball off anyway. Kedrick Reescano got stuffed for no gain. Houston took over and drove for a touchdown to take a 21-14 lead into the break.

As the play was unfolding, FS1’s Tillman said, “Bad read.” Soon after, he questioned whether it was a predetermined play or if Fifita had the option to keep the ball. If he had, Fifita had plenty of space to gain the first down — and maybe even score.

One mistake shouldn’t override an otherwise magnificent performance. But such is the life of a starting quarterback in big-time college football. Everything you do will be scrutinized.

Fifita would have been much happier walking out of TDECU Stadium with four interceptions and a win than two incomplete passes and a loss.

4. Culture comeback

For the second week in a row, Arizona overcame a 14-point deficit. This time it happened in the second half on the road.

It was a testament to the culture Brent Brennan, his staff and his players have cultivated since last season.

If last year’s team had fallen into that hole, it wouldn’t have crawled its way out. The margin would have grown. We saw it happen time and again.

When Fifita and the offense finally got the ball back with 5:56 left in the third quarter, they played with a palpable sense of urgency. They were aggressive and efficient.

Fifita spread the ball around, utilizing his entire arsenal of pass catchers (nine Wildcats caught at least one pass in the game). Arizona converted two fourth-and-1s. The Cats punched the ball into the end zone when they got close — fixing their biggest flaw from previous games (especially BYU).

I thought this was Seth Doege’s best game as Arizona’s play-caller. Arizona had better balance and utilized all areas of the field, including the receiver screen game that largely had been ignored.

After Fifita was getting sacked earlier in the game on attempted “shot plays,” Doege adjusted to quicker-hitting passes on Arizona’s two second-half possessions. (Yes, the Wildcats only had the ball twice after halftime.)

The jet sweep to Tre Spivey (who had another strong game) was a new twist. As was the goal-line package that featured fullback Kayden Luke and seven — yes, seven — offensive linemen.

The comeback showed how far the program has come. And yet ...

5. Brennan bashing

When you aren’t at the stadium and attending postgame media availability, you see all the chatter on social media.

I’ll sum it up for you: Brennan and his staff are completely incompetent, and everyone should be fired.

Never mind that Arizona is a handful of plays from being 6-1 and is clearly a better team than a year ago.

Many will find it predictable that I’m defending the coaching staff, but that’s not my intent here.

I firmly believe that frequent coaching-staff turnover is not the path to sustained success. Continuity is paramount. Tearing it up and starting over would only set the program back.

I also believe that Arizona is in the “lose close” phase of program-building. Last year was “lose big.” Next year, if the pattern holds, will be “win close.”

The problem, of course, is that the Wildcats weren’t in rebuilding mode last year. They were supposed to win coming off a 10-3 season.

We’ve been over the reasons that didn’t happen many times. No need to reiterate them here.

But there’s no question that that unfavorable first impression of Brennan has stuck. And anything short of a Big 12 championship won’t change people’s minds.

Is that fair? Probably not. Is it the reality of Brennan’s current situation? Unfortunately, yes.

Sitting on a two-game losing streak heading into a bye is suboptimal. The next game won’t be easy either — at improving Colorado.

At some point, close losses won’t be viewed as acceptable signs of progress. I just don’t think we’re there yet, and I hope UA athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois isn’t listening to the noise.