STANFORD, Calif. โ Arizona swapped two quarterbacks throughout Saturday's game, and, no, it didn't bring back memories of Ortege Jenkins and Keith Smith in 1998.ย
In the Wildcats' 41-31 loss to Stanford Saturday afternoon, all it took was two drives for Kevin Sumlin to pull senior quarterback Khalil Tate for true freshman Grant Gunnell.
Gunnell would reappear later but Saturday's game mostly belonged to Tate. The senior completed 17 of 33 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 106 yards and a score as the Wildcats fell by 10 to a frustrated, physical Stanford team. Gunnell completed all seven of his pass attempts for 68 yards and a touchdown. The usage of both quarterbacks was somewhat surprising given that Sumlin had committed to Tate in the locker room following last week's loss to USC.ย
The Wildcats fell to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in Pac-12 play. They have lost three consecutive games โ to Washington, USC and now Stanford โ after starting the season 2-0 in the league. Arizona finishes its season with games against Oregon State, Oregon, Utah and Arizona State; the Wildcats must win at least two of them to become bowl eligible.ย
Arizona's Jalen Johnson, right, is congratulated by quarterback Grant Gunnell (17) and Donovan Laie (78) after scoring a touchdown against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Saturday marked a chance to beat a Stanford team that was blown out by lowly UCLA a week ago, but the Cardinal were simply sharper.ย
In the first quarter, Tate completed 3 of 5 passes for 55 yards, including a 43-yard over-the-shoulder connection with wide receiver Tayvian Cunningham, which set up a 29-yard Lucas Havrisik field goal to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead. The Wildcats went three-and-out on their next drive, and Tate exited the game.ย Gunnell capped off his first drive eight-play, 65-yard drive with a touchdown pass to freshman Jalen Johnson and put the UA ahead 10-7. Gunnell finished the first half completing 5 of 5 passes for 50 yards and a touchdown. With Arizona trailing 21-10, Tate returned to the game and erupted for a 57-yard touchdown run and pulled the UA within one possession. Tate had rushed for minus-55 yards combined in the previous two games.ย
Quarterback K.J. Costello returned to the lineup for the first time since Sept. 21 after he was held out with a hand injury. Costello dissected Arizona's defense, throwing for 223 yards in the first half, and the Cardinal led 31-24 at halftime. Costello finished the game with 312 yards and three touchdowns.ย
Tate started the second half, but the Wildcats gave Gunnell another drive, which resulted in a fumble that put the UA out of field goal range. That was the last of the freshman.
Arizona quarterback Grant Gunnell warms up before the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Down 38-31 in the fourth quarter, Stanford defensive back Paulson Adebo intercepted Tate and the Cardinal capitalized with a field goal to pull ahead by 10. Tate was intercepted in the final minutes, allowing Stanford to ice the win.ย
Tristan Cooper is NOT happy with how Arizonaโs defense has performed over the last 3 games. โItโs not the coaches, itโs us.โ pic.twitter.com/5eoT0MROgq
— Justin Spears (@JustinESports) October 26, 2019
Junior running back J.J. Taylor rushed 16 times for 107 yards, giving him more than 3,000 career rushing yards โ a mark accomplished by just seven other Wildcats.ย
