All season long, Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez had expressed dissatisfaction with the Wildcatsβ special teams. The units hadnβt played poorly, but they hadnβt performed as well as Rodriguez thought they could.
Against UCLA on Saturday night, the UAβs special teams took a significant and costly step backward. The kickoff and punting units struggled on a night when Arizona needed them to be great.
The Wildcats allowed three returns of 33 or more yards in their 45-24 loss to the Bruins at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Arizona had a 12-yard deficit in average starting field position. The Wildcats might have been able to overcome that disadvantage with a healthy Brandon Dawkins and Nick Wilson. Neither was able to finish the game.
βField position is everything,β said senior linebacker Cody Ippolito, who had a team-high six solo tackles. β(But) thereβs no excuses.β
Just about every special-teams breakdown ended up hurting Arizona.
After the Wildcats took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, Ishmael Adams returned Edgar Gastelumβs kickoff 52 yards to the UA 40-yard line. Five plays later, Nate Starks scored from the 2 to make it 7-7.
Despite Dawkins and Wilson getting hurt, Arizona trailed by only seven points at halftime. But Gastelum hooked the second-half kickoff out of bounds, setting up UCLA at its 35. The Bruins advanced the remaining 65 yards in six plays to take a 21-7 lead.
After a three-and-out on the next drive β Arizonaβs sixth in seven possessions β Adarius Pickett returned Josh Pollackβs punt 33 yards to the UA 30. The Wildcats held the Bruins to a field goal, but with the offense scuffling, a 24-7 lead was practically unsurmountable.
Freshman Khalil Tate entered the game at that point, and the offense started moving again. His first career touchdown pass, from 31 yards to Shun Brown, made it 31-17 with 11:04 left.
But whatever positive vibes the Wildcats might have been feeling at that point quickly evaporated. Randall Goforth took back the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to the UA 45. Five plays later, Josh Rosen hit Kenneth Walker III for the put-away touchdown.
βOur kickoff and our kickoff return were just awful,β UA coach Rich Rodriguez said.
Arizona averaged 18.8 yards per kickoff return. UCLA averaged 27.8.
For the season, Arizona is averaging 15.2 yards per kickoff return; its opponents are at 21.5. The Wildcatsβ punt return average of 4.0 yards is less than half their opponentsβ 9.5.
βItβs not like theyβre not trying,β Rodriguez said. βWeβve got to look at β¦ what weβre doing there.β
Pollack averaged 39.2 yards per punt β the first time this season he has been below 46.2. Gastelum did not register a touchback for the first time in 2016. (On the plus side, Pollack dropped three of his season-high 10 punts inside the 20-yard line, including two inside the 5.)
Playing at elevation this Saturday against Utah should help the kicking game.
Regardless, Rodriguez and special-teams coach Charlie Ragle have their work cut out.
Quarterback quandary
Of course, Rodriguez has a lot of other items on his plate.
First and foremost, he has to figure out what to do at quarterback.
Dawkinsβ status for this week was undetermined as of Sunday. The redshirt sophomore, who was making his fourth straight start, appeared to injure his ribs in the first half. He sat out the second.
Week 1 starter Anu Solomon did not make the trip to L.A. as he continues to recover from a knee injury suffered last month. Solomon is not believed to have suffered a setback, but the fact that he remained in Tucson indicates that he has not yet returned to full practice.
The talented Tate clearly is the next-best option. Thereβs no reason for Arizona to keep him on the sideline now that he is no longer eligible to be redshirted.
If Dawkins or Solomon is available this week, itβs possible Rodriguez could devise a package of plays for Tate. That also could be the plan for the remainder of the season.
Losing linemen
Starting left guard Freddie Tagaloa did not make the trip. He was not listed on the injury report. The reason for his absence was not known as of Sunday.
During the game, Arizona lost two more linemen to injuries: right tackle Gerhard de Beer and right guard Jacob Alsadek. So the Wildcats played much of the game without three-fifths of their regular starting line.
Extra points
- Arizona was last in the Pac-12 in third-down percentage entering the UCLA game. The Wildcatsβ conversion rate fell to 34.3 percent after they went 4 of 17 against the Bruins.
- UCLA has outscored the UA by an average of 23.6 points over the course of its five-game series winning streak.
- The Cats have scored 146 points through five games. They have allowed 147.
