The Arizona Wildcats ought to be feeling pretty good about themselves entering their Pac-12 opener against UCLA.
The UA is coming off its best performance of the season — a stirring 28-14 victory over Texas Tech. The Cats ought to be well rested after having last week off. The Bruins, meanwhile, were playing until 11:27 p.m. last Saturday in Pullman, Washington (although, as the final scoreboard showed, it was well worth it).
Of course, a team feeling good about itself can be its own problem. And when you’re Kevin Sumlin — or any coach — you tend to focus on the areas where your team seems deficient.
“As a head coach, you’re always concerned about everything,” Sumlin said. “You’ve got a team that should be very, very confident coming in here based on what they did last week to a top-20 team. The more you watch the tape, they’re a different football team right now from Game 1. But then again, so are we.”
In lieu of “everything” — hey, that’s Sumlin’s job — let’s examine three facets of Saturday night’s game that could determine the outcome. To make things even more streamlined, we’re breaking it down by unit — one for the offense, one for the defense and one for special teams.
Offense: Protect the football vs. a greedy ‘D’
University of Arizona Bryce Wolma runs routes while working out with the tight ends on day 6 of their pre-season, Tucson, Ariz., August 1, 2019.
UCLA’s massive comeback wouldn’t have been possible if Washington State hadn’t fumbled four times in the second half. The Cougars committed six turnovers in all. The Bruins scored 29 of their 67 points off turnovers.
“They forced four receivers on Washington State to fumble the ball after they caught it,” UA tight end Bryce Wolma said. “So you know that’s huge.”
Arizona has fumbled only twice this season, and just one was lost. The first came when reserve quarterback Rhett Rodriguez tried to throw an RPO pass to the sideline against NAU and the ball slipped out of his hand. He ended up recovering it.
The other came against the Red Raiders. Starting QB Khalil Tate lost the ball during an exchange against a blitzing Texas Tech defense. It was one of three turnovers by Tate in the first half. His touchdown-to-interception ratio of 6-4 represents a step backward from last season, when it was 26-8.
On the plus side, no Arizona tailback has put the ball on the ground yet. That was a major point of emphasis under new position coach DeMarco Murray after fumbles were too frequent a year ago.
The Wildcats know first-hand how they can influence a game against UCLA. J.J. Taylor was on his way to a 56-yard touchdown run in the second quarter last October when Bruins cornerback Darnay Holmes punched the ball out at the 1-yard line. Holmes recovered it in the end zone. The Wildcats would lose by one point.
Rodriguez also threw an interception in the red zone in the first quarter. Arizona lost the turnover battle 3-1. The Wildcats were 1-4 with a negative turnover margin last season. They won the Texas Tech game despite being minus-1.
Turnovers have had an enormous impact on UCLA under Chip Kelly. The Bruins are plus-13 in wins under Kelly, minus-13 in losses. They were minus-6 – and winless – entering the WSU game. Those 29 points scored off turnovers were their first of 2019.
Defense: Exceed the standard, ‘do more’
Arizona Wildcats cornerback Jace Whittaker (17) intercepts the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks ball during NAU Lumberjacks vs. Arizona Wildcats football at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, on Sept. 7, 2019.
One week after losing 31-30 at UCLA — “A game we really feel like we should have won,” Wolma said — Arizona played its best game of 2018.
The UA thumped Oregon 44-15. Considering the caliber of opponent, it was easily the Wildcats’ finest defensive performance of the season.
They couldn’t sustain it, however. Arizona allowed 34 points against Colorado, 69 against Washington State and 41 against Arizona State to close the campaign.
The start of 2019 brought more of the same. The UA surrendered 45 points in its Week 0 loss at Hawaii. The Wildcats played well defensively in the first half against NAU before backsliding in the second.
Then came Texas Tech, which felt a lot like last year’s Oregon game. The question then becomes: How does Arizona keep it going the rest of the way?
Senior defensive back Jace Whittaker said the key is “setting a standard. Letting everybody know that that is the standard – and we want to be better than just the standard. The standard is something … you’re supposed to do. Do more, though. If you want to be great, you’ve got to do more.”
The Texas Tech game instilled confidence in the defense, which tackled well, generally executed its assignments and adjusted in real time to the Red Raiders’ frenetic pace. The Wildcats also might have discovered their best personnel deployment, featuring Anthony Pandy as a third linebacker and Whittaker as a safety.
One key difference between this year and last is Whittaker’s availability. He missed almost the entire 2018 season because of injuries. The more he helps the Cats with his smarts and playmaking, the more everyone realizes how much they missed him a year ago.
Whittaker is determined to make sure Arizona’s defense doesn’t regress, especially with conference play getting underway.
“We want to win every game,” Whittaker said. “But the games that matter the most, in my opinion, and what I try to stress my team is, it’s Pac-12 football. That’s what we came here to do. That’s the time to turn it up.”
Special teams: Respect the Bruins’ athletes, returners
UCLA wide receiver Demetric Felton (10) scores the go ahead touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Washington State in Pullman, Wash., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019. UCLA won 67-63. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
UA safety Chacho Ulloa is familiar with UCLA’s Demetric Felton and Kyle Phillips from their high school days and the Southern California 7-on-7 circuit.
“I know these athletes,” Ulloa said.
So Ulloa wasn’t surprised to see Felton return a kickoff for a touchdown and Phillips a punt against Washington State. Ulloa knows the Wildcats can’t afford to let something like that happen to them.
“We have to make sure that no matter what we’re on our A-game,” Ulloa said.
Junior kicker Lucas Havrisik continues to be an asset for the kickoff-coverage team. He has booted 16 of 22 kickoffs for touchbacks, or 72.7%. That’s right in line with his career rate of 73.7% entering this season.
When opponents have gotten a chance, they have been effective. Arizona has allowed 23.2 yards per kickoff return, which ranks sixth in the Pac-12 and 98th nationally. UCLA is third in the league and 12th in the nation in kickoff-return average (28.7). It’s also worth mentioning that Felton took his back from the end zone.
The Bruins rank first nationally in punt-return average at a robust 37.3 yards — albeit with only three attempts. Even without Phillips’ 69-yarder vs. the Cougars, though, the number would be 21.5.
Arizona ranks 10th in the conference and 115th in the country with a net punting average of 35.1 yards. The good news: Only two have been returned, for a mere 9 yards.
