Asked to describe the winless start to the first half of the Arizona Wildcatsโ season, Jedd Fisch turned to basketball.
โWeโre playing with great effort โฆ but just like Kobe Bryant (said), โYou can go out there and try to outwork everybody, but unless your shots go in, in the end it doesnโt matter,โโ Fisch said earlier this week. โAt this point in time, we need our shots to fall. Thatโs why Kobe was so special; his shots went in.โ
In other words, great effort doesnโt always translate to wins. The Wildcats have lost 18 consecutive games, but are โin great mental spiritsโ heading into Friday nightโs matchup against Washington at Arizona Stadium, Fisch said.
The team has six games left to get back in the wins column.
โTheyโre very confident in the second half of the season,โ Fisch said. โWe talked to our team about it being halftime, and that none of us have been a part of a game in our lives that at halftime, you donโt say the score is 0-0.
โThe way we look at it is we just finished the first half of the season and it is now time to go play the second half of the season.โ
Hereโs how the Wildcats have fared over the first half of the season, as rated by the Starโs Michael Lev, Justin Spears and Alec White:
Quarterbacks
Levโs grade: D
Spearsโ grade: D
Whiteโs grade: D-
Comment: The Wildcats have played all three of their scholarship quarterbacks so far this season, and each one has thrown an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Gunner Cruz, a big-bodied Washington State transfer, threw his pick-six in the Wildcatsโ 34-0 loss to Colorado this past weekend. Second-year freshman Will Plummer threw a pick-six in the Wildcatsโ historic loss to Northern Arizona, while South Florida transfer Jordan McCloud tossed his during the UAโs road loss at Oregon. McCloud boosted Arizonaโs offense when he started against the Ducks and UCLA, and had the Wildcats within a possession in the fourth quarter in both games, but five interceptions on the road and a season-ending leg injury prevented Arizona from capitalizing. Cruz suffered a season-ending thumb injury against Colorado, which leaves Plummer as the only available scholarship quarterback, with walk-ons Luke Ashworth and Brayden Zermeno as reserves. Quarterback play is essential for any successful program; at Arizona, itโs at the root of this teamโs problems.
Running backs
Levโs grade: B
Spearsโ grade: B
Whiteโs grade: B
Comment: This was a position dripping with potential and depth ever since the start of spring ball, albeit Arizona lost Gary Brightwell to the NFL draft. Returning standout Michael Wiley was named to the preseason Doak Walker Award watch list, but has posted just 185 rushing yards; his only touchdown of the year so far came on a trick play against UCLA. Although heโs questionable to play this week due to injury, Northwestern transfer Drake Anderson leads the Wildcats in rushing with 239 yards. The latest positive development from Arizonaโs running back room is Oregon native and freshman Jalen John, who posted a career-high 71 yards against Colorado. Tucsonan Stevie Rocker has also entered the rotation and is the final piece of Scottie Grahamโs rushing quartet. As the Wildcats continue to deal with quarterback problems, this group could be the only hope Arizona has to win a game this season.
Wide receivers/tight ends
Levโs grade: C+
Spearsโ grade: B-
Whiteโs grade: B
Comment: The good news: Arizona tight end Bryce Wolma has the most receptions (six) in a season since his freshman year in 2017, so Fischโs promise to incorporate tight ends more has come to fruition. The bad news? Despite having a passing offense thatโs in the top half of the Pac-12, the Wildcats rank 10th in passing touchdowns. UA captain Stanley Berryhill III is Arizonaโs top pass-catcher with 48 receptions; the next guy in line, BJ Casteel, has 21, with Wiley (16), Tayvian Cunningham (14) and Anderson (14) just behind.
First-year coach Jedd Fisch is staying positive, even as the program remains mired in an 18-game losing streak thatโs the longest in the country.
Offensive line
Levโs grade: C-
Spearsโ grade: D
Whiteโs grade: F
Comment: Arizona returned all five of its starters from a year ago in left tackle Jordan Morgan, left guard Donovan Laie, center Josh McCauley, right guard Josh Donovan and right tackle Paiton Fears with center-guard hybrid Josh Baker as the โsixth starter,โ but attrition and growing pains have shown through six games.
Defensive line/linebackers
Levโs grade: C+
Spearsโ grade: C
Whiteโs grade: C
Comment: Don Brown โ also known as โDr. Blitzโ โ has turned the Wildcats loose on defense. โWillโ linebacker Anthony Pandy leads the team with 44 tackles, while โMikeโ linebacker Treshaun Hayward has 34. Hayward missed the Colorado game and will be out this week for personal reasons, but fellow transfer Jerry Roberts is expected to fill the void. Up front, Mo Diallo, Kyon Barrs, Jalen Harris and Trevon Mason have shown they are Arizonaโs core in the trenches, but the Wildcats are 11th in the conference in sacks. Arizonaโs front seven has considerably improved from last season, but thereโs still plenty of room to improve.
BYU wide receiver Neil Pauโu stiff-arms Arizona cornerback Isaiah Rutherford on his way to the end zone during the teamsโ season opener. Rutherford, a Notre Dame transfer, has impressed alongside fellow corner Christian Roland-Wallace.
Defensive backs
Levโs grade: B-
Spearsโ grade: B-
Whiteโs grade: B
Comment: Four of Arizonaโs top 10 tacklers play in the backfield. Christian Young is operating as Arizonaโs โViper,โ which is a safety-linebacker hybrid in Brownโs defense, and โCYโ is third on the team in tackles and leads the Wildcats in pass breakups (four). Christian Roland-Wallace and Notre Dame transfer Isaiah Rutherford have also given the Wildcats a nice 1-2 punch at cornerback.
Special teams
Levโs grade: D+
Spearsโ grade: C-
Whiteโs grade: D
Comment: Lucas Havrisik is the Wildcatsโ long-distance kicker, with Tyler Loop as the 30-yards-and-in guy. Special teams ignited Arizona in the season-opening loss to BYU, when punter Kyle Ostendorp pinned the Cougars on the 1-yard line, which was followed up with a safety, a kickoff return by Cunningham into BYU territory and an offensive touchdown to give the UA a spark. Ostendorp leads the Pac-12 with 48.8 yards per punt. On the flip side, Arizona has given up two blocked punts for touchdowns this season. Woof.
Coaching
Levโs grade: D
Spearsโ grade: D+
Whiteโs grade: C-
Comment: While Fisch has changed the morale of the team and is arguably recruiting better than his two predecessors, he still hasnโt won a game. The Wildcats lost to a Div. I FCS school in NAU and got shut out (by Colorado) for the first time since 2012. Fisch has the benefit of the doubt given itโs just Year 1, but he and the Wildcatsโ coaching staff have their work cut out for them.
