Arizona Wildcats football practice

Khalil Tate threw nine interceptions last season, but you can't blame them all on the Arizona Wildcats quarterback.

 Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star

Game week is almost here. Come Monday, the Arizona Wildcats will turn all of their attention to BYU, which visits Arizona Stadium for the season opener a week from Saturday. At that point, 2017 will be a distant speck in the rearview mirror.

But we still have a little bit of time to look back. Specifically, I wanted to re-examine all nine of quarterback Khalil Tate’s interceptions.

How many were his fault? Did they have a common theme? What can we learn from those turnovers?

Let’s go through each one and see what we can unearth.

INTERCPTION NO. 1

Opponent: Houston

Score/situation: The Cougars led 19-16 late in the fourth quarter. Arizona faced first-and-10 at the Houston 32-yard line.

What happened: Tate – despite not being 100 percent because of a shoulder injury – had entered in relief of Brandon Dawkins. On his first possession, Tate led Arizona on a 10-play, 30-yard drive for a field goal. His second ended with a pick by Garrett Davis. The pass was intended for Shun Brown, who lined up in the right slot. Tate hesitated, threw late and slightly behind Brown, who didn’t run a crisp route. You can see the play at the 3:57 mark below.

Analysis: Tate didn’t need to force the ball under those circumstances. The interception happened with 3:49 left. Arizona already was within range to attempt the tying field goal.

INTERCEPTION NO. 2

Opponent: Cal

Score/situation: The game was tied, 31-31, late in the fourth quarter. Arizona faced third-and-6 at the Cal 43. The Wildcats snapped the ball with 43 seconds left in regulation.

What happened: Tate had Brown open underneath but forced the ball down the field to Shawn Poindexter. Poindexter misjudged the pass, and Ashtyn Davis intercepted it at the 1-yard line.

Analysis: Another instance where Tate needed to be more patient. Arizona needed just 10 yards or so to get into field-goal range. If Poindexter had tracked the ball better, he might have caught it. But that doesn’t justify the decision Tate made.

INTERCEPTION NO. 3

Opponent: Washington State

Score/situation: Arizona was leading 23-20 early in the third quarter. The Wildcats faced second-and-5 at their 30-yard line.

What happened: Tate threw a pass over the middle intended for Poindexter. Jahad Woods intercepted it. But the play should have been overturned by penalty. As I wrote at the time, WSU’s Marcellus Pippins “clearly contacted Poindexter before the ball arrived.

Analysis: Blown call. Shouldn’t have been an interception. Not Tate’s fault in any way.

INTERCEPTION NO. 4

Opponent: USC

Score/situation: After rallying to tie the game, Arizona had just fallen behind 42-35. The Wildcats faced first-and-10 from their 25 with 5:37 remaining in the fourth quarter.

What happened: After a play-action fake, Tate rolled to his right. Although Devaughn Cooper was open underneath, near the right sideline, Tate elected to fire the ball downfield toward Tony Ellison. The pass was off the mark, and USC’s Ajene Harris picked it off. You can see the play at the 2:21 mark below.

Analysis: Another case of Tate trying to do too much. He and Ellison didn’t seem to be on the same page – you can see how far off the pass was. But again, it’s more about the decision than the execution.

INTERCEPTION NO. 5

Opponent: USC

Score/situation: Now trailing 49-35, Arizona faced third-and-8 at its 37 with less than three minutes remaining.

What happened: Tate fired a strike into the chest of a backpedaling Brown. But Brown bobbled the ball, and it bounded into the arms of linebacker John Houston for the game-clinching interception. You can see the play at the 2:52 mark below.

Analysis: Another one that wasn’t Tate’s fault. The pass couldn’t have been thrown any better, and if the normally sure-handed Brown had hung on to it, the Wildcats would have had a first down.

INTERCEPTION NO. 6

Oregon State cornerback Shawn Wilson made a smart play to intercept Khalil Tate.

Opponent: Oregon State

Score/situation: Arizona led 7-0 about midway through the first quarter. The Wildcats faced first-and-10 at the Beavers’ 34-yard line.

What happened: Tate lofted a pass for tight end Jamie Nunley down the right sideline. It was a well-thrown ball, but Oregon State DB Shawn Wilson picked it off.

Analysis: Great, heady play by Wilson. As I wrote at the time, Wilson “appeared to peel away from an underneath route to pick off Tate at the 5-yard line.” With another year of experience, Tate might recognize that situation and either put more zip on the ball or go elsewhere. But the truth is, the other guys just win sometimes.

INTERCEPTION NO. 7

Opponent: Oregon

Score/situation: Arizona trailed 28-21 late in the first half. The Wildcats faced second-and-10 from their 25-yard line.

What happened: After a play-action fake, Tate drifted to his right. He tried to force the ball to Ellison in a crowd. Ugochukwu Amadi picked it off at the UA 32. You can see the play at the 5-minute mark below.

Analysis: Ellison simply wasn’t open. One got the sense that Tate was pressing in a game in which Arizona’s banged-up defense was having major trouble stopping Oregon’s offense. Amadi almost intercepted Tate’s previous attempt, which was a little late and a little behind Ellison near the right sideline.

INTERCEPTION NO. 8

Opponent: Oregon

Score/situation: The Ducks led 48-28 with less than a minute left. The Wildcats faced first-and-10 at the Oregon 35.

What happened: After a straight dropback, Tate scrambled to his right. Under pressure, he chucked the ball into the end zone. Ty Griffin stepped in front of Brown to intercepted it. You can see the play at the 9:52 mark below.

Analysis: It wasn’t technically a Hail Mary, but it might as well have been. Tate was just trying to make something happen. The game already had been decided. One could argue that neither he nor Brown should have been playing at that point.

INTERCEPTION NO. 9

Opponent: Purdue

Score/situation: The Boilermakers led 38-35 with less than 90 seconds left in the Foster Farms Bowl. Arizona faced third-and-10 from its 32.

What happened: Brown initially ran a hook route to the right side. When he saw Tate scrambling, Brown started to run up the field. Tate overthrew him by several yards. Jacob Thieneman had an easy interception to ice the game. You can see the play at the 2:22 mark below.

Analysis: I asked Tate about this play at Pac-12 Media Day, and he chalked up to him and Brown not being on the same page. Indeed, Tate thought Brown would keep running. Instead, he stopped around midfield. I’m not sure they would have connected even if Brown had kept going.

So what can we glean from all this? A few takeaways:

  • Two of the picks – the one against Washington State and the second one against USC – weren’t Tate’s fault.
  • Most of the ones that were fall under the category of Tate trying to do too much. He’s extremely competitive, and that sometimes can work against a quarterback. With more experience, he should make better decisions this season.
  • Finally, there’s a lot that goes into any given play. It’s easy to blame everything on the quarterback, but it’s also unfair. Tate’s receivers weren’t exactly where he thought they would be on some of those picks. Although they’re playing in a new system, Brown, Poindexter and Ellison should benefit from a full offseason of working with Tate as the clear No. 1 quarterback.

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Contact sports reporter Michael Lev at 573-4148 or mlev@tucson.com. On Twitter @michaeljlev