Arizona’s struggles in the red zone against Utah last week were nothing new.
The Wildcats scored only one touchdown in four trips inside the 20-yard line in a game they lost by nine points. The Utes scored TDs on five of six red-zone opportunities.
Arizona ranks last in the nation with a red-zone touchdown rate of 30.3%. UA coach Jedd Fisch plans to do something about it the first chance he gets in the offseason.
“We will start with the red zone the second we can get on the field in the spring,” Fisch said Monday. “We will have the first two days of spring ball fully committed to the red area, because we’re not going to live with red-zone lack of efficiency again next season.”
Fisch and his staff have been working on it all season. But with only two games left — starting with a trip to Washington State on Friday — there’s only so much they can do in 2021.
The Wildcats actually have improved in the confined space of the field Fisch refers to as the “red area.” Over their past four games — all of which were decided by less than 10 points — they have scored five touchdowns in 13 trips (38.5%). In the first six games, the Cats were 5 of 20 (25.0%).
But even the recent rate isn’t nearly good enough. Every other team in the Pac-12 has a TD rate of greater than 50%. The Cougars, who operate a run-and-shoot offense, are 11th at 54.5%.
“You’ve gotta either see the end zone as your friend or as Kryptonite,” Fisch said. “We can’t see it as Kryptonite. We’ve got to embrace it. We’ve got to get into it.”
Fisch spent part of Sunday examining all 105 plays Arizona has run in the red zone this season. He said the Wildcats have committed nine red-zone penalties. In the Oregon game alone, they turned the ball over twice inside the 20.
Arizona running back Drake Anderson found the end zone on this play against Oregon earlier this year, but the Wildcats have often struggled getting touchdowns in 2021.
The worst-case scenario should be a field goal, but that’s not something Fisch and his staff are striving for. He views those “four-point swings” — the different between a touchdown and a field goal — as significant, game-altering plays.
“Our four-point plays moving forward have got to be the most important place we practice, because those are plays that really change the outcomes of games,” Fisch said. “We’re going to embrace that challenge.”
Arizona and its opponents each have had 33 red-zone opportunities this season. The Wildcats have 10 touchdowns and 14 field goals, good for 111 points. Their opponents have 24 touchdowns and eight field goals, good for 191 points. That 80-point difference equates to eight points per game. Arizona has lost four games by eight points or fewer.
So how can the Wildcats capitalize on prime scoring opportunities at a greater clip? Fisch pointed to several areas.
“First of all, you’ve gotta make plays down there. If you have opportunities to make them, you’ve gotta make them,” Fisch said. “No. 2, you’ve gotta be able to throw in tight windows and feel confident that you can call those plays, make those throws and make those tough catches.
“We’ve gotta be able to run the ball downhill and get in the end zone when need be. Your best rushing teams are when you have to run it, they know you have to run it and you can still run it.
“If you can’t run the football in the red zone, you’re usually not very good at it. And that’s where we’re going to really work this offseason.”
Smarter Plummer
Fisch and his staff primarily grade quarterbacks in three areas using the acronym “DTA” — decision-making, timing and accuracy.
Fisch said the decision-making aspect of Will Plummer’s game was on point against Utah.
“I thought his decision-making this week was by far the best,” Fisch said. “He never got sloppy with the ball. He’s gone two games out of the last three without an interception, which is a big point of emphasis.
“He played the smartest game he’s played all year. We had some audibles. He got us into the right play.”
Plummer, who completed 19 of 34 passes for 223 yards and one touchdown, had zero turnover-worthy plays, according to Pro Football Focus. Four of his passes were throwaways. PFF credited Arizona’s receiving corps with one drop, although there were a handful of other balls that could have been caught. The Wildcats were 0 for 6 on contested targets, per PFF.
The only part of Plummer’s performance that Fisch took issue with was the final series. After Arizona got the ball back down nine with 2:10 left, Plummer scrambled for 3 yards, took a sack, was tackled for no gain and threw a checkdown pass.
“The two-minute drive he’d like to take back,” Fisch said. “You can’t take sacks in the two-minute. So it’s that fine line of not pressing ... but when you’re down nine, with 2 minutes and 10 seconds left, you’ve gotta throw the ball.”
ASU kickoff set
Arizona will kick off its season finale in the sunshine.
The annual Territorial Cup matchup between the UA and Arizona State on Nov. 27 is slated for a 2 p.m. start. It will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
The Wildcats are seeking to end a four-game losing streak in their series against the Sun Devils. This will be the first Territorial Cup game for Fisch — and conceivably the last for ASU coach Herm Edwards, whose program is in the midst of an NCAA investigation.
The Sun Devils remain alive for the Pac-12 South title at 7-3, 5-2 in the conference. But they would need to win out and have Utah (7-3, 6-1) lose out to play in the championship game. The Utes defeated the Sun Devils on Oct. 16. ASU visits Oregon State this week. No. 24 Utah hosts No. 3 Oregon.
Extra points
Fisch further discussed the failed 2-point conversion attempt that would have tied the score at 31-all in the fourth quarter. “We felt that we had a good call based on what they’ve done in the past against 2-point plays,” he said. “They called a better defense than we had an offensive play called. That’s part of the game. You’ve gotta try to find a way to make something happen out of nothing, or you’ve gotta get a stop and go win the game 32-31 We didn’t do either of those.”
Fisch called two timeouts in the first quarter and another early in the third to make sure plays and personnel were correct. In general, he’s willing to do that in the first halves of games. “In the first half, I don’t want to waste a play,” Fisch said. “I looked out there on one, we called the wrong formation. So it would have been a dead play. Another time I looked out there, the clock was running down; it would have been a delay of game in the red area. And then the third time, it looked like we had the wrong personnel group on the field. I called the wrong wristband number. So that was my fault.”
Unlike Arizona’s previous Friday game, this one is on the road. With a Thursday-afternoon flight to Pullman on tap, the Wildcats have had to adjust their schedule. The team met for three hours Sunday. Its usually Thursday work will be pushed up several hours. “It’s a little bit tougher when you’re traveling versus when you’re at home,” Fisch said. “But our team has embraced toughness all season long and embraced adversity, so we’re excited about making it hard.”
