Halftime show: At season's midway point, Star hands out Arizona Wildcats awards, makes predictions

At the halfway point of their schedule, the Arizona Wildcats (4-2, 2-1 Pac-12) are tied for first place in the Pac-12 South with Arizona State, USC and Utah.

It has been a roller coaster.

If quarterback Khalil Tate had rushed for 1 more yard on the road against Hawaii, Arizona might have been one win from bowl eligibility heading into the second half of the season. Instead, the Wildcats coughed up nearly 600 yards to the Rainbow Warriors despite forcing six takeaways and were sent back to Tucson with another season-opening loss in the Kevin Sumlin era.

Arizona then rallied, winning four straight against NAU, Texas Tech, UCLA and Colorado. The Wildcats garnered votes in the AP Top 25 poll. And through three quarters against Washington last week, the UA looked capable of extending its streak to five games. Then UW scored 24 points in the fourth quarter and handed the UA its second loss of the season.

The Star’s Michael Lev, Justin Spears and Ryan Finley look back at the first six games. For more on our midseason awards, download the latest episode of The Wildcast wherever you get your podcasts:

Offensive MVP

Lev: C Josh McCauley. This was trending in Khalil Tate’s direction until the Washington game, which represented a step backward for the senior quarterback. With no running back or receiver emerging as a true No. 1 yet, my vote goes to McCauley, the steadiest member of Arizona’s usually sound offensive line.

Spears: QB Khalil Tate. The debacle against Washington doesn’t help Tate’s case, but the Wildcats are multidimensional when the senior is at his best. Tate is the only Pac-12 quarterback besides Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota to pass for 5,000 yards and rush for 2,000 in a career. Against Colorado in Boulder, Tate threw for a career-high 404 yards and led the Wildcats to a 35-30 win. Against Texas Tech, he bolted for an 84-yard touchdown run and flashed the legs from 2017. Grant Gunnell was the goods against UCLA, but it’s tough to assume the true freshman could replicate those numbers every week.

Finley: RB Gary Brightwell. Arizona’s best offensive player is a running back — just not the running back you’d expect. Brightwell leads the Wildcats’ regulars with 6.5 yards per carry — that’s nearly 1 yard per carry more than J.J. Taylor’s 5.6 — and is tied for first among running backs with four rushing scores.

Defensive MVP

Lev: LB Tony Fields II. This is more about the eyeball test than any particular statistic, although Fields does lead the Wildcats with 47 tackles (to go along with two tackles for loss, two PBUs and one INT). Although he doesn’t have a sack, Fields has been one of Arizona’s most effective pass rushers when given the chance, recording multiple QB pressures (not an officially kept stat) at key moments.

Spears: LB Tony Fields II. Arizona’s linebacking corps of Fields, Colin Schooler and Anthony Pandy has been effective for the defense, but Fields so far has stood out among the bunch. Fields has pressured quarterbacks this season, which was a question mark for the defense in the offseason. Plus, Fields has started 31 consecutive games since his freshman season. Is there an iron man award category?

Finley: LB Anthony Pandy. Based strictly on numbers, this is Colin Schooler’s award — but it’s Pandy who has been most valuable to the Wildcats’ defense. His emergence has allowed defensive coordinator Marcel Yates to put the best 11 guys on the field. You can’t really quantify that.

Special teams MVP

Lev: K Lucas Havrisik. This one goes to Havrisik by default, although he has done plenty of positive things to earn the distinction. In addition to making 5 of 7 field goal attempts — including a pair of 50-yarders — Havrisik has been better than ever on kickoffs, booting 32 of 38 for touchbacks.

Spears: K Lucas Havrisik. Tate wouldn’t of been in position to either tie or win the game against Hawaii if it weren’t for Havrisik. Sure, Havrisik is 5 of 7 on field goals, including two that were 50-plus yards. But when the UA trailed by 10 and back-to-back false start penalties forced Havrisik to attempt a 53-yard field goal. He nailedit, which later on gave Arizona’s offense last-second faith. Clutch.

Finley: K Lucas Havrisik. Arizona’s opponents have returned just six kickoffs all season, an average of exactly one per game. Credit Havrisik, who has boomed 32 touchbacks.

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Best newcomer

Lev: DT Trevon Mason. There are several candidates here, including speedy WR Tayvian Cunningham and promising freshman CB Christian Roland-Wallace. But Mason has made the biggest impact at a position of need, racking up 21 tackles and 2.5 TFLs and getting better every week after joining the team in July.

Spears: LG Robert Congel. The Texas A&M transfer has anchored the left guard spot on what Lev called a steady offensive line. Congel and fellow interior linemen McCauley and Cody Creason have been some of the Wildcats’ most consistent players. Since Creason and McCauley aren’t newcomers and Congel is — he sat out last season per NCAA transfer rules — he gets the nod.

Finley: WR Tayvian Cunningham. The former JC track star has 21 catches for 230 yards and two scores in his first taste of major college football. Not bad for a guy who showed up in (checks notes) June.

Top moment

Lev: Khalil Tate’s mad dash against Hawaii. Although he fell 1 yard shy of the goal line — 1 yard! — Tate’s desperation scramble on the last play of the game was the first “Oh my God!” moment of the 2019 college football season, and a sign that he may have returned to his playmaking form of 2017 (although the jury’s still out on that).

Spears: When Sumlin called a timeout to ice UCLA kicker J.J. Molson before attempting a game-tying field goal. I thought “There’s no way this works” and seconds later, wide right. The Wildcats won 20-17 after Sumlin rolled the dice.

Finley: Khalil Tate’s 30-yard, near-touchdown run at Hawaii. I don’t care that he finished one yard short.

Best uniform combination

Lev: The all-whites worn against Hawaii. I’m a big fan of the Wildcats’ white jerseys — not so much the blue or red, which desperately need white piping around the numbers to make the digits pop. My favorite combo — blue helmets, white jerseys and blue pants — has not been worn yet.

Spears: The all-navy uniforms the UA wore in its win over UCLA were sweet for one reason: decals. The UA went back to its traditional “block A” after wearing all-red A’s on their navy helmets the last two years. The red, white and blue decal gave the matte blue helmet more pop. Prediction: Arizona’s best uniforms will be the throwback “Desert Swarm” look against Oregon State for homecoming in a few weeks.

Finley: The USS Arizona-inspired helmet and road uniforms that Arizona wore at Hawaii. Scrap the candy-red lids and wear this every week.

Second-half breakout player

Lev: RB J.J. Taylor. Taylor missed the better part of three games because of a sprained ankle, limiting his rushing output to 301 yards. But he looked like his usual self against Washington last week (18-89-1 rushing, 3-37 receiving), and we should see plenty of Taylor in a featured role over what could be the final six games of the redshirt junior’s UA career.

Spears: DT Trevon Mason. The junior college transfer is in a similar role as PJ Johnson a year ago. Like Johnson, the run-stuffing Mason continues to improve as the season progresses. Mason leads the UA defensive linemen with 21 tackles including 2.5 stops for losses. Expect Mason to earn his first sack of the year with six games left.

Finley: Boobie Curry. Yes, he’s a freshman with exactly one college catch. But coaches love the receiver’s 6-2, 206-pound frame and playmaking ability. Plus, Curry’s rapport with a certain high school teammate — Grant Gunnell — could make him a favorite target if Arizona is forced to play the backup quarterback more.