The Arizona Wildcats lost to Washington State 31-20 Saturday afternoon at Arizona Stadium. Here are some pertinent notes, quotes and statistics from the UA’s defeat:
NOTES
* Arizona lost the game before the Territorial Cup for the seventh straight season. The Wildcats’ last win in their penultimate regular-season game came in 2015 against Utah.
* Arizona suffered its seventh defeat of the season, eliminating the Wildcats from bowl contention. Arizona has not played in a postseason game since the 2017 Foster Farms Bowl.
* The Wildcats haven’t won back-to-back games since Weeks 3 and 4 of the 2019 season. Arizona won four in a row that year to reach 4-1. The Wildcats are 5-30 since.
* Arizona limited WSU to 354 yards of total offense, the third-lowest total by a UA opponent this season. The Wildcats averaged more yards per play than the opposition for the third consecutive week. WSU’s 4.8 yards per play were the lowest by a UA foe since the season opener vs. San Diego State (4.0).
* Arizona established a season high in tackles for loss for the second straight week. The Wildcats amassed eight TFLs vs. the Cougars. Arizona tallied seven vs. UCLA.
* Arizona’s 22 rushing attempts tied its season low (Mississippi State). The Wildcats’ 84 net rushing yards were their second fewest of the season (40 vs. MSU).
* QB Jayden de Laura threw a career-high four interceptions. His pervious career high was three. De Laura threw four touchdown passes for WSU in last year’s matchup.
* De Laura passed for 357 yards, the sixth time in the past eight games that he has thrown for 300 or more. De Laura has amassed 3,485 yards this season, fifth most in UA history.
* WR Dorian Singer set a career high with 176 receiving yards. He matched his career high with nine receptions. Singer has four 100-yard receiving games this season.
* WR Tetairoa McMillan’s 75 receiving yards gave him 702 for the season – the most by a freshman in UA history. Nate Phillips held the record with 696 in 2013.
* WR Jacob Cowing caught six passes, which upped his season total to 80. He became the seventh player in UA annals to catch 80-plus passes in a season. Cowing also extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 43, which is the longest in the nation.
* Arizona has three receivers with 700 or more yards. It’s the only time (1996-current) that the Wildcats have sported three 700-yard receivers in a season. They’re the first Pac-12 program to hit that mark since Washington State and USC in 2019.
* With four receptions, Tanner McLachlan raised his season total to 33. That’s the second most in a season by a UA tight end. Rob Gronkowski holds the mark with 47 catches in 2008.
* Safety Gunner Maldonado tied his career high in tackles with nine and established a career best with 1.5 TFLs. He also was credited with a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
* UA freshman DE Isaiah Ward had his first career sack in his second career game.
QUOTES
UA coach Jedd Fisch on the loss: “Disappointed in the outcome of the game today. Washington State is a very good team. Been saying it all week. Very good defense. You can't turn the ball over four times against a good defense and expect to win. ... Offensively we did a lot of good things and then we wound up getting stopped in different spots. A little bit of Murphy's Law today – what could go wrong did go wrong.”
Fisch on the offense struggling vs. WSU’s defense: “Well, they’re the No. 1 scoring defense in the Pac-12. ... They give you just enough blitz. You gotta be aware of their pressures at all times. They’re long, they’re tall up front. They play a good coverage scheme. We didn't execute our offense is really what happened more than anything.”
Fisch on the UA defense’s recent improvement: “The growth has come from the amount of young players we’re playing. Early on in the season, I would say we're probably playing somewhere in the range of 13-14 players on defense. Now I think we're playing up to about 19-20 players, so they're fresher. They're coming in with more pass rush. That's a huge part of a pass rush. Some of our pressures have begun to hit home as Jacob Manu has been able to really impact a lot of the pass rush by just adding himself into some of the pressures. We've been a little bit more aggressive with our safeties in the blitz scheme. Gunner Maldonado showed up today a lot in the backfield. And then I also believe that they've just gotten better. It's a true progression of a team with a first-year coordinator, first year that they've all been together, just continuing to get better.”
Manu on the defense’s performance: “We just told each other that we gotta do our one of 11. I feel like we did a good job, but there's always room for improvement.”
RB Michael Wiley on the upcoming Territorial Cup: “Big game. Rivalry week. I know for a fact that I'm gonna come ready to play Friday. As a team, we’re gonna be ready for that game for sure.”
Manu on his motivation for the Territorial Cup: “Really just playing for my seniors, trying to get this win for the whole program and all of Arizona. I know it means a lot. I can't wait.”
WSU coach Jake Dickert on the Cougars’ defense: “What a defensive performance, besides the last couple drives. I just give credit to our players. This is a players’ game. Our defense has been doing this all season and wanted to go out there and prove it against a very good offense."
WSU safety Sam Lockett III on the defense’s performance: "We knew what they were going to do coming in. We knew that they're a big-play offense. I give a lot of credit to our D-line. They were moving (de Laura) out the pocket a lot. It's tough to throw on the run, so it gave us the opportunity to go and get the ball."
STATS
* WSU had 22 first downs; Arizona had 19
* Arizona had 441 total yards; WSU had 354
* Arizona averaged 6.5 yards per play; WSU averaged 4.8
* WSU had 161 rushing yards; Arizona had 84
* Arizona had 5 penalties for 22 yards; WSU had 3 for 20
* WSU possessed the ball for 33 minutes; Arizona had it for 27
* WSU converted 5 of 13 third downs; Arizona converted 2 of 11
* WSU scored touchdowns on 3 of 4 trips into the red zone; Arizona went 1 for 1
* WSU’s average starting field position was its 35-yard line; Arizona’s was its 25
* WSU quarterback Cameron Ward completed 25 of 36 passes for 193 yards and 1 TD; he also rushed 8 times for 59 yards and 1 score
* WSU tailback Nakia Watson had 86 scrimmage yards on 20 touches and 2 TDs
* Wiley had 97 scrimmage yards on 12 touches
* WSU cornerback Derrick Langford Jr. had 6 tackles, 1 INT (returned for a TD) and 0.5 TFLs
* Lockett had 5 tackles, 2 INTs and 1 TFL
* UA safety Jaxen Turner had 10 tackles, including 8 solos
* UA safety Christian Young had 9 tackles and 1 TFL
* UA safety Isaiah Taylor had 6 tackles, 1 TFL and 1 PBU
* UA cornerback Treydan Stukes had 5 tackles, 1 TFL and 1 PBU
* UA defensive tackle Kyon Barrs had 5 tackles and 1 TFL
