Big plays and misplays. Signs of hope and cause for concern.
In a way, the Arizona Wildcatsβ season opener Saturday night was everything it was expected to be. The young guys showed playmaking promise. The defense is still a work in progress. The offense isnβt all the way there yet. And the special teams, well, they might be appreciably better.
The UAβs 62-24 victory over Northern Arizona in front of an announced crowd of 43,620 featured all of the above and more. After an uneven start, the Wildcats pulled away and cruised to their 13th straight victory over the Lumberjacks. It was also Arizonaβs 17th straight win in a home opener.
βI thought we got outplayed and got outcoached in the first half, and we struggled defensively the whole game,β UA coach Rich Rodriguez said. βBut itβs good to have a win, and itβs better to teach off a win than a loss.β
Did the Wildcats show enough to inspire confidence that they can beat Houston next week? It probably depends on whom you ask.
Optimists will point to the explosiveness of the offense and the opportunistic nature of the defense β compliments rarely applicable to either last season.
Five of Arizonaβs first six touchdowns covered at least 43 yards: Shun Brownβs 66-yard punt return, Nick Wilsonβs 46-yard run, Tony Ellisonβs 43-yard reception, Tyrell Johnsonβs 55-yard end-around and Brandon Dawkinsβ 66-yard run.
Dawkins, starting his first career opener, rushed for a pair of scores. He finished with 92 yards on the ground and 89 through the air β the second consecutive time his rushing yardage exceeded his passing output. Dawkins exited midway through the third quarter with Arizona leading 48-14.
Both games ended in UA victories. But the passing game will need to progress for the Wildcats to defeat superior opponents.
It helps when other aspects of the team do their part.
The defense β featuring three freshman starters and several others who rotated in β looked leaky at times. But it also produced three takeaways. Arizona forced 14 turnovers all of last season and had more than one in a game only three times.
One of the freshmen, defensive end Kylan Wilborn, helped turn the tide in the first quarter. With the score tied 7-7, Wilborn sacked NAU quarterback Case Cookus and forced him to fumble. Finton Connolly recovered the ball.
Five plays later, Wilson raced 46 yards to the end zone to put Arizona up 14-7. The Wildcats wouldnβt trail the rest of the way.
Veteran safety Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles made sure the Lumberjacks wouldnβt rally. On the first scrimmage play of the second quarter, Flannigan-Fowles intercepted Cookus at the 1-yard line. Later in the quarter, Flannigan-Fowles picked off Cookus again.
Flannigan-Fowles, a junior from Tucson, became the first Wildcat to record multiple interceptions in a game since TraβMayne Bondurant in 2013. Cookus entered Saturday with a career touchdown-to-interception ratio of 50-6.
The youthful defense allowed 203 yards in a shaky first quarter β but only 359 over the final three.
Takeaways were rare last year; game-changing special-teams plays were even rarer. One big play in the first quarter suggested things might be different in that area this season.
With no score in the first quarter, Brown fielded a 50-yard punt from Luis Aguilar. The junior eluded a handful of Lumberjacks, then broke to the right, where a wall had formed. Sixty-six yards later, he had Arizonaβs first touchdown of this season and its first punt-return TD since Nate Phillips had one 2015.
The 66-yard score doubled Arizonaβs longest return, punt or kickoff, from last season. It also exceeded, by 10 yards, the Wildcatsβ entire punt-return output from 2016.
Although heβs an important member of the offense, Brown relishes the opportunity to return kicks.
Brown also predicted the special-teams units β now under the direction of first-year coordinator Brian Knorr β would be βgreatβ this season, saying: βThereβs going to be a lot of plays made this year.β
Freshman Lucas Havrisikβs contributions Saturday night donβt exactly count as βplays,β but they helped as well. Havrisik kicked off 10 times. The first nine resulted in touchbacks.
Dawkins yielded to Khalil Tate in the third quarter. The sophomore rushed for 62 yards before leaving because of an apparent injury. Rodriguez inserted his son, Rhett Rodriguez, who scored Arizonaβs final touchdown on a 1-yard run.
By the time it was over, the Wildcats had surpassed 500 rushing yards for the second consecutive game. Between Saturday night and the 2016 Territorial Cup, Arizona amassed 1,017 yards on the ground.
