Arizona Aftermath: Storylines, stats and quotes from the Wildcats' win over Houston

The folks who operate inside the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility at Arizona Stadium collectively breathed a sigh of relief Friday night after the Arizona Wildcats ended the program’s five-game losing streak with a 27-3 win over the Houston Cougars.

Notable storylines, statistics and quotes from Arizona’s win over Houston — and where the Wildcats go from here.

Déjà vu

Arizona repeated history on Friday.

Coming out of a bye week after suffering a blowout loss, Arizona pulled off a win, which happened earlier in the season on the road against 10th-ranked Utah, which was actually the last time the Wildcats celebrated a victory.

In Arizona’s 24-point win over Houston, the Wildcats saved their season from bowl elimination in a fashion akin to the Utah triumph, with defense and special teams. When Arizona took down Utah, the Wildcats scored two touchdowns and three field goals. Against Houston, Arizona flipped the touchdowns (three) and field goals (two).

The Wildcats also created multiple takeaways and were successful on third- and fourth-down stops on defense in both games, holding Utah and Houston to a combined 0 for 8 on fourth down — 8 for 28 (29%) on third down. The Wildcats also had two fumble recoveries and an interception — and they won the turnover battle in their only two wins in Big 12 play.

Arizona stuck with its dime defense, with second-year edge rusher Dominic Lolesio and others taking over for the injured Chase Kennedy, who previously started eight games this season.

But the Wildcats added a twist on defense: Arizona often crowded the box and either pressured Houston’s dual-threat quarterback Zeon Chriss or dropped back in coverage. The disguised blitzes and drop-backs by Arizona linebacker Taye Brown and the defensive secondary “was obviously effective,” said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. Arizona sophomore defensive back Genesis Smith said, “It was a new look that we added this week ... and a good changeup for us.”

A game after giving up 56 points to UCF, the Wildcats gave up the fewest points since the season-opening win over Northern Arizona last season, albeit Houston is the lowest-scoring team in the Big 12. Arizona also reduced its missed tackles from 23 against UCF to 10 on Friday, according to Pro Football Focus. A plan Brennan called “population at the football,” getting as many bodies to swarm to the football as possible, was the objective for Arizona’s defense.

In a game where the offense stalled in the first and second quarters, Arizona’s defense kept the Wildcats ahead.

“I think that call gave us something in the game,” Brennan said. “I thought the players did a great job of executing it. ... Tonight, we had good gap integrity and then I thought our guys played incredibly hard. That was the one thing I said coming out of this game, it needs to look on tape that we’re playing harder than them. That’s it. That’s the only standard I gave the team for tonight: we need to play harder than the opponent.”

In comparison to the Utah game, Arizona had a standout defensive back against Houston, but it’s not cornerback Tacario Davis and his five pass breakups this time; it’s Smith, who had seven tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and had zero missed tackles, per PFF. Statistically, Friday night was arguably the best performance as a Wildcat for Smith, who now leads the team with three interceptions.

Smith has emerged as a Swiss-army knife, plug-and-play defensive back for Arizona, especially with the absences of nickel back Treydan Stukes and safety Gunner Maldonado, who are out with season-ending injuries. Smith has started at three different positions in Arizona’s defensive secondary this season.

“We all just continue to see Genesis grow and develop as a really good player,” Brennan said. “Some of that is him getting thrusted into action with some of the injuries we had early on. ... He continues to find the football and continues to make plays at the line of scrimmage. He’s a guy we absolutely depend on.”

As far as special teams...

Loop’s record day

Arizona’s hurry-up offense to end the first half allowed kicker Tyler Loop to add to his stacked résumé and make a program-record 62-yard field goal; the previous record was 57 yards by Loop’s predecessor Lucas Havrisik (twice).

“Funny enough, my last field goal that I hit before game day was a 62-yarder in practice,” Loop said. “Going out, I was like, ‘Heck yeah! I just did this two days ago,’ which was a bunch of fun. That was really special.”

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Like a golfer looking to find the fairway or pin, Loop has learned how to adjust to different conditions. Loop, who usually kicks with a draw, has worked on “wanting to hit it straighter, a more clean, rotating ball (that) cuts the wind well,” he said.

“I’ve talked about it a lot, it’s not about being a perfect kicker, it’s about being a perfect adjuster, being a good adjuster,” Loop said.

Loop also made a 51-yarder in the third quarter. He is 5 for 7 at field goals from over 50 yards this season. Loop is the 36th player in college football history to connect on a field goal of 62-plus yards.

“None of it is surprising to anybody that’s ever been around Tyler,” Brennan said. “He’s an incredibly hard-working young man.”

‘Ball security was the main focus’ for Conley

In the previous two games, Arizona running back Quali Conley had two costly fumbles in the first half. Conley bounced back on Friday with 11 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown, while catching three passes for 27 yards, including a 13-yard screen for a touchdown — and no fumbles.

“Fumbles are part of the game. Although I had two in back-to-back games, I just felt like ball security was the main focus in this game to get my confidence back,” Conley said.

Arizona’s rushing attack was pedestrian in the previous two games and even in the first half against Houston. In the previous 10 quarters before the second half on Friday, Arizona had 89 net rushing yards. Led by Conley, the Wildcats had 107 in the final two quarters, highlighted by Conley’s 50-yard touchdown run.

Said Brennan: “It was great to see it pay off tonight. ... I’m really happy for Quali.”

By the numbers

48: Days between Arizona’s last two wins. Before Friday, the Wildcats’ last home win was against Northern Arizona on Sept. 7.

326: Total yards Arizona allowed after surrendering 602 yards against UCF. It’s the fewest since the Wildcats gave up 182 yards to NAU.

25: Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan’s 25th career touchdown catch on Friday put him in sole possession of third place for all-time receiving touchdowns. McMillan is 112 yards away from setting the Arizona record for career receiving yards.

They said it

Brennan, on the celebration in the locker room on Friday: “This thing is never about me. It’s about those kids,” said Brennan, who was doused with water before his postgame press conference. “It’s about seeing them smile, hug each other and dance and jump around, throw water. I’m just happy for them. To see that excitement on their faces, that hope on their faces, is really special.”

Conley, on McMillan’s touchdown grab and highlight one-handed catch near the Houston sideline: “He makes unbelievable catches. Him just doing that, he’s a special guy. It just gives everybody motivation. ... Only T-Mac can make those plays.”

Looking ahead

Arizona’s (4-6) bowl hopes remain alive with two games to conclude the regular season. On Saturday, the Wildcats will face the TCU Horned Frogs (6-4) in Fort Worth, before hosting rival Arizona State for the Territorial Cup.

“We’re fired up,” said Brennan. “It feels good. The locker room is just electric. We were focused on just getting one (win). We had to get one. ... I thought our players responded great tonight.”