LOS ANGELES — Jedd Fisch took a glass-half-full approach when reflecting on the Arizona Wildcats' two losses this season.
In the first of Arizona's setbacks, the Wildcats went to SEC country and, despite committing turnover after turnover — that includes four interceptions from quarterback Jayden de Laura — they took Mississippi State to overtime, finishing inches short of extending the game and potentially sending it into double-overtime.
Then, in last week's loss to seventh-ranked Washington, it was the same 31-24 outcome as the MSU contest, with the Wildcats holding the Huskies to a season-low in points and yards.
"I would say that is a really good start to a season where we know we have seven great battles ahead of us moving forward," Arizona's head coach said.
Arizona's (3-2) next battle? Try undefeated USC (5-0), ranked ninth in the nation and with the third-most yards per game in the FBS. The Trojans, led by defending Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams, play host to the Wildcats at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
"We have a fantastic opportunity to go to the Coliseum and play really good football against a really good football team," Fisch said. "(USC's) a team that came off a battle against Colorado last week and that is an indication of how good the Pac-12 is.
"Every single week, there's going to be challenge after challenge after challenge that we're all going to have to face in terms of who we're playing and how we play. If you don't play well in the Pac-12, you're going to wind up losing games by a lot. If you play well, you still might lose a game. But we're going to have a great battle on our hands," Fisch said. "I don't think (the Pac-12 is) getting nearly the respect across the country, but it is what it is."
For Arizona, playing well at the start of games has been a reoccurring issue, whether it's turning over the ball or not getting into an offensive rhythm until the clock resets after 15 minutes. The Wildcats are getting outscored in the first quarter 31-7 this season, but are outscoring their opponents 45-20 in the second quarter and 86-37 in the second half. In Arizona's two losses this season, the Wildcats outscored the Bulldogs and Huskies a combined 48-34 in quarters two, three and four. However, Arizona trailed 14-0 in both games and played catch-up in the final periods. Last week, Washington scored touchdowns on its opening three possessions.
Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura throws a pass against Mississippi State during the first half earlier this season. He was picked off four times in the Wildcats' 31-24 overtime loss in Starkville.
When second-year quarterback Noah Fifita took over for de Laura and made his first-ever collegiate start, the Wildcats stalled on offense and were forced to punt on the opening drives. Arizona offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll said Fifita "played pretty sound football throughout," but the Wildcats "were a little bit protective of our quarterback on the first couple drives."
De Laura is questionable again Saturday with an ankle injury he suffered at Stanford two weeks ago.
"We needed to help him out earlier," Carroll said of Fifita and the Wildcats against Washington. "The first couple drives, they gave us some tough looks, but he really settled in after the third drive and played a really good game of football. We talked about it last week: his confidence is through the roof, and he's not one to shy away from a tough situation.
"We just need to play our game, do what we do really well and make sure our guys feel very confident going into the game, which they always do. But (rather than) feeling it out, let's just go right away."
Since Arizona scored on its season-opening drive against Northern Arizona, the Wildcats have chewed up a combined 71 minutes and 13 seconds of game clock in the first quarter without any points. In that time frame, the Wildcats have three interceptions, two fumbles, two turnover downs and two three-and-outs.
"I would love to get off the field and not have an eight-minute defensive drive, like what happened last week (against Washington), when we had a three-and-out on offense, then we went eight minutes on defense," Fisch said. "Then we went (four-and-out) and then we went five minutes on defense, then scored to make it 14-7."
Arizona overcoming its first-quarter woes is a tango between the offense and defense. Although Arizona is only allowing 19 points per game this season, the Wildcats still don't have an interception but have six forced fumbles. Turnovers can sometimes create shorter fields for the offense, then it's the offense's responsibility to reward the defense with points. Rinse, wash and repeat.
"Ideally, we get a stop; ideally, we get a score. Ideally, we get a score; ideally, we get a stop. But it's a 60-minute game and our goal is to make sure at the end of the game, we find a way to be one-point higher," Fisch said.
Fisch isn't pushing the panic button on Arizona's first-quarter struggles because in drives that start in the first quarter and end in the second quarter, the Wildcats have scored three touchdowns this season. Arizona started its final possession of the first quarter against Washington with 38 seconds left and then carved out a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.
"We didn't score at the end of the first quarter, but we got the ball at the end of the first quarter," Fisch said.
Setting the tone could be imperative for the Wildcats, if they want to pull off another upset special, like last season's 34-28 triumph over No. 12 UCLA at the Rose Bowl. In that game, the Wildcats went into the second quarter with a 14-0 lead.
"(We're) working on the best way to win the football game," Fisch said. "To do that, it's going to come down to great defense, it's going to come down to taking the football away, it's going to come down to long, tedious drives on their side of the ball, and it's going to come down to scoring on 67-70% of the drives on offense."
That includes drives in the first quarter. If the Wildcats don't, there's a possibility Arizona will chase — and never catch up to the Trojans — on Saturday.
Arizona defensive end Taylor Upshaw and running back Jonah Coleman discuss the Wildcats' upcoming road test at No. 9 USC. Video by Justin Spears / Arizona Daily Star
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Jedd Fisch said there's "no change at this point" with Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura's (ankle) status. Noah Fifita "has been taking a majority of the team reps at this point."
Arizona running back Jonah Coleman "can run through you, over you and around you."
