Arizona football team looking to fix 'small detail, big impact' mistakes on offense

Arizona’s offense is going back to the drawing board after its loss to Texas Tech over the weekend in Tucson.

The main focus: finishing drives.

The Wildcats had no issue getting the ball into Texas Tech’s side of the field. Arizona outgained Texas Tech 422-332 in total yards, had a season-high 25 first downs to TTU’s 14, ran 21 more plays than the Red Raiders and dominated time of possession (36:21-23:39).

But in the 10 drives that ended in Texas Tech territory, the Wildcats found the end zone just once and relied on kicker Tyler Loop’s school-record five field goals for points. Seven of those 10 drives finished inside the TTU 30-yard line.

Arizona currently ranks 85th in college football in points per game (27.0) — which includes the 61-point performance in the season opener — after finishing 18th last season (34.6). While Loop’s consistency and NFL range is a weapon for the Wildcats, “When we’re down there, we gotta make people pay, and we didn’t,” said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan on Monday.

After watching film on Sunday, Brennan said “some missed reads, some small details” led to the Wildcats slipping on the banana peel whenever they were within striking distance.

“Stuff that I think is fixable,” said the Arizona coach.

Brennan theorized Arizona “carrying too much scheme” on Saturday after certain players missed assignments, which he called “small detail, big impact.”

“I don’t think that’s the case, but I think it’s going to be something that we’re going to have to look at and just say, ‘Hey, how come we’re not executing? Like, why is this guy going the wrong way?’” Brennan asked on Saturday.

“It’s crazy, the amount of times we’ve run that play. So we either need to not call that play or we need put a new player into the play.”

It wasn’t just one specific group, it was “everybody,” Brennan said Monday. One play Brennan referenced was the fourth-down failure in the second quarter, when the Wildcats couldn’t gain a yard in three plays and turned it over on downs at Texas Tech’s 20.

“What I would say is too many missed assignments or improper technique at the point of attack,” he said.

Added Brennan: “One guy goes the wrong way and they have an unblocked player at the point of attack. I think those things are fixable, and I’m encouraged by how our team showed up for work today, and they’re dead-ass serious about getting those things fixed.”

Players running the wrong in plays could be perceived as problematic entering (checks calendar) Week 7 of the college football season. When asked if Arizona’s players not fulfilling their duties was a coaching issue or personnel issue, Brennan said, “I think it’s both, but it absolutely starts with the coaching — and it starts with me.”

“I have to assess, ‘Are we asking guys to do stuff they can’t do?’ This is all the stuff we dove into (Sunday). ‘Do we have too much scheme?’ Our ability to execute what we’re doing is based on how well we know it,” Brennan said. “Sometimes that happens when you have a player thrown in there because of injury and that can be tricky, because he hasn’t had as many reps as the first-team player. But at the same time, it doesn’t matter, because everyone is expecting you to go out there and execute.”

Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita had his worst completion rate (57%) of his UA career as a starter and threw two interceptions against Texas Tech, albeit the first one was tipped at the line of scrimmage. Fifita’s completion percentage has dipped nearly 14% in comparison to last season, the year Fifita became the only quarterback in UA history to complete a season with a completion rate higher than 70%.

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“I feel like every time we got something going, I would make a mistake or two that stalled the drives,” Fifita said after the game. “I think I’m thinking too much at times. I need to make better decisions.”

On the second interception, Fifita force-fed Arizona star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan in the end zone, when running back Quali Conley and tight end Sam Olson were wide-open on the underneath routes.

“That’s one of those situations where he just has to go through his progression and trust it,” Brennan said. “Obviously we all have a ton of faith in T-Mac and his ability to play a vertical ball. In that situation, we have to go through our progression and go where the eyes tell us they should go. The ball needs to go where our eyes tell us they should go.”

With Fifita’s “process and decision-making, I think there’s some things we can fix,” Brennan said.

“But I also think, to me, that’s coaching,” said Brennan. “We’re the ones that have to get him in the right place with his progression and delivering the ball on time, and that’s on us.”

Some could call it a sophomore slump or growing pains with the new coaching staff. But Brennan isn’t buying the “Fifita feeling the pressure” stock, especially after the gutsy throws the UA star made in the upset win at Utah.

“Our confidence comes from our preparation, and his preparation has been so good,” Brennan said of Fifita. “A week ago, he throws a couple of incredible balls that win us that game (at Utah). That’s one of the dangers of the game, is letting the outcome dictate how you feel about yourself and not being objective about the mistakes and fixing those.

“For Noah, his preparation is always extremely on point. ... He’s such a competitor, he’s such a great leader and he’s always one of those guys that wants to take accountability for not getting the job done, which is why we all love him and will do anything for him.”

Loop named Big 12 Special Teams POW

After setting a school record with five field goals in Arizona’s 28-22 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Loop was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday.

Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks, after rushing for 128 yards and three touchdowns against the Wildcats on Saturday, is the Big 12 co-Offensive Player of the Week along with Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo. Houston’s A.J. Haulcy was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, while ASU quarterback earned Newcomer of the Week honors.

Loop is the third Wildcat this season to earn weekly conference honors, joining wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (offensive) cornerback Tacario Davis (defensive).

Loop made five of his six attempts on Saturday and had 47-, 40-, 30-, 37- and 52-yard field goals. After making three field goals in Arizona’s upset win over Utah in September, Loop was named the Lou Groza Star of the Week. Loop has made eight of his last 10 attempts.

Loop is third among active FBS kickers in career field-goal percentage (84.7%).

Extra points

• Brennan, on Arizona’s decision to kick a 37-yard field goal in the fourth quarter instead of attempting a fourth-and-short play on Texas Tech’s 19-yard line: “This gives us a chance to take the lead. Tyler was hitting the ball so well. I felt like it was a momentum, so I felt like that was the best option.”
• Fifita was named one of 25 quarterbacks in contention for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
• Arizona’s sold-out matchup with the Colorado Buffaloes for homecoming on Oct. 19 will be an afternoon game at Arizona Stadium, the Big 12 announced Monday. The Wildcats’ second Big 12 home game of the season will kick off at 1 p.m. on Fox. It will be Arizona’s fourth game on Fox this season. It’s the first time Arizona is playing an afternoon home game in October since it played USC at 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 15, 2016.
• The Fox broadcasting team for the Arizona-BYU game is
  • Gus Johnson (play-by-play),
    • Joel Klatt (analyst) and
      • Jenny Taft (sideline).