5 takeaways from the Arizona Wildcats’ 28-22 loss to Texas Tech | Michael Lev

Brent Brennan was clearly agitated as he sat down to speak with the media late Saturday night.

He knew his Arizona Wildcats had let one get away.

Arizona had multiple opportunities to knock out Texas Tech. But the Wildcats never could deliver that decisive blow.

Arizona couldn’t finish drives, couldn’t finish halves and couldn’t finish off the Red Raiders. Texas Tech prevailed 28-22. Just like that, all the goodwill from the previous week’s upset win at then-No. 10 Utah was erased.

Five games into the 2024 season, the Wildcats (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) are still trying to figure out who they are and how good they can be. Another trip to Utah to face a Top 25 team in BYU beckons. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if Arizona got blown out — or pulled off another shocker.

But first things first. Here are my top five takeaways from a frustrating loss against Texas Tech:

1. Offense still off

The Wildcats had their most total yards (422) since the season opener. They had their most first downs this year (25). They dominated time of possession.

Don’t let any of it fool you. The UA offense still isn’t clicking.

I wrote about the unit’s issues earlier in the week. The main theme: Arizona has been too reliant on big plays and hasn’t been putting itself in manageable situations nearly enough.

Saturday night was no different. The Wildcats converted just 3 of 14 third downs. Their average to gain was 7.1 yards. They had four third downs requiring 9 or more yards, and they didn’t convert any of them. (The Red Raiders had just one such third-and-long.)

The offense again lacked rhythm and consistency. And when Arizona finally found that groove, the coaching staff made an inexplicable decision.

Down 18-16, the Wildcats drove from their 30-yard line to the Red Raiders’ 30. Four of the six plays were rushes. The offensive line, which had been struggling, finally was imposing its will on the Texas Tech defense.

Then, on second-and-8, Noah Fifita attempt a deep fade near the right pylon to Devin Hyatt. It was a low-percentage play, and it resulted in an incomplete pass. Fifita passed again on third down and nearly threw his third interception of the game.

That left Tyler Loop to attempt a 48-yard field goal, which he missed. It was his lone miss on a night when he made a school-record five field goals, including 47- and 52-yarders.

Persisting with the run game would’ve taken more time off the clock. With another first down, Arizona could have drained almost all of it. At worst, Loop would’ve had an easier attempt.

But this UA offense never seems to take the easy route. Everything feels difficult.

2. The longest yard

Earlier in the fourth quarter, Arizona faced fourth-and-1 — if that — at the Texas Tech 14-yard line. The Wildcats had momentum on their side. They had scored 13 straight points after trailing 18-3 at halftime, and they finally had scored a touchdown on their previous possession.

But instead of going for it, Brennan chose to try to draw the Red Raiders offside. It didn’t work. Arizona took a delay-of-game penalty and took the lead on Loop’s 37-yard field goal.

I wasn’t a fan of that decision. The Wildcats needed less than a yard to gain a first down. Even if they had failed, Texas Tech would have taken over inside its 20. And the Red Raiders had either punted or turned the ball over on every previous second-half possession.

A touchdown would have given Arizona a 23-18 lead (or 24-18 with a 2-point conversion). It would have forced Texas Tech to score a TD to reclaim the lead.

Perhaps an earlier short-yardage failure weighed on Brennan’s mind. In the second quarter, Arizona had second-and-1 at the TTU 20. Then third-and-1. Then fourth-and-1.

The Wildcats couldn’t gain a single yard on any of those plays.

Brennan said afterward that “we had some guys go the wrong way on some of those calls.” That shouldn’t be happening in Game 5.

3. Defenses rises, falls

Arizona’s defense played a very good game that was a handful of plays from being great.

The Wildcats took the ball away two times in the third quarter. They allowed only one touchdown drive that began in Texas Tech territory. They held the Red Raiders to almost 14 points less than their season scoring average.

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Texas Tech had only 14 first downs. Its average entering Saturday was 24.2.

The Red Raiders converted 18.2% of their third downs. They entered Saturday at 51.9%.

Texas Tech finished with 331 total yards. Nearly half of them — 159 — came on four critical plays.

Almost immediately after safety Gunner Maldonado got hurt in the first quarter — further depleting a UA secondary already missing Treydan Stukes — Behren Morton hit Micah Hudson for a 38-yard pass to the UA 3. Tahj Brooks scored on the next play to give Texas Tech a 7-0 lead.

With less than 30 seconds left in the first half, the Red Raiders caught the Wildcats off-guard with a 57-yard bomb from Morton to Caleb Douglas on first-and-18 from the TTU 12-yard line. Two plays later, Gino Garcia’s 30-yard field goal bumped Texas Tech’s lead to 18-3.

Morton’s 32-yard pass to Douglas set up Garcia’s go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter. Brooks’ 32-yard touchdown run essentially put the game away.

Texas Tech did little else offensively. The Red Raiders averaged just 3.2 yards on their other 54 plays.

What a shame.

4. Special specialist

Loop might be the best kicker in America. His range is seemingly limitless; we’ve seen him make 75-yard field goals during warmups. His only non-touchback on a kickoff this season was the onside attempt late in the fourth quarter.

But the Wildcats can’t rely on Loop to bail them out. They can’t use his powerful leg as a crutch.

It’s not as if Arizona wants to kick field goals. Touchdowns are always the goal on offense. Seven points are better than three.

But it sometimes feels like the Wildcats are content to take those three points because they’re basically a sure thing.

Loop’s 5-for-6 performance vs. Texas Tech made him 12 for 15 on the season. He’s made 84.7% of his career attempts.

Loop is 5 of 6 from 40-49 yards and 3 of 4 from 50-plus. Those are exceptional numbers for a college kicker.

But Loop would be the first to tell you he’d rather be kicking extra points.

Arizona drove into Texas Tech territory 10 times. Only one of those possessions ended with a touchdown.

Six of the other nine ended in field goal attempts. Two concluded with interceptions. The other was the aforementioned turnover on downs.

“We need to score touchdowns in the red zone, not field goals,” Brennan said.

It’s really that simple.

5. Noah and T-Mac

When Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan announced they’d be returning to Arizona in January, their legacies were cemented. They were legends. They still are.

Nothing they’ve done on the field since then changes that. The good far outweighs the bad.

That made what happened Saturday night doubly frustrating. The faces of the franchise accounted for two killer turnovers.

You can’t blame Fifita for his first interception. Jacob Rodriguez was in his face and deflected Fifita’s pass to Quincy Ledet Jr.

The second one? A poor decision. Arizona had first-and-10 at the TTU 27. Fifita forced the ball toward McMillan in the end zone. Two Wildcats appeared to be open underneath. At worst, Arizona should have gone into the half down 15-6.

Fifita fell on the sword after the game, per usual. He did not play well. His 57.1% completion rate was his lowest as a starter at Arizona. He had never thrown more than one interception in a game in a UA uniform.

McMillan played magnificently — until he fumbled late in the fourth quarter with Arizona down 21-19. Rodriguez was the perpetrator again, punching the ball from McMillan’s grasp after an 18-yard reception at the UA 43.

McMillan had 16 targets. No other Wildcat had more than nine. That isn’t necessarily a good thing.

The connection between Fifita and McMillan is unique and powerful. But they shouldn’t feel as if they have to carry the team. That’s too big a burden, even for a pair of legends.