5 takeaways from the Arizona Wildcats’ 31-26 loss to West Virginia | Michael Lev

The Arizona Wildcats had every right to feel better about themselves after a valiant fourth-quarter rally that came up just short vs. West Virginia on Saturday. Not good. But better.

Quarterback Noah Fifita didn’t see it that way.

“It's the same for the most part,” Fifita said after Arizona lost 31-26, suffering its fourth consecutive defeat. “It hurts.”

Like it or not, college football is a bottom-line business. Moral victories don’t get you contract extensions.

Brent Brennan knows the product hasn’t been good enough. The Wildcats have something of a valid excuse for the defense falling off — a boatload of injuries to key players. There’s no excuse for the breakdowns that continue to plague the offense and special teams.

All three units played a part in the loss to the Mountaineers. Here are my top five takeaways from Arizona Stadium:

1. Progress but not perfect

The offense, which has been struggling for weeks, took a step forward. It was a small step, but it was something.

In seeking ways to protect Fifita and improve the unit’s overall efficiency, Matt Adkins & Co. came up with some schematic tweaks. They used more motion. They moved Tetairoa McMillan around. They rolled out Fifita. They used tight ends and running backs on the wings to help neutralize edge rushers.

Fifita had his highest completion rate (65.2%) since Week 2 against NAU. He didn’t throw an interception for the first time since last year’s Utah game. McMillan went off. Quali Conley averaged 4.5 yards per carry against one of the Big 12’s best run defenses.

But the offense remains inconsistent. It stagnated for long, critical stretches.

Per usual, Arizona scored an early touchdown. The Wildcats then went four straight drives without so much as threatening to score. They had the ball last in the first half and first in the second half. It was an opportunity to score anywhere from 6-10 points to cut into West Virginia’s lead. Arizona gained only one first down between those two possessions.

Although Fifita found his groove later in the second half — especially in unstructured situations — he still held onto the ball too long at times. He also isn’t taking what the defense is giving him as often as he probably should.

A prime example: Arizona faced second-and-16 from its 32 on its second drive of the second half. Fifita rolled to his right. He had tight end Roberto Miranda open underneath. He wouldn’t have gained the first down, but a completion would have set up a manageable third down. Instead, Fifita tried to thread the ball to McMillan along the sideline farther downfield. The pass was broken up.

2. Wasting T-Mac

The real shame of this season — which will require an improbable finish to secure bowl eligibility — is that Arizona is wasting one of the most talented players to ever set foot on campus.

It’s not that McMillan isn’t putting up numbers. It’s that the team isn’t enjoying success despite his heroics.

McMillan’s freakish skills were on full display against West Virginia. He corralled one pass despite being having three Mountaineer defenders in his vicinity at the catch point. He nearly made an absurd one-handed grab in the back of the end zone — after being held on the play.

But it was when McMillan threw the ball that his athleticism and instincts popped off the screen.

Neither play worked as planned. On the first, it appeared that McMillan would simply tuck the ball and run. But as he weaved through the defense he spotted Fifita, who was not the intended receiver. McMillan found him for a 14-yard gain.

On the second play, McMillan rolled toward the right sideline. He didn’t see an open receiver and had pressure in his face. So he peeled back to the left and somehow threw a perfect lob pass to Fifita on the opposite side of the field. Fifita dropped what would have been a walk-in touchdown. There’s a reason one is the quarterback and the other is the receiver.

But there are times when you feel like McMillan could do just about anything on a football field.

3. Next (young) man up

In his postgame news conference, Brennan referenced the “race to maturity” for Arizona’s relatively inexperienced defenders who’ve been forced to take on greater roles.

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They haven’t reached the finish line yet.

The UA defense scrapped for 60 minutes but got caught out of position too many times in key situations.

On Nicco Marchiol’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Hudson Clement late in the second quarter, cornerback Emmanuel Karnley ended up behind Clement as he ran along the back line. Clement essentially boxed Karnley out.

On Marchiol’s 54-yard TD pass to Traylon Ray in the fourth quarter, safety Jack Luttrell saw the play unfolding. But he took an improper angle and lost his balance while attempting to break up the pass.

On the game-clinching play, Marchiol’s 9-yard swing pass to Jaylen Anderson, nickel back Genesis Smith got caught inside. Anderson was able to get to the perimeter and gain the first down.

What do Karnley, Luttrell and Smith have in common? They’re all second-year players who didn’t begin this season as starters.

Would Gunner Maldonado have knocked down that pass to Ray? Would Treydan Stukes have prevented Anderson from getting to the sideline?

Perhaps. But they aren’t available. Arizona has the players it has. It’s up to the coaching staff to get them prepared. Even if they’re young men, it’s still next man up.

4. Kicking themselves

With injuries depleting the defense and the offense still trying to find itself, the Wildcats have little if any margin of error. They can’t afford to lose the battle on special teams. But the Mountaineers unquestionably had the advantage Saturday.

Their first touchdown came on a fake field goal that Arizona clearly wasn’t ready to defend. Holder Leighton Bechdel ran 14 yards around left end to the pylon.

Did Dalton Johnson get held on that play? Probably. But the officials didn’t call it.

If the play had been stopped, Arizona would’ve been down just 3-0 after two time-consuming West Virginia drives that sandwiched a UA fumble. Instead, the Wildcats were down 10-0 — and had to play catchup all game long.

On the second-half kickoff, Arizona’s blocking was so poor that returner Jeremiah Patterson could only reach the 12-yard line. That wasn’t the tone-setting play the Wildcats needed at that moment.

Finally, after Arizona scored late in the third quarter, Tyler Loop yanked the extra-point attempt wide left. How uncharacteristic was that for Loop? He had attempted 119 PATs before that and hadn’t missed any of them.

5. Noah's spark

Saturday’s outcome can be looked at in two ways.

One is that the Wildcats squandered a prime opportunity to turn their season around.

West Virginia was without starting quarterback Garrett Greene and stud left tackle Wyatt Milum. The Mountaineers were struggling just as much as the Cats, who didn’t have to fly across the country to get to Tucson.

Arizona failed to take advantage of any of that — and now has to win three of its last four to earn a bowl bid. It’s not impossible, but it’s highly unlikely.

The other way to view Saturday’s setback is that the Wildcats finally showed signs of life. They looked hopeless the previous week against Colorado. They were outgunned the week before that at BYU.

West Virginia isn’t as strong an opponent, but Arizona easily could have folded after falling behind 31-13 early in the fourth quarter. That the Wildcats kept fighting tells me they haven’t quit on the season or on Brennan — a rare positive development in an otherwise deflating campaign.

No play exemplified that more than Fifita’s touchdown run with 4:35 to play. He scrambled to the right and had to power through multiple WVU defenders to reach the end zone. They were all bigger than him; just about everyone is every Saturday. Fifita didn’t care. He was going to cross the goal line no matter what it took.

If every Wildcat were to play with the same determination and intensity, the losing streak will end sooner than later.

Photos: University of Arizona Wildcats get edged by West Virginia 31-26, Big 12 football