Michael Lev: 5 takeaways from Arizona’s 44-6 victory over No. 19 Washington State

So much for the hump.

Arizona didn’t just get over it Saturday in Pullman, Washington. The Wildcats soared past it like Supermen.

Arizona defeated No. 19 Washington State in absolutely dominant fashion, controlling every aspect of the game in an eye-opening 44-6 victory. It was a complete reversal from the Wildcats’ last three trips to the Palouse — and proof, as Jedd Fisch has been saying, that Arizona is a “good football team.”

He just might be underselling it.

Here are my top five takeaways on the most impressive all-around performance of the Fisch era:

1. Set up for success

The Wildcats just completed the roughest stretch of a demanding schedule — three straight games vs. ranked teams, including two on the road. They had to find a way to win one of them to avoid a three-game losing streak and give themselves a realistic shot at a bowl berth.

Check and check.

The schedule is still daunting, but you can see a path now. There isn’t a single remaining game that Arizona can’t win. Three of the final five are at home. Four are in the state of Arizona. The Wildcats have to get on a plane only one more time.

At 4-3, the Wildcats need only two more wins to become bowl-eligible. But why settle for 6-6? Saturday’s pummeling in Pullman showed what this team is capable of. I wouldn’t be surprised, at all, if Arizona finished 7-5 or even 8-4.

Maybe Washington State was a tad overrated. The Cougars’ offensive line seemed to be in disarray. But this was a team that defeated Wisconsin and Oregon State in this very stadium and had only one loss, by one score, on the road vs. UCLA.

And Arizona was clearly superior in all facets.

2. A new QB1

Noah Fifita deserves to be the starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. The redshirt freshman has earned it with his steady, stellar play. And based on Fisch’s comments after the game — or lack thereof — regarding the QB situation, a permanent change could be afoot.

After Fifita’s previous two starts and during midweek media gatherings, Fisch has held firm that Jayden de Laura will start once he’s fully recovered from an ankle injury. This time, though, Fisch declined comment, saying he wanted to limit the conversation to Saturday’s game.

Sometimes when you don’t say anything, you say a lot.

Fisch has been de Laura’s staunchest supporter. But this is really about Fifita. He has played his way into the job.

Fifita managed Saturday’s game beautifully. He threw the ball away when he had to. He took a sack once when a play didn’t develop. He never put the ball in harm’s way.

Fifita also checked the ball down when his downfield options were covered and showed improved touch by layering passes over defenders.

His 18-yard completion to Tetairoa McMillan on third-and-8 on the first possession of the second half was truly special. Fifita ducked under one leaping defender. With another about to hit him, Fifita sidearmed a perfect pass to McMillan — knowing he could throw it high to the 6-foot-4 jump-ball specialist, who had two Cougars on him.

Fifita has made what seemed like a difficult decision fairly simple. He’s made it impossible to bench him.

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3. Branching out

Entering Saturday, McMillan and Jacob Cowing had dominated Arizona’s pass targets. The two accounted for a whopping 58.8% share.

They had the most targets again Saturday, with 11 apiece. But the Wildcats got other players involved, and that can only make them stronger moving forward.

Montana Lemonious-Craig had by far his busiest game in a UA uniform, registering season highs in receptions (five) and targets (seven). Rayshon Luke had his most touches as a Wildcat, rushing 10 times for a team- and career-high 71 yards while also snagging one pass for 17 yards. Arizona’s reserve receivers even got in on the action in the blowout win as Kevin Green Jr., AJ Jones and Malachi Riley combined for five receptions.

“I think it was really based upon the way these guys were practicing,” Fisch said. “They’re practicing at such a high level. It’s tough to just (play) one or two guys when you got five or six guys that are playing at a really good level of practice every single day.”

Fifita’s 34 completions were distributed to nine receivers. Those were both season-high marks for the Wildcats.

4. Defensive response

Washington State scored with relative ease on the opening drive of the game. The Cougars went 75 yards in 11 plays. They converted all three of their third downs. Their offense looked a lot like Washington’s vs. Arizona’s keep-everything-in-front-of-you zone defense. Lots of underneath passes. Lots of YAC.

The Wildcats throttled the Cougars from that point forward. They crossed midfield only two more times. They never so much as threatened to score.

Once Arizona crept up to disrupt WSU’s bubble-screen game, the Cougars had no Plan B. They couldn’t run the ball at all. Their best bet was the scramble drill, but Arizona harassed Cameron Ward all game long — even using Jeremy Mercier as a spy to track his every move.

What are Johnny Nansen’s three keys to defensive success? Stop the run, limit big plays and take the ball away.

WSU had a paltry 35 net rushing yards. Its longest play came on the first possession, a 37-yard swing pass. Arizona had a season-high three takeaways, including its first two interceptions of the season.

With better players and an additional offseason to implement his system, Nansen is proving his naysayers wrong.

5. Stars don’t matter

What’s really interesting about Arizona’s defensive improvement is that the Wildcats don’t have any players on that side of that ball that you’d consider stars. It’s truly a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.

Linebacker Jacob Manu is the closest thing. He’s the clear leader of the group and a menacing presence who’s always around the ball. But even if he deserves it, I doubt he’ll get all-conference recognition this season.

While Manu is the constant, it feels as if a new hero emerges each week. Defensive tackle Jacob Kongaika was that guy Saturday, notching a fourth-down stop and a sack. The previous week against USC, defensive end Russell Davis II had 2.5 tackles for loss, including 1.5 sacks. The week before that against Washington, defensive tackle Tiaoalii Savea had two TFLs with one sack.

Before the WSU game, some of us in the media were debating who would come up with Arizona’s first pick. We all chose different players because it really could have been any number of guys. It turned out to be cornerback Ephesians Prysock. His running mate, Tacario Davis, got the next one.

Fisch and his staff have done a superb job of building up depth on that side of the ball. It’s manifesting on a weekly basis.

Photos: Arizona football blows out No. 19 Washington State on road