Michael Lev: 5 takeaways from the Arizona Wildcats’ 27-24 victory over No. 11 Oregon State

It was absolute mayhem at Arizona Stadium.

Arizona had just upset No. 11 Oregon State, and the fans who stuck around until 10:49 p.m. were going to celebrate.

They hopped the fence. They flooded the field. They chanted, “U of A! U of A!”

The Wildcats pulled off their second straight upset win over a ranked team, edging the Beavers 27-24 Saturday night. Arizona is one win away from earning a bowl berth for the first time in six years.

Here are my top five takeaways from the Wildcats’ fifth victory of 2023:

1. ‘Fantastic resilience’

Jedd Fisch dialed up some neat, timely plays. Johnny Nansen made just enough tweaks to his defensive scheme.

But this win wasn’t about schematics. It was about poise and perseverance.

Simply put, Arizona stuck with it. In a game Fisch had billed as a “heavyweight fight,” the Wildcats returned every punch.

Oregon State held leads of 7-0, 7-3 and 17-13 — the latter in the fourth quarter. But what Fisch said about Noah Fifita could apply to the whole squad: “There’s no flinch.” The Cats rallied time and again.

“Our team had a fantastic resilience about themselves,” Fisch said. “We didn’t really look at the score.

“It was one of those great games that went back and forth, back and forth, as we expected. And then in that fourth quarter, I think everybody just raised it up a notch.”

Fisch lauded his players and coaches, specifically referencing director of strength and conditioning Tyler Owens. Fisch deserves just as much credit, if not more.

His demeanor on the sideline permeates the bench. Have you ever seen him lose his you-know-what during a game? I can’t recall that ever happening. Fisch exudes the next-play mentality all coaches want their players to have.

You can question Fisch’s play-calling if you want; we all do. You can’t question how he prepares his team or the heart with which the Wildcats play.

2. ‘D’ sticks with Plan A

It happened again. Just like the Washington State game, OSU scored on the opening drive with relative ease. From that point until the Beavers’ final possession, the Wildcats made it hard on them.

And they did it by ... staying the course.

Arizona wasn’t getting pressure early. But Nansen refused to slide his game plan into the recycle bin.

The Wildcats’ second-year defensive coordinator is a reluctant blitzer. He’d much prefer rushing four, or even three, and playing coverage. If you can get pressure with less than five rushers, that’s a proven formula for success.

On two critical third-down stops in the fourth quarter, Nansen sent only three rushers at D.J. Uiagalelei. Both plays resulted in incomplete passes.

I asked linebacker Jacob Manu what the defense discussed after the first drive.

“Keep playing and just trust the process,” Manu said. “Trust what Coach Nansen’s saying. ... Just be resilient throughout the whole game.”

The defense let up a bit late in the fourth quarter, yielding a four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive after Arizona had taken a 27-17 lead. But OSU scored on only two of the seven possessions between the first and the last. A three-and-out preceded the Wildcats’ put-away touchdown.

“We watch it every week,” Fisch said. “We watch our defense come up with big stops at the right time.”

I said before the season that Arizona’s defense didn’t have to be good for the Wildcats to win; it just had to be good enough.

I think I underestimated it.

3. Wily Wiley

Michael Wiley might have had the best two-carry, zero-yard game by a running back in the history of football.

Wiley returned from a high ankle sprain that had kept him out the previous three-plus games. If you only looked at his rushing stats, you would think he had little to no impact.

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But Wiley’s value stems from his versatility. He’s a terrific all-around player who’s especially effective as a receiver.

Let’s take a look at those numbers: five catches, 58 yards, two touchdowns.

Wiley’s work included a 40-yard catch-and-run that put Arizona ahead. It was a perfect call against inside pressure. Wiley leaked out of the backfield into the left flat. He then scooted past the defense and tiptoed down the sideline all the way to the end zone.

His second TD was a product of superb design. Wiley lined up as a fullback in an offset I-formation on second-and-goal from the 3. Fifita faked a handoff to deep back Jonah Coleman. Wiley leaked into the right flat this time. Receiver Jacob Cowing, who had motioned to that side, and tight end Tanner McLachlan created interference. Fifita flipped the ball to Wiley, who slipped into the end zone just inside the right pylon.

Coleman (11 carries, 55 yards) and DJ Williams (8-51) are quality backs. But Wiley brings something extra to the offense.

“He’s a veteran player for us, and he’s a leader,” Fifita said. “He just brings a different type of swag and confidence into the huddle that can’t really be emulated.

“And just knowing that he’s always gonna be able to make a play. He could turn a flat route into a 30-yard touchdown. He’s just a very special player with the ball in his hands — even more special as a leader and as a person.”

4. Ready and steady

There’s really no debate anymore.

Fifita is QB1. Full stop.

Was he perfect against Oregon State? No. Of course not.

Did he deliver what we’ve quickly come to view as a typical Fifita performance? Yes. Absolutely.

Fifita again completed a high percentage of his passes (25 of 32, 78.1%). He again played with poise and efficiency. He again kept the ball out of harm’s way for the most part.

Fifita did throw one interception. It appeared that both he and Jacob Cowing misread the play, and the ball should have gone elsewhere when linebacker John McCartan dropped into the middle.

But Fifita doesn’t press after making a mistake. He completed the next five passes he threw.

After the game, it looked like he hadn’t broken a sweat.

Fisch said he asked Fifita’s former and now current teammates during the recruiting process what kind of quarterback Arizona would be getting. “You’re gonna get the same guy every day,” they said.

That’s Fifita. His game isn’t spectacular. But it’s as steady as the Southern Arizona sun. And it’s a perfect fit for this team at this time.

5. Top 25-worthy?

Arizona sure looked like a Top 25 team Saturday night.

So why didn’t I vote for the Wildcats in the AP poll?

It’s more complicated than you might think.

If the criteria were simply how a team is playing at the moment, then yes, Arizona would make it. But you have to look at a team’s entire body of work.

I didn’t place any team with three losses in my Top 25. I also excluded several teams with only two losses — including USC, which defeated Arizona head to head.

The Trojans obviously aren’t playing very well right now. But I’m a results-and-résumé voter; it’s my way of trying to minimize subjectivity in the evaluation process.

I couldn’t justify placing 5-3 Arizona ahead of 7-2 USC, especially with the Trojans’ head-to-head victory.

Arizona’s recent excellence also doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The Top 25 is finite.

Are the Wildcats more worthy than future Big 12 rivals Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State, who are all 6-2? Should they bump Group of Five stalwarts Air Force, Fresno State, Tulane or James Madison, who are all at least 7-1? If the Cats go in, who comes out?

The fact that Arizona is even in this conversation is a sign of progress. The Wildcats likely will receive votes from some of my colleagues. They’re at worst a Top 35 team.

If they win next week against UCLA, and a few other teams suffer a third loss, they’ll have a more compelling case. They’re just not there quite yet.

Photos: Arizona upsets 11th-ranked Oregon State, Pac-12 football