Michael Lev: 5 takeaways from the No. 20 Arizona Wildcats’ 22-10 victory over NAU

A win’s a win ... right?

In the final ledger, they all count the same. But Arizona’s performance against NAU on Saturday night was much closer to survival than domination.

Favored by 36.5 points, the Wildcats squeaked past the Lumberjacks 22-10 at Arizona Stadium.

The UA passing attack, so explosive last week against New Mexico, struggled mightily. Tetairoa McMillan went from record-setting to barely noticeable. Noah Fifita was under siege. Arizona failed to convert a third down for the first time in 21 years.

Meanwhile, the UA defense, which was plagued by missed tackles and penalties last week, allowed only one touchdown and made the two biggest plays of the game — a fourth-down stop in the third quarter and a safety in the fourth.

What should we make of this team through two (very different) weeks? What can we expect when Arizona visits Kansas State on Friday? Here are my top five takeaways from a wobbly outing vs. NAU:

1. Return of the swarm

Aside from NAU’s third drive, which ended with a trick-play touchdown, Arizona’s defense played stellar football. And man, did the Wildcats need it.

The tackling was significantly sounder. The pass rush was considerably more disruptive. The coverage downfield was demonstrably tighter.

During the week, coaches and players stressed the idea of each player simply doing his job — i.e., not trying to do too much. They executed that plan to near-perfection — even without starting safety Gunner Maldonado for the entire game and his sidekick, Dalton Johnson, for half of it.

It was evident in the way the Wildcats swarmed to the ball and played as a team. One example: On fourth-and-5 from midfield in the fourth quarter, Jacob Manu blitzed and pressured NAU quarterback Ty Pennington. Pennington had to dump the ball off well short of the first-down marker. Seth Cromwell caught it in the right flat and was immediately tackled by Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei for a 4-yard loss. Tre Smith was in the neighborhood just in case Crowell squirmed free.

I can’t remember many instances when there weren’t multiple red shirts pursuing and surrounding NAU ball-carriers. That’s how the Wildcats played for most of last season. They rediscovered their personality against the Lumberjacks.

2. Not-so-fine line

The official box score credited NAU with three quarterback hurries and two sacks. Anecdotally, it felt much worse. Fifita was under duress all night and got hit multiple times.

The Lumberjacks regularly brought pressure from the edges, and the Wildcats didn’t handle it well. When you consider how many personnel changes Arizona had to make on the offensive line, it’s not that surprising.

Center Josh Baker was held out because of an undisclosed injury. Left tackle Rhino Tapa’atoutai got hurt last week and didn’t play. The UA staff decided to replace him with veteran Ryan Stewart, who started last week at right guard.

Stewart played right tackle. Jonah Savaiinaea, who’s been Arizona’s right tackle since the start of last season, made his first career start at left tackle. Grayson Stovall made his first career start at center.

Leif Magnuson, who missed a large chunk of training camp because of an injury, played right guard. The only player who was part of the projected first unit who played in his usual spot was left guard Wendell Moe — and even he missed time in camp because of conditioning issues.

As porous as the group was in pass protection, it performed well in the run game. Excluding sacks, Arizona had 204 rushing yards and averaged 7.6 yards per attempt.

The difference? Pass pro requires much more communication. When guys are in new spots with unfamiliar linemates, that task becomes that much harder.

3. Back to back

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The Wildcats were missing one of their top running backs, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who was held out because of eligibility concerns. (Remember: There were questions in spring about whether Croskey-Merritt, a sixth-year player, had any eligibility left. The current assumption is that this is related to that.)

But running back was probably Arizona’s deepest position entering the season, and Croskey-Merritt’s absence had little to no impact on the Wildcats’ ability to run the rock.

Quali Conley and Kedrick Reescano finished with a combined 183 rushing yards. Conley added 38 through the air. Each had a run of greater than 50 yards, with Reescano’s going for a touchdown.

Conley is, in some ways, the new Michael Wiley — the player the coaching staff trusts to the nth degree. He followed Brent Brennan & Co. here from San Jose State. Conley knows what they want. The coaches know he’ll deliver.

Reescano was a four-star recruit coming out of New Caney, Texas. He spent last season at Ole Miss. He also had offers from Penn State, Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Nebraska and Wisconsin, among others. He has the look of a future feature back with plenty of speed at 214 pounds.

Hopefully, Croskey-Merritt’s situation will be resolved and he can rejoin the rotation. He might be the most talented of the three — and that’s saying something.

4. Target talk

McMillan was the story last week in multiple ways. He was so unstoppable — and so often open — that Fifita targeted him 15 times. That figure represented half the team total. No other wide receiver had more than two targets.

When he had time to throw vs. NAU, Fifita distributed the ball more equitably. McMillan and Jeremiah Patterson tied for the team high with six targets apiece. Conley had five. Tight ends Tyler Powell (subbing for the apparently injured Sam Olson) and Keyan Burnett combined for five.

Overall, that’s a positive development. Arizona needs all of its playmakers to feel like they’re involved and contributing. The more touches they get, the better.

But it’s also important to feed McMillan, who is unquestionably the Wildcats’ best player. Whether it was the lack of pass protection, the way the Lumberjacks were deploying their defenders or a concerted effort to get others going, McMillan didn’t get enough opportunities. After catching the first pass of the game for 11 yards, he had only one other reception for minus-1 yard.

McMillan did draw pair of pass-interference penalties, worth a combined 27 yards, and both of those plays led to field goal attempts (one made, one missed). So McMillan’s night wasn’t a total wash.

But it also wasn’t what we’ve come to expect from him, especially with Fifita as his quarterback. Those two usually are in lockstep. They were oddly off-kilter Saturday night.

5. Wildcats vs. Wildcats

Kansas State needed a fourth-quarter rally to defeat Tulane, which outgained KSU by nearly 100 yards. But facing one of the best Group of Five programs at their place is different from hosting an FCS school at yours. KSU was favored by 9.5 points, not 36.5.

Under Chris Klieman, the other Wildcats have earned a reputation as one of the Big 12’s toughest outs. They play a physical brand of ball.

I have no idea which version of Arizona will show up to face them because I have no idea how to assess this UA team at this point. If the Game 1 offense and Game 2 defense appear together, Arizona will leave Manhattan, Kansas, with a resounding victory. If it’s the Game 1 defense and Game 2 offense, the UA will get blown out.

The offensive line situation is particularly worrisome. If Baker is able to return — he suited up, which is a promising sign — that would help a ton. His veteran presence would calm a lot of nerves in a hostile environment.

Arizona has to keep Fifita upright and comfortable. In two of the past three games — the middle portion of the Alamo Bowl and most of Saturday night — we’ve seen how detrimental it can be when he’s running for his life.

As much as we still don’t know about Arizona, this is a certainty: If the pass protection continues to falter, the UA won’t win at KSU — and won’t be a factor in the Big 12 title race.