Observations from Arizona's 41-31 loss
Khalil Tate is…not clutch. Tate had another rough fourth quarter. The Wildcat defense was porous for much of the game but held Stanford to just three points in the fourth quarter and 10 points in the entire second half. The problem is the Arizona offense managed just seven points themselves.
Tate had a bad fourth quarter. He was just 6-18 for 61 yards and threw two picks. For the season he has four fourth quarter interceptions and is completing just 50% of his passes in the final frame.
The Arizona Defense is…not good. Despite decent second half numbers, the defense surrendered 41 points to a Stanford team that has not scored more than 31 points all season. They failed to get any pressure on KJ Costello, despite the Cardinal starting three true freshmen on the offensive line. Costello, who has been dealing with injuries, had not eclipsed 199 yards all season, but threw for 312 against the Wildcats. It was the eighth highest passing total of his career.
Against the run Arizona was…okay. There were a few stretched in the first half where it looked like the Stanford offense was going to just ram the ball down Arizona’s throats but for the game the Cardinal only rushed for 160 yards. Granted they gained five yards a rush, but it was not as bad as it has been.
The Arizona rushing game was…not used enough. Arizona rushed for 222 yards, but they only ran 37 times. They had two 100 yard rushers and made some big plays on the ground but also chose some odd times to run the ball.
Grant Gunnell was…a freshman. Yes, he was 7-7 and threw a beautiful pass to Jalen Johnson for an 8-yard score, but also took a couple of bad sacks and had a terrible fumble that took the Wildcats out of field goal range.
Arizona’s season is…not over. Although the Wildcats are not playing good football right now, they still have a few winnable games. Oregon State is not very good and ASU is also coming back down to earth. It is still an uphill battle to get to a bowl, but it is still possible.