‘TNT’ Report from Arizona’s 35-30 win at Colorado

A lot of praise in this week’s ‘TNT’ Turnovers and Takeaways Report

In my pre-game column I addressed the question as to whether or not this Arizona squad would travel well. Entering last Saturday’s game against Colorado, Arizona hadn’t played away from home in over a month and the game they did play in Hawaii was not a good one. Well, the Wildcats not only won in Boulder, they won in a manner that continues to demonstrate a trend in the right direction for the program.

Outside of a few mental mistakes and a three-minute, total defensive meltdown, the Wildcats overcame adversity, made big plays in big moments, and walked away victors and owners of the outright divisional lead in the Pac-12 South.

Turnovers

Had we all known ahead of time Arizona would lose the turnover battle in Colorado and only rush the football for 83 yards on 26 carries, few would have predicted a win in Boulder. However, Arizona found ways to overcome a stout Buffaloes defensive front and a thrown interception by Khalil Tate deep in Wildcat territory to steal victory from what should have been certain defeat. Impressively, with the outcome on the line and critical first downs required to milk the final 2:23 from the game clock, an otherwise unimpressive rush attack gained 20 yards on six consecutive carries to close out the Buffaloes, who still had two timeouts in their pocket when Arizona took over possession following a defensive stop on downs near midfield. 

The same headiness and patience Arizona demonstrated on the ground, all day, also surfaced in vital goal line situations as running back Nathan Tilford scored twice on rushes of five yards apiece to give Arizona leads of 28-27 and 35-30. Arizona’s ability to run the football inside the red zone, compared to Colorado’s inability to run the football inside the red zone was one of many keys to victory.

Takeaways

Takeaway #1: 1 is not the loneliest number

The number one was important to Arizona as the Wildcats only committed a single penalty against the Buffaloes. For a team that had committed at least 10 penalties in three of its first four games of the season, to only lose five yards on one penalty in a conference road game is unbelievable. Meanwhile, Colorado committed eight penalties for 85 yards, all of which seemed to come at the worst possible time as the Buffaloes would negate big offensive gains with holding, chop block, and personal foul penalties.

Takeaway #2: Specials Teams play is still wobbly

Redshirt sophomore Brian Casteel needs to figure out this whole punt return thing. Not once, but three times, Arizona fielded punts inside its own 10-yard line. The problem is all three came in a row between the 3:26 mark of the first quarter and the 6:58 mark of the second quarter. It led to a huge disparity in first half average starting field possession, with Arizona starting possessions on its own 17, 10, 10, 4, 25, and 25 yard lines. On the other hand, Colorado started its first seven possessions on its own 25, 25, 25, 29, and 25, with two possessions starting at Arizona’s 49 and 38 yard line, respectively. The mental gaffes cannot continue by Casteel or anyone else returning punts for Arizona. I should add that Casteel also muffed one punt return, but had the wherewithal and strong hands to secure the loose ball. I should also add that on Arizona’s final possession of the half, Jamarye Joiner scooped up a Colorado squib kick and returned it for what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown as time expired in the first half. However, replay showed an untouched Joiner step out of bounds at the Colorado 46 to erase points off the board. Joiner’s misstep was not the end of the world, but without a defender in sight, it’s difficult to imagine why Joiner was tiptoeing the sideline in the first place. The game announcer made mention of his momentum carrying him out of bounds, and that’s probably true, but my goodness.

Takeaway #3: 17 before the half

Arizona was leading 7-3 with 6:58 remaining in the first half and Colorado punting the ball back to the Wildcats. Arizona’s Casteel fair caught the punt, almost inexcusably, at his own 4-yard line to pin Tate and the offense deep in their own territory. Arizona would run three plays and then punt, setting up the struggling Colorado offense near midfield at the Arizona 49. The Wildcat defense would manage to hold Colorado to a field goal and retain a 7-6 lead. On Arizona’s ensuing possession, Tate would throw his only pick of the game to give the Buffs the ball back at the Wildcat 38. CU would then run a wide out reverse and toss on its first play for a 38-yard touchdown and a 13-7 lead. Now trailing by six, Arizona needed only one play to retake the lead on a 75-yard bomb by Tate to Cedric Peterson to go back ahead 14-13. However, Colorado would respond in kind, this time marching 75 yards in 9 plays to lead 20-14 at halftime. Combined, the teams scored 21 points in the final two minutes before the break, but it was Colorado’s 17 before halftime that made things, at least for a while, feel like all the goodwill the Wildcats had built up in its three prior wins was going to be thrown at the window against CU.

Takeaway #4: The fourth quarter

Entering Saturday, the Wildcats had outscored its previous two opponents 22-0 in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Colorado had scored 54 fourth quarter points this season. Well, Arizona somehow did it again by blanking the Buffaloes in the final 15 minutes while scoring a touchdown of their own, the go ahead touchdown mind you, to win its fourth straight. The feat means Arizona has now outscored its last three opponents 29-0 in the fourth quarter. Pretty amazing for a team and defense that allowed Hawaii and Northern Arizona to run rough shot over them in the final 30 minutes of those two early season tilts.

Takeaway #5: Sacks are overrated

I’m just kidding, sacks are important, but tackles for loss are just as good. Arizona’s didn’t couldn’t sack Colorado’s Montez on Saturday, but they did produce four TFLs and a host of hurried passes. In Colorado’s road win at Arizona State, the Sun Devils couldn’t come close to hurrying Montez. However, Arizona’s less heralded defensive line successfully dialed up pressure, whether in a three or four man front. Speedy linebackers Anthony Pandy and Tony Fields made a difference in applying pressure off the edge along with Kylan Wilborn and Jalen Harris. The pressure not only kept Montez from sitting comfortably in the pocket, but also resulted in a few offensive penalties that kept CU behind the chains on several occasions.

Takeaway #6: Patience by the coaches

I’m loving how Kevin Sumlin is managing the scoreboard. He’s shown a propensity to not chase extra points on 2-point conversions until it’s absolutely necessary. Colorado’s Tucker was also outstanding in this department last Saturday as neither head coach flinched. I can’t go through every single scoring example in a paragraph, but let’s point out that Colorado, after the extra point conversion on multiple occasions, would end up leading by six points. When Arizona got the clutch defensive stop that forced CU to settle for a field goal and a 30-28 lead late in the third quarter, Sumlin could have easily taken the bait following the deciding Tilford scoring run that put the Wildcats up 34-30. Rather than going for two, Arizona kicked the extra point for a 35-30 lead. Even though Arizona could have theoretically led by six points on a successful two-point conversion, being up just five still had its benefits. Primarily, had CU somehow scored its own go-ahead touchdown to lead 36-35, the inevitable decision at that point would be to go for the 2-point conversion to lead 38-35 late. In this scenario, Arizona would still be well-position to, at a minimum, force OT at 38-38 with a single field goal. Had CU missed the 2-point try, then Arizona would be in a position to actually win the game on a last second field goal by only trailing 36-35. Had Sumlin gone for two points with 6:51 remaining, a failed try would 1) allow CU to simply kick the extra point to lead 37-34. In short, Sumlin’s patience was going to make Tucker and the Buffs take the risks, not Arizona. Granted, none of this unfolded, but it easily could have.

Takeaway #7: Tate’s passing prowess

I’m not going to regurgitate the numbers, but Tate’s passing on Saturday will force the Washington Huskies to think a little harder entering this weekend’s matchup with the Wildcats in Tucson. The conventional wisdom for defenses facing Arizona is to stop the run, contain the edges, and force Tate to throw from the pocket. Colorado did exactly that in Boulder. However, rather than panic, Arizona accepted the fact the running game was not there, protected Tate in the pocket, and allowed the senior QB to deliver on strikes down the field. At a minimum, this should keep Washington’s defense a little more honest.