Three Areas Arizona Must Improve Defensively to Stay Competitive
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It was a disappointing performance on defense that led to the Iowa State Cyclones scoring 39 points while also gaining 399 yards of total offense for the Arizona Wildcats'. With their first loss of the season, putting them at 3-1, 0-1 in the Big 12, they must now dig themselves out of a hole and improve to deliver a stronger performance.
Danny Gonzales didn't mince his words when he spoke about Arizona's defensive woes, citing the amount of points and yards that Iowa State put up against his defense, both of which were season highs.
- “You give up 39 points, you stink,” Gonzales said Tuesday. “That’s my opinion. If you would have told me going into the game that they were going to average 2.4 yards per carry, and their tight ends were going to have four total catches for 29 yards, I would have said that was probably the right score. The other way around.”
Arizona will now be facing the Oklahoma State Cowboys this Saturday at 12 p.m. (MST) and are hoping to display the aggressiveness, toughness, skill and discipline that got them to being the No. 17 ranked defense in the FBS
OK State may not be a very strong offense; in fact, it is the 92nd-ranked offense in the FBS, 15th in the Big 12. Despite that, it will be looking to put a high amount of points on the board in hopes of turning its season around from an abysmal 1-3 start that saw the firing of longtime head coach Mike Gundy.
Arizona will need to be on its toes if it wants to dominate and stop the Cowboys from having any kind of offensive success. If the Wildcats can do these three things, then they will make it a long afternoon for the Cowboys
Limit big plays
The Arizona defense allowed six big plays on a night of defense that otherwise would have been a fairly solid night for Gonzales' squad. Those plays accounted for almost half of Iowa State's total yards.
Those six plays, mostly coming from passes by Rocco Becht to Cam Sowell, accounted for about half of the 399 total yards that Iowa State accumulated. Three passes from Becht to Sowell went for 52, 43, 32 and 19 yards. Not to mention a trick play that saw Ben Brahmer connect with Brett Eskildsen for 45 yards.
OK State will most likely try to catch Arizona off guard with long chunk plays, much like how Iowa State did, so it will be up to the defense to remain disciplined and limit those.
Disrupt the quarterback
Zane Flores passed the ball 41 times and completed 23 of those for 232 yards with six runs for 32 yards. Wide receiver Sam Jackson V. threw four passes and completed three of them for 46 yards and a touchdown.
Offensive coordinator Doug Meacham showed Baylor several different looks to the Bears depending on which quarterback is in, but one constant is that he relies on the passer for the offense to flow.
Arizona has the players to get to the quarterback and disrupt the pass game; that much is clear with the 10 sacks and six interceptions it has accrued over four games played.
Stop the run
The Cowboys gained 157 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground against Baylor and will try to replicate that success against the Wildcats, who are coming off a game where they gave up 111 rushing yards.
Arizona will look to shut down the run game and show why it is the No. 28-ranked run defense in the FBS. With Arizona allowing 3.05 yards per carry on average, it has the tools to make it a long day for the OK State running backs.
Tell us what you think Arizona needs to do to have a stronger performance on defense this Saturday by commenting on our X account. Simply click the link to find us and be sure to follow us.
Nathaniel Martinez and a set of shoulder pads at 7 years old. He later graduated from Pima Community College in 2023, where he began writing for the Pima Post. He is working to achieve a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Media Studies.