Three Areas Arizona Needs To Improve Defensively

Arizona lost its second straight game on Saturday 31-28 on the road against Houston. The Wildcats now sit at 4-3 on the season and 1-3 in Big 12 conference play.

It was an up-and-down afternoon for Arizona defensively, but overall a struggle to get Houston off the field when it needed to the most.

The Wildcats will now head into their second bye next weekend.

Here are three areas where Arizona needs to improve the most defensively heading into its final five games of the regular season.

Defending the run

For the second straight week, the Wildcats defensive line struggled to stop the opposing offenses run game.

Oct 18, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman (1) hands off the ball to running back Dean Connors (44) during the first quarter against the Arizona Wildcats at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

After quarterback Bear Bachmeier and running back LJ Martin combined to run for 251 yards and three touchdowns last week for BYU against Arizona, it was a similar story on Saturday for Houston quarterback Conner Weigman and running back Dean Connors. The duo combined to run for 198 yards and a touchdown in Saturday's win for the Cougars over the Wildcats.

On Houston's game-winning field goal drive to win Saturday's game, it ran 11 times out of 12 plays including 10 straight runs which put Houston kicker Ethan Sanchez in position for a chip shot field goal to win them the game.

Oct 18, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars kicker Ethan Sanchez (92) kicks the ball against the Arizona Wildcats at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Arizona entered Saturday with the top passing defense in the Big 12, and the secondary has been a bright spot all season for the Wildcats but it doesn't mean as much when the run defense struggles as much as it has the past two weeks. That'll surely be an area opposing offenses will continue to attack the Arizona defense the rest of the season.

Getting off the field on third downs

One other area of weakness for Arizona on the defensive side this season, and especially in its three losses has been getting off the field on third downs.

Oct 18, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman (1) looks to pass the ball during the first half against the Arizona Wildcats at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

After BYU converted 8-of-16 third downs last week, Houston was even more efficient on Saturday as it converted 8-of-14 third downs. The success of the run game against Arizona is setting up the opponent in a number of third-and-short situations, which has been part of what has led to the success.

Forcing turnovers

This has been one of the top bright spots for Arizona as a defense all season, has been forcing turnovers and winning the turnover battle. The Wildcats have played physically all year under defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales, which has led to the turnover sword coming out often at times on the Arizona sideline during games this season.

The Wildcats struggled to stop the run, get off the field on third downs and couldn't force a turnover on Saturday, all of which led to their third loss on the season and a second straight tight loss at the end of the game.

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