Arizona's Three Keys to Victory Against Houston
In this story:
When a team's offense can put up 27 points against the eighth-ranked defense in the FBS, that alone is cause for a celebration.
For the Arizona Wildcats, there are no moral victories when it comes to their 33-27 double overtime loss to the No. 15-ranked BYU Cougars this past Saturday.
After taking an early 14-0 deficit in the first quarter, Arizona went on a huge run, scoring 24 points that weren't answered until the fourth quarter while generating 383 yards of total offense, 164 of those on the ground and scoring three touchdowns.
Now that that game is behind them, the Wildcats will take whatever positives that have come out of that and use them to defeat the Houston Cougars and come out of TDECU Stadium with a convincing win.
Houston boasts a deceptively good defense, so the Wildcats will need to take points by any means necessary if they want to succeed and demonstrate that they have one of the better offensive schemes in the Big 12.
Here are three things the Wildcats need to do on offense if they want to be successful through all four quarters of the game this Saturday.
Establish the run
Arizona has a group of three running backs in Kedrick Reescano, Quincy Craig and Ismail Mahdi, who all seemingly could headline their own backfield if they were on different teams. Thankfully, they are all sharing snaps in Seth Doege's fast-paced spread offense.
Mahdi has been the only fully healthy running back through all six games played. Reescano had to miss time with a foot injury and Craig battled through a shoulder problem, but they were all together at last when the Wildcats played BYU and showed what they can do to a squad that's as good as the second-ranked rushing defense in the Big 12.
The running backs room is a potent one, that much has been proven, given what Arizona was able to do against BYU. It will need to keep that up against a rushing defense in Houston that is the fifth best in the Big 12.
Convert on third down
As powerful as Arizona's offense is, it has struggled this season in converting on third down, which must be addressed as soon as possible.
In that spot alone, the Wildcats were 4-for-17 on third down, which is a far cry from where they want to be for a high-caliber offense that thrives on up-tempo and moving the ball downfield fast. In fact, they are ranked as the 11th best team when it comes to converting on that down in the Big 12.
Should they improve on that one blemish on offense, then Arizona will be a nightmare for opposing teams when it comes to converting and moving the chains to continue a drive.
Turn red zone trips into touchdowns
The Wildcats will need to convert most of their red zone trips into points on the board, as that is another area they have struggled with this season.
One specific drive against BYU shows that Arizona marched down the field on 14 plays, taking a large chunk of time off the clock. It didn't result in any points on the board.
Through six games, the Wildcats have been to the red one 28 times and converted those into touchdowns a total of 13. If Arizona wants to come out of Houston with a significant margin victory, it will need to improve and turn more of those trips into six points.
Tell us what you think Arizona needs to do to ensure victory this weekend by commenting on our X account. Click the link to find us and be sure to give us a follow.
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.