RELATED LINK FROM LAST SEASON:
— Making the Grade: Wildcats end 2012 with 78 helmet stickers, a good average of six a game
THIS SEASON:
— 11 helmet stickers earned against NAU
— 14 helmet stickers earned at UNLV
— The Wildcats have 33 stickers overall after playing UTSA
COACHES AWARDS:
— If the UA issued helmet stickers, these players would have received some after the win over UTSA
NOTES:
How did Arizona fare in its 38-13 win over UTSA on Saturday?
— The UA ended its regular-season non-conference schedule with 33 helmet stickers topping the 21 the Wildcats tallied in their first three non-conference games against Toledo, Oklahoma State and South Carolina State last season. Two significant factors with that are Rich Rodriguez starting as the new UA coach last season and the level of competition much better with bowl teams Toledo and Oklahoma State.
— The UA defense is directly responsible for 10 of the stickers to this point, followed by the special teams (nine) and offense (five). As a team, the UA has accumulated nine stickers — three for victories, three for winning the turnover margin and three for scoring at least 24 points in a victory.
— Winning the turnover battle is the most significant stat. The UA did that only four times last season. Arizona is plus-6 in turnovers. B.J. Denker has yet to throw an interception in 55 attempts. In his four career starts, extending to last year against Colorado, Denker has not thrown an interception in a total of 69 attempts. He has thrown 80 consecutive passes without an interception over six games dating to last season.
Denker’s lone interception in his UA career was in mop-up duty for Matt Scott in the UA’s 49-0 loss at Oregon last season.
— The Wildcats achieved 10 plays for 12 yards or more on offense against UTSA, earning a sticker in this category for the first time this season. The Wildcats had five of these plays in the first quarter alone, highlighted by Denker’s 35-yard touchdown scamper.
— For the second consecutive week, the UA had exactly four drives that consisted of at least eight plays.
— The Wildcats were 7 of 13 in third-down conversions and perfect in one fourth-down try to have a conversion rate of 57.1 percent.
— For the third consecutive game, the Wildcats tackled a kickoff returner inside their own 20 yard. That happened once stopping the returner at the UTSA 17 in the third quarter. The UA coverage team had five such tackles against NAU and UNLV.
HELMET STICKER CRITERIA
The Wildcats earn cat claws for the Arizona helmet if they achieve these following marks. This grading system is stringent. The Wildcats must achieve their goal. If it states the UA must achieve “more than” a certain mark, they must pass that mark. This helmet will be updated weekly as the Wildcats attempt to fill the helmet with the cat claws:
FIRST SIX GAMES
[table “” not found /]LAST SIX GAMES
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