This is what we know about the Arizona football team: The Wildcats are 3-1 with so many questions still left.
That’s not a bad place to be – given the record and how it has looked this season. But, hey, they are 3-1 after Saturday’s 34-24 rallying win over Washington State.
Arizona looked meh in the first half, falling behind 17-14, including 14-0 early in the game.
But it did what it had – no HAD – to do in Pullman. But isn’t that always the case for Arizona football? It must beat the teams it must beat or is expected to beat if a successful season is even possible? Right?
And not that Saturday’s game was ever in doubt – well maybe a smidge when kicker Michael Salgado-Medina couldn’t give the Cats a bigger cushion – but you wonder when Arizona is going to put a compete game together. Admit it, don’t you?
Saturday, UA waited for the second half, outscoring WSU 20-7 for the win.
At halftime, UA coach Brent Brennan said on his radio show that he told his team that it would have to “dial in on the details” if it was going to win.
“Well, I think the big thin here is we finished in the fourth quarter,” Brennan said. “We ran the ball really well. We added points when we had to and we got a big kick from Money Mike (Salgado-Medina)
“It was awesome.”
A win is a win – nothing could be more profound.
Once again, it came down to the poise of Noah Fifita, who orchestrated some quality drives, one a quick strike to Caleb Smith on a big play only to follow it with a touchdown pass to Smith to give UA the go-ahead touchdown. He passed for four touchdowns, by the way.
That was what spurred the Cats on to victory. In addition to a toughened-up defense in the second half, one that became less predictable and more aggressive.
And a career day from Tre Spivey (seven catches and two TD receptions) and a solid return of Ismail Mahdi, who gained 63 yards on 10 carries after becoming eligible earlier in the month.
“He’s doing great,” Brennan said of Mahdi. “He’s doing a great job just coming along because we also had good runs from all the other backs, too.
“We’re really fortunate we have a really good stable of running backs. That’s something we’re going to have to lean on as the season goes because it’s a very physical position. They guys really take it. (They) get beat up every week.”
As for the defense, it showed up in the second half. Defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales attacked at the right time- save for one time when WSU scored a TD late in the fourth quarter.
“I thought our defense did a great job.” Brennan said. “It was great to see us force some turnovers (two) and get some fourth-quarter stops. There’s a lot to be excited about on defense.”
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