Michael Lev's
Football Report Card

Grades for the Arizona Wildcats' 41-31 loss to Stanford


Sat, Oct 26, 2019
Arizona @ Stanford
Quarterbacks

The Khalil Tate-Grant Gunnell combo did a lot of good things, but critical mistakes in the second half proved costly. Tate started the game and started well, throwing a pair of touchdown passes and running for a 57-yard score. He struggled in the fourth quarter, completing only 7 of 19 passes for 68 yards with two interceptions. Tate handled pressure better but couldn’t move the offense when Stanford was expecting pass late. Gunnell completed all seven of his attempts and threw a pretty TD pass to Jalen Johnson. But Gunnell tried to do too much on a scramble early in the fourth quarter, resulting in a sack/fumble that pushed the Wildcats out of field-goal range.

ReviewerGrade
Michael LevC
FansD+
Running backs

It was mostly the J.J. Taylor show, and for the second straight week he was Arizona’s best offensive player. Taylor rushed for 107 yards on only 16 carries – displaying his full arsenal of moves – and led the team with five receptions for 53 yards. About the only thing he didn’t do was score a touchdown. Three other backs – Nathan Tilford, Bam Smith and Gary Brightwell – combined for nine rushes that netted 29 yards. Freshman Michael Wiley did not get any touches for the first time this season.

ReviewerGrade
Michael LevB+
FansB
Receivers/tight ends

Jamarye Joiner produced the highlight moment, making the “SportsCenter” Top 10 with a gorgeous one-handed TD reception from Tate. Joiner finished with two grabs for 25 yards. Tayvian Cunningham led the unit with four catches for 61 yards, including a 43-yard blitz buster down the right sideline in the first quarter. Brian Casteel also had four catches, for 42 yards. Johnson’s TD was the first of his career. The freshman had two receptions for 30 yards. Drew Dixon had only one catch, but it went for a TD. Senior Cedric Peterson (1-19) remained quiet. The group in general struggled to get open in the fourth quarter and didn’t seem to be on the same wavelength as Tate during that critical juncture.

ReviewerGrade
Michael LevB-
FansC+
Offensive linemen

A much sounder performance from this group after the line suffered multiple breakdowns against Washington and USC. UA quarterbacks were sacked three times. However, Gunnell had time to get ride of the ball on both of his, and Tate nearly escaped up the middle before being tripped behind the line on a fourth-quarter scramble. Tate and the running backs combined for 239 rushing yards. The line seemed more stable with Robert Congel returning to the starting lineup at left guard and Paiton Fears returning to his platoon role at right tackle.

ReviewerGrade
Michael LevB
FansC+
Defensive front

Stanford QB K.J. Costello had too much time to throw, and tailback Cameron Scarlett had too much room to run. Costello wasn’t sacked, barely got hit and completed 30 of 43 passes for a season-high 312 yards and three touchdowns. Scarlett rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. This front, and the defense overall, performed much better in the second half, but it was too little, too late. LB Colin Schooler tied for the team lead with nine tackles. He also had a pass breakup. DT Trevon Mason had one official PBU and got a hand on two other passes.

ReviewerGrade
Michael LevD
FansF
Defensive backs

Safety Tristan Cooper said it best: “They were catching balls on us, and we weren't deflecting enough.” No member of the UA secondary was credited with a pass breakup. Nor did anyone intercept a pass. Cooper, Xavier Bell and McKenzie Barnes got beaten for TD passes. TE Colby Parkinson (5-68) and others did major damage over the middle. Jace Whittaker had nine tackles but continued to struggle in coverage. Safety Jarrius Wallace came off the bench and made a positive impact in the second half (five tackles).

ReviewerGrade
Michael LevD
FansF
Special teams

A mixed bag here. Freshman Kyle Ostendorp replaced the struggling Matt Aragon at punter and averaged 46.2 yards per attempt – a significant upgrade. Ostendorp dropped one punt inside the 20 but couldn’t place another booted from the UA 49. Lucas Havrisik wasn’t his usual sharp self on kickoffs, managing only three touchbacks in six attempts with one kick going out of bounds. Joiner looked smooth returning punts. The Wildcats did not cover kickoffs well (39.5 ypa) or block effectively for Taylor (15.5).

ReviewerGrade
Michael LevC-
FansD
Coaching

Kevin Sumlin and Noel Mazzone came up with a unique QB plan, and it worked … for a while. Should they have gone back to Gunnell while Tate was struggling in the fourth quarter? Perhaps. Marcel Yates’ defense had an absolutely brutal first half against one of the worst offenses in the Pac-12. No matter what Yates tried, Stanford seemed to have an answer. Sumlin should have gone for a field goal after Tate spiked the ball at the Cardinal 30 with Arizona down 10 in the final minute. Overall, the Wildcats weren’t sharp enough in any aspect to win a winnable game. (UPDATE: Yates was fired Sunday.)

ReviewerGrade
Michael LevD
FansF
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