Again, Khalil Tate has created his own grading scale. If any other player accumulated 421 yards of offense and accounted for three touchdowns, he’d probably get an A. Although he completed “only” 10 of 17 passes, Tate turned them into a career-high 275 yards. He consistently found open receivers and threw the ball with superb accuracy. Tate’s 146 rushing yards included 82- and 49-yard runs. He lost a fumble and threw an interception, but the latter came on a tipped ball and should have been wiped out by pass interference.
J.J. Taylor and Zach Green found little running room for most of the game. But when the Cougars gave Taylor an opening, he took advantage of it. Taylor had rushes of 62 and 79 yards in the third quarter. The latter went for a touchdown. He had two scores in all and finished with 152 yards, his first 100-yard rushing game this season. Green had only 11 yards on seven carries, but when Arizona needed him at the goal line in the fourth quarter, he delivered a 1-yard TD.
This group made the most of its opportunities, averaging 27.5 yards per reception. TE Jamie Nunley, playing in place of the injured Trevor Wood (concussion), had a breakout game with two catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Tony Ellison had two receptions for 66 yards, including a fingertip grab for 41 in the second quarter. Shun Brown used blocks from his fellow receivers to turn a bubble screen into a 17-yard touchdown. The only negative: Cedric Peterson dropped a deep pass down the right sideline in the first quarter.
The overall offensive numbers were terrific – 9.1 yards per carry and zero sacks for the fourth straight game. The line deserves credit for helping to create the big plays that propelled the Wildcats to their fourth straight victory. But it was a struggle at times. Washington State had eight tackles for losses, the most by any UA opponent this season. Redshirt freshman Michael Eletise briefly subbed for Christian Boettcher at left guard and helped pave the way for Taylor’s 62-yard run.
The front had only one sack and for most of the game failed to generate any semblance of a pass rush. The Wildcats generally held up well against the run, limiting the Cougars to 44 yards on 17 carries. Containing QB Tyler Hilinski (two TDs) was an issue at times. Two linebackers – freshmen Tony Fields II and Colin Schooler – had interceptions. Schooler returned his 66 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The good news: The secondary had two of Arizona’s four interceptions, by Lorenzo Burns and Jace Whittaker. Whittaker’s came in the end zone late in the third quarter. The bad: Hilinski and Luke Falk combined for 602 passing yards and three touchdowns. Hilinski did most of the damage with 509 yard and two TDs off the bench. But the defensive backs’ strategy of keeping everything in front of them generally worked; WSU averaged 7.2 yards per pass attempt to Arizona’s 16.2.
A lot more good than bad here. Freshman kicker Lucas Havrisik made a 57-yard field goal at the end of the first half, tying the school record. He also registered touchbacks on 9 of 10 kickoffs. Josh Pollack made both of his FG attempts (30, 25) and all seven of his PATs despite the absence of short snapper Wood. Pollack also took over the punting duties and performed decently (39.4 avg., three inside 20). Brown muffed a high, hanging punt in the first quarter, leading to a WSU touchdown.
Rich Rodriguez patiently stuck with his run-first game plan, and eventually it paid off with huge gains by Tate and Taylor. Rodriguez also added a play-action element to the mix, and it led to big plays by Nunley and others. DC Marcel Yates took a relatively conservative approach to defending Washington State’s passing attack. The Cougars at least had to earn their yards. They also converted only 4 of 18 third downs, an area where the Wildcats had been struggling.
