Texas Tech at Arizona Game Review

Arizona 28, Texas Tech 14 | Final Stats (PDF)

Saturday night’s win over Texas Tech was much-needed for the Arizona football team. While it was not the perfect game, it was the type of performance that needs to become the foundation to establishing the identity of this team.

Arizona had a clear game plan on both sides of the football, and the players were free to trust and execute that plan. Defensively, credit Marcel Yates and his staff for putting their best 11 players on the field to defend Texas Tech’s spread attack with a 3-3-5 scheme.

This defensive scheme change allowed Arizona to put all three of its top linebackers – Colin Schooler, Tony Fields II and Anthony Pandy – on the field at the same time and they essentially played every snap together. Up front, the Wildcats rotated players in throughout the game. In the back end, veteran cornerback Jace Whittaker shifted to a nickel position, covering the slots and dropping into zones where he could read and react to the quarterback. At the same time, this allowed Scottie Young Jr. to play more aggressively near the line of scrimmage, disrupting run plays and screen plays.

Offensively, the Wildcats set out to establish a physical ground game, especially after they had struggles establishing a rhythm in the passing game. Even with J.J. Taylor nicked up, coaches trusted Gary Brightwell and Bam Smith so much so that the Wildcats only passed five times in the second half (all in the third quarter) and ran the ball on the final 22 plays of the night.

I am going to review my five keys to game below, but my predominant theme was Arizona had to play relentless football for four quarters. As I noted, Arizona did not have to get off to a hot start offensively or even score first. If that happened, great. But if it didn’t, were the Wildcats willing and able to be the tougher team for four quarters? They were more than willing.

The Red Raiders had yet to play a four-quarter game this season, and it showed. Arizona physically dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball in the second half. Texas Tech had numerous players down with injuries and cramps throughout the game. The Wildcats asserted their relentless effort throughout the game and owned a 19:48 to 10:12 advantage in time of possession in the second half.

This was never more evident than in the fourth quarter when Arizona was backed up at its own 1-yardline and clinging to a 20-14 lead. The Wildcats pushed the Red Raiders off the line of scrimmage play after play after play, running behind the line of Donovan Laie, Robert Congel, Josh McCauley, Cody Creason, Edgar Burrola and tight end Bryce Wolma. Some 13 plays, 99 yards and 7-minutes and 10-seconds later, Arizona effectively put the game away with a two-score game.

I will get into more of a breakdown of the good and bad from Saturday’s performance this week, but for now let’s reexamine the five keys to the game I posted in my Friday preview.

Relentless effort for four quarters (offense, defense, special teams)

This was the No. 1 key to victory.

Arizona’s defense was the standout in this regard, setting the tone from the opening drive and never giving in. The Wildcats forced the Red Raiders to punt on the first two possessions of the game, then Lorenzo Burns and Anthony Pandy intercepted passes on the next two drives.

The 3-3-5 defense put Arizona’s three linebackers on the field together, which always gave them six players in the box to defend the run while being athletic enough to drop into zone coverage to take away passing lanes (see Pandy’s interception). It also gave the Wildcats the flexibility to move its safeties around, with Scottie Young Jr. having his best game of the season.

Texas Tech totaled only 104 rushing yards with a 4.2 average. That made the Red Raiders one dimensional for most of the game, and the Wildcats were able to get significant pressure off the edge and with the blitz on quarterback Alan Bowman despite not recording an actual sack.

 Here’s what I wrote about Bowman in my “What to Expect From Texas Tech” post after watching his performance against UTEP last week:

“The importance of this is Bowman seems more comfortable throwing in the pocket to his right. And while he is adept at throwing to either side, he can get happy feet and a little loose with the football when he senses pressure. He looked good against the blitz when he could see it early, but late pressure from linebackers or safeties seemed to catch him off guard.”

This proved to be the case once again for Bowman, and by and large the Arizona defense relentlessly came after Bowman. He finished with an average of 5.7 yards per attempt on 55 total throws.

On the offensive side, it goes without saying. The Wildcats pounded away for four quarters despite a slow start. So once again, Arizona won this most critical key to the game – play relentless.

Protect the football (no turnovers on offense or special teams)

When I say in my lede that it was not a perfect game for Arizona, this is the primary reason. Khalil Tate did not protect the football, throwing two interceptions and fumbling. It goes without saying that Tate and the Wildcats will need to clean this up to continue winning games. Fortunately, all the turnovers were in the first half and Arizona’s defense did its part to stop Texas Tech. It was a clean second half, but the Wildcats threw just five times (all in third quarter). Credit the running backs for running hard and protecting the ball throughout. Gary Brightwell deserves special recognition for his physical, old school rushing performance, toting the rock 21 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

Win the line of scrimmage (offensive and defensive lines)

This has already been covered, but Arizona’s offensive line was simply incredible in the second half. The Wildcats leaned on the ground game to not only get the lead, but extend the lead and run out the clock at the end of the game.

It was an impressive effort for the seven-man line rotation. In addition to the starting unit (Laie-Congel-McCauley-Creason-Burrola), Bryson Cain and Paiton Fears rotated in at left guard and right tackle, respectively. Keeping bodies fresh and developing experience for those players will be key for long-term success of this unit.

On the defensive side, the Wildcats went with a three-down lineman look most of the game. A key here was the play of the nose guards, especially starter Finton Connolly. The senior did a very nice job holding up the center and often drawing a second blocker. He freed up the linebackers to play their best collective games (Fields II, Schooler and Pandy combined for 24 tackles). Behind Connolly, freshman Kyon Barrs rotated in throughout the game, as did transfer Myles Tapusoa. Keeping these bodies fresh was critical, especially as they often were tasked with holding up two blockers at the point of attack.

Once again, Arizona did not sack Bowman, but they consistently got pressure with three, four and five-man pressures, forcing frequent rushed throws and decisions.

Make a big play on special teams (TD return, blocked kick)

The Wildcats delivered a huge play in special teams, it just came in a different form. Jalen Harris, who had a good game rushing the passer, stuffed a fake field goal attempt in the second quarter. It was a crucial play as Texas Tech clearly sensed it needed to steal a possession and not settle for three points. Harris used his eyes and reacted perfectly. The play did not lead to points for Arizona, but it continued the relentless effort mentality and kept momentum away from Texas Tech.

There are some things to address in other areas of special teams, notably a bad snap that led to a missed extra point, but we can get to that later this week. The important part was Arizona was ready for a big play at a key moment.

Get the crowd engaged early (quick score, defensive stop, etc.)

It was not one of the largest or loudest Arizona Stadium crowds, but it was enough to bother Texas Tech, which was playing its first road game. The Red Raiders had a couple false starts in the first half, and as the Wildcat defense delivered stop after stop, the crowd did get engaged even though the offense was shut out in the first quarter.

The feel of the game began to change after Arizona tied the game 7-7 early in the second quarter. The ensuing possession saw Fields II track down a run play for no gain, and then Young Jr. broke up a pass with a hard hit. That ignited the crowd and the defense held on third down, drawing even more volume from the crowd.

On the next possession, that energy continued as the Red Raiders were behind the chains and the Wildcats brought the heat on third-and-23 forcing a throw-away by Bowman. Arizona would get the ball and take the lead on the next drive.

Arizona fed off the energy of the crowd the rest of the way. Let’s hope it’s a bigger and better crowd on Sept. 28 against UCLA. Get some tickets.

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