The key for the Wildcats will be their QB Kahlil Tate, who has had an interesting two years, and how well he can be maximized within the Arizona system. In 2017 he literally ran wild with almost as many rushing yards and TD’s as he had in the air—1,591 yards to 1,411 yards respectively. For six weeks that season you could say that Arizona had the greatest show on turf. During that period of time Tate rushed for 1,243 yards and 11 TD’s-averaging almost 13 yards per carry. In the air he threw for 950+ yards and 8 TD’s—only getting sacked four times. For the season he passed for 14 TD’s and rushed for 12, averaging about 9 yards per attempt whether it was on the ground on in the air. Last year, in 2018, Tate only rushed for 224 yards and 2 TD’s over the course of 11 games. He did have almost 1,000 more yards in the air in addition to almost doubling his number of passing TD’s, but his total offense went down by about 500 yards on the year.
Why the difference? Well, in 2017 Rich Rodriguez was the coach of Arizona and running the system he is known for, a no huddle run-oriented version of the spread, and Kahlil Tate was thriving in it. However, in January of 2018 Rodriguez was fired by the university after the conclusion of an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment. In steps former Texas A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin who left Houston after four seasons to coach Texas A&M as they transitioned to the SEC. Veteran Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone, who had a solid history with mobile QB’s was brought in. Even though his philosophy was, “be fast, play in space, be balanced, attack and keep it simple,” at times Tate looked like a wildcat trapped in a cage. Having watched him in 2017 it’s clear he works best on the run and that includes his game in the air. I am anxious to see if the coaching staff will be able to tweak their system in a way that will magnify Tate’s talents.
Arizona almost made it to a bowl last year but lost to their in-state rival Arizona State in the last game of the year 40-41, ending the season with loosing overall and conference records of 5-7 and 4-5 respectively. Looking at their schedule including three on the road at Stanford, USC, and Oregon as well as a couple at home against both Washington and Utah, I don’t expect much change in the bottom line. That said, to look past the Wildcats on any given week would be a mistake as Oregon found out to the tune of 15-44 on the road, at Arizona.
Besides Tate, on the plus side of the offense is returning Junior RB J. J Taylor who has already accumulated over 2,500 yards on the ground. They may be relying on both Taylor and Tate early as they break in new WR’s having lost their four top receivers. Hopefully the four returning starters on the line can help in that regard. The defensive side of the ball does not look as encouraging as they lost their two leading tacklers from a young defense that allowed 432 yards and 33 points per game. Maybe all that experience pays off this year. On the plus side they bring back an experienced secondary and an excellent linebacking group-maybe the best in the conference-including Colin Schooler who led the team with 119 tackles, 3+ sacks, and 21+ tackles for loss.
Arizona starts their season off on the road at Aloha Stadium on Saturday, August 24th at 7:30pm on CBSSN against Hawaii after which they’ll play host to the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Saturday, September 7th and the Texas Red Raiders on the 14th. Following a bye on September 21st, they’ll open conference play at home against UCLA on Saturday, September 28th