Takeaways From Arizona's Statement Win Over Arizona State

Arizona had to throw the ball to have success. The Wildcats averaged just two yards per carry on the night, while Noah Fifita vaulted the Arizona attack down the stretch.

Despite a lack of a running game, the Wildcats held the ball for 40 minutes of the game. It was a huge advantage that kept the shorthanded ASU offense off the field and made them play catch-up.

With the win, Arizona finishes the regular season 9-3 and completes one of the best turnaround seasons in program history. The Wildcats should land in a pretty decent bowl game after bringing the Territorial Cup back to Tucson.

Arizona had a fairly complete effort to take down its bitter rivals. Here are three takeaways from Arizona's big win to close out the season.

Fifita's Big Day

Fifita had to do the heavy lifting while the ground game stalled. He completed 28-of-45 passes for 286 yards and one touchdown in the victory.

From the start, Fifita attacked the boundary of the ASU defense, going after Sun Devils' corner Javan Robinson consistently. It worked, drawing flags and getting receiver Kris Hutson involved early on. Hutson hauled in seven catches for 95 yards.

The Wildcats were gift-wrapped a touchdown in the second half as ASU turned the ball over near its own goal line. However, from there, once Arizona had the lead, Fifita was able to play keep away from the Sun Devils.

He captained a 16-play drive that ended in a field goal, draining six minutes off the clock. On Arizona's final drive, he led another six-minute drive that resulted in a touchdown that ultimately put the game out of reach and didn't leave ASU any time to work with.

Fifita also did a great job spreading the ball around, connecting with 10 different receivers, with five receivers making at least three catches. He didn't force the ball over the middle often and kept the offense relatively clean. Arizona knew it had an advantage on the perimeter and used it.

Arizona's Red Zone Woes

Besides the poor rushing attack, the one big downer in the win was Arizona's red zone offense. The Wildcats were 3-of-6 in the scoring area and had a number of special teams miscues.

On Arizona's opening drive, which took nearly seven minutes off the clock, the Wildcats were knocking on the door of the end zone. However, running back Quincy Craig lost the ball near the goal line and ASU recovered.

On the Wildcats' next drive, Fifita felt some pressure and completed a backwards pass that lost nine yards. The loss meant kicker Michael Salgado-Medina had to try a 45-yard field goal, which he pushed wide right.

In the second quarter, Fifita was sacked by ASU's Justin Wodtly for a 12-yard loss while in the red area. Salgado-Medina proceeded to line up for a 42-yard try, but it was blocked by ASU's Keith Abney.

Arizona had to settle for another field goal in the fourth quarter while inside the ASU 20-yard line before finally punching in a touchdown on its final drive.

Arizona State has a stout front seven, so it was harder to move the ball once the field shrank, but some of the decisions on plays when in scoring range were curious. Arizona will have plenty of time off to sort through the issue and try to correct it before bowl season.

Turnovers The Difference

Arizona's defense has been the strength of the team this season. It showed up again this week, as the Wildcats forced five turnovers against the Sun Devils.

The veteran secondary made three interceptions off of ASU quarterback Jeff Sims, who had his worst showing of the season. The Wildcats were also fortunate to pick up an unforced fumble near the goal line that led to an easy touchdown to take the lead.

Go figure, Dalton Johnson had a big day around the ball. Johnson made three tackles and had two pass deflections. He also had a pair of takeaways in the fourth quarter.

Johnson punched the ball away from Sims on a run in the fourth quarter. On ASU's final drive, Johnson leaped forward and made a diving interception, extinguishing the final flame for the Sun Devils.

Treydan Stukes also made an incredible interception while diving over an ASU receiver to snag a deep ball from Sims. Michael Dansby had the first takeaway of the night, diving in front of an ASU receiver to nab a bad throw by Sims toward the sideline.

Takeaways have been a huge theme for the Wildcats this season, and while they weren't able to fully take advantage of all of them on Friday, the five turnovers were a huge reason why Arizona pulled off the win.

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