Three BOLD Observations From UA's Depth Chart

Through the first three quarters against Iowa State, the Wildcats allowed SIX explosive plays with all of them coming through the air against Arizona’s secondary.

Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht was able to go 14 of 20 passing for 243 yards with most of his yardage coming on those six plays.

Now, although Becht was able to get the job done through the air, he did most of his scoring damage on the ground scoring on the 1-yard line against the Wildcats’ defense three times.

Meanwhile, Arizona couldn’t get off the field when it needed it most as Iowa State went 6 of 12 on third down conversion. Plus, the Wildcats allowed the Cyclones to go 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions.

Everything seemed to spiral out of control for Arizona, which unlike the Cyclones struggled on third downs going an underwhelming 4 of 13 for the game.

Things didn’t go Arizona’s way against Iowa State and the Wildcats will have things to clean up and improve upon which led to the loss against the Cyclones.

Now, the Wildcats will start to prepare for their game against Oklahoma State (1-3,0-1), which is entering the game with interim head coach Doug Meacham. In Meacham’s first game leading the charge for the Cowboys they fell 45-27 against Baylor.

With the Wildcats getting ready for Oklahoma State, the team had released their depth chart for the game with some changes that have come due to performance, injury and some mixing and matching.

We at Arizona Wildcats On SI have broken down the changes on the depth chart and some things that stand out to us as Arizona heads into its game against Oklahoma State.

Three Depth Chart Observations

Cornerbacks

• For most of the season, Arizona’s best position group has been the secondary, which is loaded with talent and hasn’t allowed a touchdown pass so far this year. However, against ISU, the Wildcats allowed six explosive plays through the air as Becht totaled 243 yards passing while completing 70% of his passes.

• One of the better cornerbacks Arizona has rolled out this season has been Jay’vion Cole, who transferred in from Texas. Cole has been able to have success on the field in three games this season for the Wildcats.

• Despite Cole’s solid play, he is listed as the third cornerback on one side of the field behind Marquis Groves-Killebrew and Ayden Garnes.

Kedrick Reescano

• Arizona has been able to run the ball this season with 567 yards, which averages out to 189 yards per game. That is the most the Wildcats have averaged since the 2018 season when Rich Rodriguez was the head coach.

• Over the last couple of games, Arizona has been missing running back Kedrick Reescano, who had 51 rushing yards against Hawaii in the first game of the season.

• Even with Reescano missing games, he is listed as the top back on the depth chart. He has been dealing with an unknown leg issue and seems to be getting closer to his full return.

Punting Game

• Through the course of the first four games of the season, Arizona’s special teams unit has had its issues and ranks 134 out of 136 in special teams efficiency. 

• One thing that the Wildcats changed up trying to improve its special teams unit was switching punters after seeing Salgado-Medina working twice the work load as the main place kicker and punter. Against ISU, Arizona went with Isaac Lovison as the starting punter, who managed to average 44.5 yards per punt on four attempts.

• Now, as the Wildcats head into their game against Oklahoma State, Lovison is listed as the starting punter.