Three Things Arizona MUST do Against Houston

In overtime, BYU went on to fight its way to an impressive 33-27 double overtime win over Arizona and keep its undefeated streak alive. The Wildcats had an opportunity to pull off the upset but fell flat in the last minutes of regulation, which led to the overtime loss.

Arizona’s defense had been solid against the run for most of the season through the first five games but against BYU, the Wildcats were gashed for 258 yards on the ground.

BYU running back LJ Martin was a nightmare for the Wildcats’ defense as he went off for 162 yards on 25 carries and found the end zone.

On the offensive side of the ball, Arizona was able to total 383 yards while rushing for 164 thanks to Kedrick Reescano, who managed to rack up 90 yards on 13 carries.

However, Arizona was able to get the ball with 19 seconds left and two timeouts and Brennan made the decision to take a knee to head into overtime.

That decision seemed strange given the situation of the game and the fact that Arizona was at its 25-yard line with a kicker that has made a 60-yard field goal this season.

In the end, Arizona was unable to come up with a stop in the second overtime where BYU was able to score a rushing touchdown.

On Arizona’s turn in the second overtime, the Wildcats couldn’t find the end zone and that was despite picking up a fourth down to extend the drive.

Fifita on the last play of the game barely overthrew receiver Javin Whatley in the left corner of the end zone to seal the win for BYU.

Now that the game has come to an end, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have put together three things Arizona needs to do against Houston.

Three Musts For Arizona

Running the Ball

• If Arizona is going to have success on the road in an early morning game, the Wildcats will need to get their running going early. In the UA’s four wins this season, the team has averaged 153 yards per game.

• Yes, the Wildcats rushed for 164 yards against BYU in the loss but the team only rushed the ball 34 times, which included two overtimes.

• Arizona has gotten a little pass happy in the losses this season. The Wildcats need to run the ball and make sure to be more balanced than they were against BYU.

Special Teams

• Last game out, Arizona was near perfect on special teams against BYU with the only mistake coming in the last three minutes of the game where the Cougars returned a punt inside UA territory to set up the game-tying touchdown.

• Arizona will need to have that type of performance again against Houston but not slip up in the fourth quarter in a coverage situation. Plus, the Wildcats can’t afford to have missed field goals, which has plagued the team in previous games.

Start Strong

• The biggest problem over the last several road games, which dates back to last season is that Arizona has fallen behind by double-digits in each loss. This season, the Wildcats trailed 22-0 against Iowa State before getting on the board.

• Arizona needs to start strong and can’t afford to find itself trailing by a massive number against Houston if the Wildcats want to capture their fifth win of the season.