Stanford vs. Arizona: Grading the Wildcats’ 34-10 loss to the Cardinal

Does anyone on offense deserve a passing grade?

The Arizona Wildcats put on one of the worst offensive performances in recent memory against the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday night, posting just ten points and 286 total yards.

So how does each position group grade out? Well....

Quarterbacks: D-

With both Anu Solomon and Brandon Dawkins available for the first time since Week One, the coaching staff went with Dawkins for the majority of the game.

The redshirt sophomore ended up completing just five passes on 15 attempts, totaling 116 yards through the air. On the ground, he netted 65 yards on 17 attempts, but was sacked four times.

What was concerning with Dawkins’ run game was that there were multiple occasions when he could have picked up first downs, but either sought out contact, or gave himself up before reaching the line of gain. There was almost no field awareness on his part, and it put the offense in positions it shouldn’t have been in.

Solomon played two drives. He was unable to complete any of his three attempts, was sacked once, and he fumbled what appeared to be a botched handoff. Not great.

Khalil Tate got the garbage time drive, and was an imperfect 0-for-2 through the air as well. The five total completions by Arizona quarterbacks was the team’s fewest since 2000 when they completed three passes for 11 yards in a WIN.

Running backs: C-

I never thought I’d see the day where Samajie Grant was Arizona’s starting and primary running back in a meaningful conference game, but it happened on Saturday night. He finished the night with 64 yards on 19 carries, but one massive 24-yard loss really hurt his per carry average.

Overall, I thought Grant did decently well at the position, especially for a wide receiver seeing his first significant time at RB since high school. He gave himself a D- in the postgame press conference, but I’ll be a little nicer than that.

However, I am concerned with Zach Green’s one total carry in the game. Walk-on Branden Leon was able to pick up four carries and 20 yards in the garbage time drive. I’m in favor of playing actual running backs at running back, and Green and Leon should get more opportunities.

Wide receivers: D+

While Arizona’s offensive line doesn’t allow a lot of time for routes to develop, there are instances when the Wildcats’ quarterbacks sit in the pocket, but more often than not, there’s no one to throw to. The passing game is just awful, and a little bit of the blame needs to be placed here. But the rest of the blame comes next.

Offensive line: F

I’m not even sure how to describe Arizona’s offensive line play in conference games. There’s no consistency, which doesn’t allow for the quarterbacks to gain any confidence, and it doesn’t let the running game open up either. A successful offense needs a good, consistent offensive line, and Arizona just isn’t that right now.

Defensive line: B+

Early in the game, Arizona was getting into the backfield early and often, even when Stanford ran out goal line packages, and jumbo packages, and even eight linemen at one time.

Most people expected this group to be awful this year, and honestly, they may be the best part about this defense in 2016. Also, can we get Justin Belknap a scholarship yet?

Linebackers: C+

This is another aspect of the team that has been a pleasant surprise at times. The unfortunate injury to Michael Barton kind of changed the team’s fortunes in the second half, allowing Christian McCaffrey to break loose. Paul Magloire had probably his best game of the season, but DeAndre’ Miller was ineffective. Overall a so-so game here.

Secondary: B-

As bad as Arizona’s passing game was, Stanford’s wasn’t much better. They went 14-of-31 for 104 yards, and didn’t complete a pass longer than 18 yards. Three of Arizona’s top four tacklers in the game were members of the secondary (Dane Cruikshank, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, and Jace Whittaker) thanks to some deep runs. It’s crazy to think that Arizona is 2-6 and it’s not really the defense’s fault.

Special teams: C

Nothing stood out. At least McCaffrey didn’t return a kick to the house without the aide of a block in the back and a hold.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/2fteiJO
via IFTTT