Khalil Tate struggles, Arizona falls to BYU in Kevin Sumlin’s debut

Throngs of Wildcat fans filed out of Arizona Stadium as BYU running back Squally Canada scampered untouched into the end zone for his third rushing touchdown of the night.

It turns out the so-called “new era” of Arizona football is not all it was cracked up to be — at least not yet. Canada’s trio of touchdowns led the BYU Cougars to a 28-23 victory over the Arizona Wildcats to open the 2018 season.

The ballyhooed partnership between new Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin and quarterback Khalil Tate proved to be a work in progress.

Tate rushed for just 14 yards on eight carries, easily his lowest output as a starter. He also attempted 34 passes — one shy of his career high — but struggled mightily to connect on anything down the field.

His longest completion was a 33-yard catch-and-run by Shawn Poindexter. The UA QB completed half his passes for 197 yards and a touchdown.

In turn, Arizona’s offense, which was one of the most prolific in the country last year, was held to 326 yards. BYU finished with 392, complementing its power running attack with a nice balance of play-action and screen passes.

Of course, Arizona’s struggles weren’t all on Tate. The inexperience of Arizona’s revamped offensive line showed. The Wildcats failed to get consistent push and their running backs could only scamper for 4.3 yards per carry. Tate was often under duress when he dropped back to pass.

Arizona found success early on with short, quick-hitting passes but strangely insisted on taking shots down the field. None of them were completed. Some were poorly thrown by Tate, others were dropped by UA receivers.

Arizona’s defense held up its end of the bargain — well, for the first half anyway.

Neither team was able to get on the scoreboard until Canada plunged for a one-yard touchdown to break a scoreless tie with 9:58 left in the second quarter. Arizona countered with a 12-play, 68-yard drive that resulted in a 24-yard field goal by Lucas Havrisik. Havrisik had a 43-yard attempt blocked on UA’s opening drive.

Tate then led Arizona on a nine-play, 77-yard drive that gave the Wildcats a 10-7 lead heading into the locker room. The UA quarterback scampered for a key fourth-down conversion at the BYU 46-yard line before connecting with Tony Ellison for an easy 15-yard touchdown a few plays later.

BYU put the hammer down from there, scoring on its first three drives in the third quarter to grab a 28-10 lead with 1:07 left in the period.

Canada rushed for 98 yards on 24 carries. BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum got off to a shaky start but finished 18-for-28 for 209 yards.

The 25-year-old senior lofted a beautiful pass to Tucson native Matt Bushman for a 24-yard touchdown that put BYU up 14-10 midway through the third quarter.

“We got into a game where they able to take control of the line of scrimmage, particularly offensively,” UA head coach Kevin Sumlin said. “We couldn’t get off the field.”

Arizona did make things interesting. Tate rushed for a two-yard touchdown with 13:29 left, then J.J. Taylor bulldozed for a one-yard touchdown to cut BYU’s lead to 28-23 with 3:20 left.

But BYU leaned on Canada, who rushed for a pair of first downs to run out the clock.

“Squally! Squally!” chants permeated throughout Arizona Stadium as the Cougars walked off the field. There were no UA fans left to drown them out.

Scoring plays

• Squally Canada 1-yard TD run — 9:58, 2Q — 7-0 BYU
• Lucas Havrisik 24-yard FG — 5:39, 2Q — 7-3 BYU
• Khalil Tate 15-yard TD pass to Tony Ellison — 0:50, 2Q — 10-7 ARIZ
• Tanner Mangum 24-yard TD pass to Matt Bushman — 8:25, 3Q — 14-10 BYU
• Squally Canada 1-yard TD run — 4:29, 3Q — 21-10 BYU
• Squally Canada 2-yard TD run — 1:07, 3Q — 28-10 BYU
• Khalil Tate 2-yard TD run — 13:29, 4Q — 28-17 BYU
• J.J. Taylor 1-yard TD run — 3:20, 4Q — 28-23 BYU (2-pt conversion failed)

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