aurorasooner
9/2/2007, 10:30 AM
bringing in all that offensive coaching power. Tough afternoon for the wildcats in Utah.
PROVO, Utah - The University of Arizona football team trotted out its new offense in Saturday's season opener at Brigham Young, but it was the same old result for the Wildcats in a 20-7 loss to the Cougars.
It looked like the same offense the Wildcats had last year, and the year before as it wasn't until 53 seconds remained that Arizona avoided a shutout in front of a sellout crowd of 64,525 at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
"I am very disappointed we were not able to do a little more offensively. We never found a rhythm," UA coach Mike Stoops said. "We tried to run the ball, but we still had a challenge to get yards. We made critical mistakes in critical times of the game."
"I was shocked," UA offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes said.
Arizona managed less than two yards per play in the first half, gaining just 41 total yards.
The longest gain for the Wildcats came on a broken play in the fourth quarter, when the snap to quarterback Willie Tuitama in a shotgun formation was fumbled. He picked it up, rolled to the right, avoided the sideline and hooked up with Delashaun Dean, who wrestled the ball from BYU safety Quinn Gooch.
Arizona finished with 11 first downs but had only three heading into the fourth quarter. Most of the damage was done on the final drive, with BYU holding a 20-0 lead.
The defense has some work to do as well. Arizona had 10 starters returning but did little to rattle BYU quarterback Max Hall of Mesa, who had plenty of time to throw and find receivers despite playing in his first game in four years.
"Tackling was definitely an issue," UA defensive coordinator Mark Stoops said.
Hall completed 26 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. He hit Harvey Unga for a 27-yard touchdown in the first quarter and Dennis Pitta for a 2-yard score with 38 seconds left in the half for a 13-0 lead.
PROVO, Utah - The University of Arizona football team trotted out its new offense in Saturday's season opener at Brigham Young, but it was the same old result for the Wildcats in a 20-7 loss to the Cougars.
It looked like the same offense the Wildcats had last year, and the year before as it wasn't until 53 seconds remained that Arizona avoided a shutout in front of a sellout crowd of 64,525 at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
"I am very disappointed we were not able to do a little more offensively. We never found a rhythm," UA coach Mike Stoops said. "We tried to run the ball, but we still had a challenge to get yards. We made critical mistakes in critical times of the game."
"I was shocked," UA offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes said.
Arizona managed less than two yards per play in the first half, gaining just 41 total yards.
The longest gain for the Wildcats came on a broken play in the fourth quarter, when the snap to quarterback Willie Tuitama in a shotgun formation was fumbled. He picked it up, rolled to the right, avoided the sideline and hooked up with Delashaun Dean, who wrestled the ball from BYU safety Quinn Gooch.
Arizona finished with 11 first downs but had only three heading into the fourth quarter. Most of the damage was done on the final drive, with BYU holding a 20-0 lead.
The defense has some work to do as well. Arizona had 10 starters returning but did little to rattle BYU quarterback Max Hall of Mesa, who had plenty of time to throw and find receivers despite playing in his first game in four years.
"Tackling was definitely an issue," UA defensive coordinator Mark Stoops said.
Hall completed 26 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. He hit Harvey Unga for a 27-yard touchdown in the first quarter and Dennis Pitta for a 2-yard score with 38 seconds left in the half for a 13-0 lead.