To win in college football, you’ve got to be able to run the ball and stop the run. But so far this season, Arizona has struggled to do both.
Through three games, the Wildcats are allowing 172.7 rushing yards per game, which ranked 104th out of 134 FBS schools. It’s 222.5 per game against FBS opponents, which ranks 112th, as New Mexico and Kansas State have each topped the 200-yard mark.
Arizona’s ground game is averaging 149.7 per game, which is 80th nationally, but it only had 56 at K-State and averaged less than three yards per carry. Part of that was due to having to abandon the run after falling behind by two scores in the second half, but after gaining 26 on the opening drive Arizona only had 30 the rest of the night.
Both of these trends have actually carried over from the end of 2023, which saw the UA average only 60.5 rushing yards and 2.38 YPC against ASU and Oklahoma while allowing 212.5 per game and 5.59 per carry. That’s despite new play callers on both sides of the ball as well as a complete overhaul of both the running back and defensive line rooms.
Of the 13 defensive linemen that have logged snaps this season, only six were on the team a year ago and only five saw action. That position group was a major area of concern going into training camp and hasn’t allayed those fears to this point, particularly when dealing with mobile quarterbacks, of which each opponent has had.
“Quarterback run, I think, adds a different element, especially when the quarterback is as athletic as the kid who we played last week,” UA coach Brent Brennan said Monday, referring to Kansas State’s Anthony Johnson, who ran for 110 yards and 17 carries. “I think that that adds another component to it. I think there’s some things that we can do schematically that we’re talking about in terms of giving us a better chance to be cleaner on that. And then I think technically, there’s some things that we can do, that the guys playing can do, to hopefully mitigate some of that.”
Arizona has struggled mightily with edge containment, while overall its eye discipline up front has been miserable. Twenty-four of its 39 missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus, have been by the defensive line or linebackers.
“The biggest culprit would be just getting our eyes (off) the backfield, which is sometimes a tendency of young players,” Brennan said. “Our eyes need be on our work, they can’t be in the backfield.”
Arizona’s run game has shown plenty of positives, averaging more than six yards per carry despite the bad outing at K-State. Its jumbo package, which includes a sixth offensive lineman and fullback Kayden Luke, has been particularly effective, but that’s only been used in short-yardage situations.
Regardless of the run type, though, Arizona’s run scheme under offensive coordinator Dino Babers can best be described as “slow developing.” That’s by design, per Brennan, and not just a trick of the eye that makes it seem like the exchange between quarterback Noah Fifita and whichever ball carrier is taking longer than it should to happen.
“If it’s a gap scheme you don’t want the back to be ahead of the pullers,” Brennan said. “And so we’re using offensive linemen and tight ends in that scheme, and fullbacks too sometimes. And then in the zone scheme, you normally want to have a chance for your down linemen to get some movement on (their) down linemen.”
The run attack has also been without one of its expected biggest contributors in senior Jacory Croskey-Merritt. He ran for 106 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries against New Mexico but has been held out the last two games after a potential issue with his eligibility came up.
Croskey-Merritt was cleared to play by the NCAA and vetted by Arizona’s compliance department, per Brennan, yet when (or if) he’ll return remains uncertain.
“I just feel bad for the young man, I really do,” Brennan said. “It was thoroughly vetted. And so now I’m just waiting to see what the end decision or end result is going to be.”
Another contributing factor to the run struggles on both sides have been penalties, or the lack thereof. Arizona has been called for holding six times, five on run plays that combined to produce 57 yards, while its opponents have been flagged only twice.
“I think some guys are better at drawing those penalties than others,” Brennan said. “In my experience, they tend to be guys that play really hard. Guys that are just relentless in pursuit of the football or the quarterback that end up fighting through and getting on the edge of an offensive lineman and having an offensive lineman be in a bad position to stop them. Some of those penalties you hammer technique, fitting our hands inside, understanding that guy gets outside our frame you gotta let him go, that type of stuff.”
As for getting calls, Brennan is not in favor of trying to embellish in hopes an official sees the hold.
“If you do the Vlade flop and they don’t call it, then the ball’s running past you for a touchdown,” he said. “I’d rather have them play through it and make the tackle.”