Arizona Offense
Khalil Tate is an amazing specimen. Last season against UCLA, he ran all over the horrid Bruin defense for 230 yards. One of his runs even went for a 71-yard touchdown. And believe it or not, he even has quite the decent arm, but it was not his strength. Tate had the 10th most yards per game in the Pac-12 with 144.6.
But Arizona was not known for their passing. it was the run game that fueled their fire. Arizona was 3rd IN THE NATION in rushing offense with 309.3 yards per game. But will that continue? Sumlin might pull back the run game and try to develop a better passing game, which is probably a good idea because there really isn’t a lot of help behind Tate after backup Brandon Dawkins transferred.
But none of this is going to matter if the Wildcats don’t have an offensive line to work with.
Arizona 2017 Offensive Stats
| Total Offense | Passing Offense | Rushing Offense | Scoring Offense |
|---|---|---|---|
| 489.5 (1st) | 180.2 (12th) | 309.3 (1st) | 41.3 (1st) |
( ) – denotes ranking in the TEAM CONFERENCE
Related Story: 10 Bold Predictions for UCLA Football in 2018
Arizona returns three linemen from last season, which will help Tate’s consistency. If Sumlin wants to run a more balanced offense with Noel Mazzone running things, the line will have to make some slight adjustments. But the adjustments might not be that bad, especially with some talent in the glamour positions.
At running back, Tate will have help running the ball from J.J. Taylor who was second in rushing yards behind the running QB with 862. But behind them, there is going to have to be new blood that steps up as Dawkins, Zach Green and Nick Wilson are no longer with the program.
Hopefully, that won’t be too big of a problem, especially if Sumlin wants to air things out. Last season, the Wildcats were last in passing yards with not a single receiver collecting over 600 yards. That does not mean they don’t have talent as Arizona returns five of their six top receivers from last season.
So what does this mean again UCLA? First things first, if UCLA does not improve their run defense, expect Sumlin and Tate to run all over the Bruins. UCLA will be more aggressive this season, so don’t expect Tate to get anywhere near 200 yards. Things might be different if the Wildcats try to pass. UCLA was very good whilst defending the skies and should be a lot more active under DC Jerry Azzinaro, but Sumlin and former UCLA OC Noel Mazzone have a way of getting a ton of yards with a simplistic spread offense.