Arizona offense could improve with sustained drives against Hawaii

Like last week, expect Arizona to win.

Like last week, don’t be surprised if it’s not easy.

The Wildcats enter a Saturday night game against Hawaii with starting quarterback Anu Solomon listed as questionable while coming off a too-close-for-comfort, 31-21 win against Grambling State. Be it Solomon or backup Brandon Dawkins, the offense hasn’t looked like a Rich Rodriguez-coached squad against either BYU or Grambling State.

Finding some sort of consistency there remains the goal in Arizona’s final non-conference game.

CAN ARIZONA’S OFFENSE SUSTAIN DRIVES?

For better or worse, Arizona hasn’t been able to control the game with methodical, long drives.

We’re talking play-count, not time-of-possession (RichRod hates the latter).

For a team that can lean on a rock of a running back like Nick Wilson, struggling to move the ball without blowing the top off the defense could spell trouble come Pac-12 play.

To start the second half down 21-3 against Grambling State on Saturday, Arizona didn’t need long drives, to be fair. After a touchdown on a nine-play drive to open the third quarter, the offense recorded seven straight possessions of less than six plays. Yes, three of those brief touches led to touchdowns — but those came off forced turnovers at midfield or better.

Between that outing and the BYU game, the Wildcats have gone on drives of seven or more plays 8-of-25 times — not the most promising rate. Granted, the data that might skew toward the positive considering UA’s beneficial field position during the second half of the Grambling State outing.

So at best, all this means is Arizona has not yet proved it can build sustained possessions without requiring big plays.

At worst, it means the offense has yet to find a groove.

There’s good news in all this: Dawkins, who Rodriguez said showed flashes but still missed several reads, showed some chemistry with lead receivers Samajie Grant and Trey Griffey. He completed 9-of-14 passes in the second half last Saturday. He and Wilson proved dangerous as a running duo as well, rolling out a combined 223 yards.

GET TO KNOW HAWAII

– Turnover battles often dictate games, but this matchup brings that to the forefront considering context. Arizona eeked out the Grambling State win, in part, due to turning the Tigers over six times. On the plus side of things, the Wildcats didn’t cough up the ball despite being led by the inexperienced Dawkins. Including the BYU game, Arizona has a 6:2 turnover ratio in their favor. Hawaii, on the other hand, has turned the ball over eight times all season and forced five. Six of those turnovers have been interceptions by starting quarterback Ikaika Woolsey, who has struggled after beating out junior college transfer Dru Brown for the job.

– Speaking of which, Brown might be a name to note. Like the situation at Arizona with Solomon and Dawkins, Brown has remained hot on Woolsey’s tail to grab a starting gig. And similarly to Dawkins, he brings an added dynamic in the run game.

– The Warriors have shown flashes of a solid ground game in a 51-31 loss to Cal in which No. 1 running back Diocemy Saint Juste put up 118 yards and an 8.4 average — as a team Hawaii averaged 6.5 yards per carry against the Golden Bears. Saint Juste and backup Steven Lakalaka averaged 5.8 yards and 6.5 yards, respectively, on 27 carries during a 41-36 win over Tennessee-Martin last week. Then again, Hawaii also fell 63-3 at Michigan, which held Saint Juste to 1.3 yards per carry.

HONORING PEARL HARBOR

Arizona received quite a bit of attention and a fond reception nationally when it released its Pearl Harbor memorial uniform combination earlier in the week.

How will they look in game action and on the television? We’ll see.

HAKA-GATE

Last year, Arizona received criticism when people from New Zealand caught wind of the Wildcats’ tradition of doing their version of the Haka dance before games. Well, it might return against Hawaii. Maybe.

Arizona Football looks to return modified version of the #Haka. @JustinESports has more: pic.twitter.com/ixPS5upNIw

— Fan Media Network (@FanMediaNetwork) September 13, 2016

Time

7:45 p.m. MST

TV

Pac-12 Network

Follow @kzimmermanaz