By the numbers: How Arizona’s Khalil Tate has become a Heisman candidate
Oct 29, 2017, 2:11 PM | Updated: Oct 30, 2017, 11:59 am
Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate (14) stiff-arms Washington State safety Jalen Thompson (34) in the first half during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Maybe this holds for a week before the Arizona Wildcats come back to reality with a visit to the Pac-12 South-leading USC Trojans.
For now, Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate has found himself suddenly thrust into the Heisman spotlight. It’s helped that the dual-threat quarterback has led the Wildcats to their fourth straight victory and into the top-25 polls.
The Washington Post, Mercury News, Sports Illustrated and Lindy’s all threw Tate into the Heisman discussion on Sunday.
The sophomore Tate has now appeared in six of Arizona’s eight games, and after throwing for 275 yards and rushing for 146 while compiling three total touchdowns Saturday in a 58-37 win over No. 15 Washington State, he’s eligible to be included among the nation’s rushing stats leaders.
Here’s his season heading into a showdown with USC, by the numbers.
1
Tate’s 13.4 yards per carry ranks first among qualified Division I players and is a good 3.1 yards better that Stanford running back and Heisman candidate Bryce Love’s 10.3 yards per rush.
3
In third place nationally, Tate is averaging 154.3 rushing yards per game this season.
840
Tate is the only player to account for at least 840 rushing yards during the month of October over the past decade. As ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura notes, only two Power Five conference players have put together more yards in a month since 2004: Melvin Gordon and Andre Williams each rolled up 1,092 yards in November 2014 and 2013, respectively.
8
With eight runs of 40 or more yards this season, Tate has already surpassed the six total by last year’s Heisman winner, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, points out SI’s Bruce Feldman.
4
Let’s take those big plays a step further. Tate has four carries of 70 or more yards — one in each of the last four games. That ties him for the longest streak in the past decade.
28
Tate’s shortest touchdown jaunt this year is 28 yards. His scores have been of 76, 75, 71, 58, 49, 47, 45 and 28 yards. His longest run of the year, an 82-yard scamper against the Cougars on Saturday, wasn’t a touchdown. He was ruled out at the 2-yard line.
48.75
Arizona has averaged 48.75 points in the last four games with Tate running the show.
13
Despite the limited carries (69) and his lack of action in two whole games — not to mention two limited appearances to begin the year — Tate is 13th in college football with 926 total rushing yards. Love holds the honors atop that list with 1,387 after his seventh game of the year.
71
Not only has Tate been a monster on the ground: Of late, he’s taken the threat to the air, completing 41-of-58 passes (71 percent) for 743 yards, six touchdowns and two picks since he took starting duties from Brandon Dawkins.
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