Cat Tracks: Arizona falls late to No. 18 Oregon State

Sure, you could read the box score and know who won, but we all know that won’t tell you everything that happened in a football game. So, we give you ‘Cat Tracks’, providing you with the analysis, quotes and notes from Arizona’s September 29 loss to Oregon loss. Final score: Oregon State 38, Arizona 35.

The Good:

A week after getting kept off the scoreboard –including 0-for-6 in red zone opportunities — the Wildcats’ offense found its groove in the second half. Senior quarterback Mike Scott threw for a career-high 403 yards and three touchdowns.

Kadeem Kelly also rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bad:

For a half up in Autzen, the Wildcats’ defense kept UA in last week’s game.

On Saturday, Rich Rodriguez’s defensive unit put Arizona behind the eight ball all evening long. The Cats surrendered a career-high 433 passing yards from the Beavers’ Sean Mannion and 165 rushing yards from Storm Woods.

UA had a chance for the upset in the final few minutes in spite of its defense, but the one key stop they needed eluded them when it mattered most. Mannion led OSU on an 11-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a nine-yard touchdown pass to Connor Hamlett.

Noted:

The Wildcats’ defense gave up 1,107 yards from scrimmage in their consecutive losses to the Oregon schools.

Coming Up Next:

The Wildcats will try to snap their two-game losing streak against an angry Stanford team next Saturday at 12 p.m. Stanford was previously ranked in the Top 10 before losing this week at Washington.