Arizona Wildcats Need More Receiving Targets to Step up During Bye Week
Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan had another great game Friday night against Kansas State. One would expect him to step up against a big opponent on the road.
One of the best receivers in college football put together another sterling outing as he led the Wildcats (2-1) with 11 receptions for 138 yards, while averaging 12.5 yards per catch.
While he didn't score and Arizona lost, 31-7, he helped the Wildcats move the chains all night.
After three games, the problem is that Arizona's pass offense looks like a one-man show.
Quarterback Noah Fifita completed 26 passes on Friday night and Montana Lemonious-Craig was the only other receiver to catch more than two balls when he caught six passes for 75 yards.
That's progress for Lemonious-Craig, but it didn’t do much to flatten the curve on this trend in Arizona’s pass offense after three games.
Entering the bye week, McMillan is the only Wildcats receiver with more than 10 receptions. In three games he has 23 catches with 453 yards and four touchdowns. That includes his game against Northern Arizona where he made just two catches.
Second in receiving yards is Lemonious-Craig with 94. Second in receptions is Quali Conley, a running back with nine catches out of the backfield.
For the next two weeks the Wildcats have time to figure out how to get more out of the receivers around McMillan.
Arizona head coach Brent Brennan has already identified one area that he believes was specific to the Wildcats’ first three opponents but needs to be corrected.
“We’ve got to do a better job of getting them to fight through collision,” Brennan said to reporters after Friday’s game. “I think that’s just part of how some of the first few teams have played and they’re good at that. So we have to be more physical on the perimeter.”
Conley only caught one pass on Friday. Backup running back Rayshon Luke had two receptions, along with wide receiver Kedrick Reescano. Chris Hunter, Devin Hyatt, Sam Olson and Jeremiah Patterson each had one reception.
Patterson, a junior who played for City College of San Mateo in California last season, is the only other pass catcher with a touchdown in three games.
Offense was supposed to be a source of strength this year, but after the 61-point outburst against New Mexico in the opener, the Wildcats have scored just 29 points, with the other 22 coming in their win over Northern Arizona.
Change starts by getting more out of what is around the preseason All-American.
“T-Mac has been effective, and he was effective tonight,” Brennan said. “But as a coaching saff we have to talk about the best way to help them (other receivers) create some space and give them a chance to operate.”
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