Evaluating the Arizona Wildcats' football performance in the loss to West Virginia

It was family weekend in Tucson and for the first time ever Arizona was playing West Virginia. Both teams finished the season 3-4 and were looking to return to a .500 record.

Despite a valiant comeback in the fourth quarter, Arizona couldn't make enough plays and it led to one 31-26 win for the Mountaineers. Head coach Brent Brennan now falls to 3-5 in his first season.

Here are our grades for offense, defense, special teams and coaching:

Attack: D+

To start the game, Noah Fifita Blow Tetairoa McMillan for a 28-yard gain. Two pieces later, Quali Conley would fumble the ball and the Mountaineers would take over. That would be pretty much it for the first quarter as the offense was only on the field for a little over two minutes.

In the second quarter, Fifita and McMillan would continue their dynamic connection. A 19-yard catch for McMillan would move the ball into West Virginia territory.

A few plays later, it was McMillan who hit Fifita for a 14-yard catch. Conley would recover the fumble and pocket it from a yard out. It was his seventh touchdown of the season. With a chance to take West Virginia's lead, Arizona's third and fourth drives would stall. It was another difficult half for the Arizona offense.

Arizona's offensive woes would follow coming out of the locker room. Fifita would be sacked for a 12-yard loss, wiping out the drive early in the half. The end zone would eventually be found again as Fifita found a tight end Sam Olson for a 23-yard touchdown to bring Arizona life into the game.

“I thought he did a great job because he got swept a little bit to the left and it looked like he was about to run, and then he put his feet down real quick and drilled it up the middle,” Brennan said.

In the fourth quarter, Fifita improvised and found McMillan for a 34-yard touchdown, but the two-point conversion was not converted.

“Once we got into a rhythm, we got going a little bit, probably the best rhythm we had felt in a long time,” Fifita said.

On a failed trick play, McMillan tried to pass again and, after running around, found a wide-open fifita, but it was dropped.

On the next play, Fifita pushed through several Mountaineers for a three-yard touchdown. It was the first rushing touchdown of his career.

“I think it was kind of an instinct to take control,” Fifita said of his touchdown run. “I owe the team something for the play before, so I just tried to make a play and get us back in the game.”

In the end it was a little too late for the offensive team to complete the comeback.

“I think it just shows that if everyone does their job and just sticks to the pattern, we're able to create rhythm,” Fifita said of the second-half performance.

Fifita finished the game 21-32 for 294 yards and two touchdowns. McMillan finished the game with 10 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown. Conley had 16 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown.

Defense: F

The defense would allow West Virginia to push into Arizona territory on the first two drives. However, they would force a field goal on the first drive.

The second drive resulted in a fourth down situation before the Mountaineers made a fake field goal for a touchdown.

The third drive would be similar as a 55-yard rush would put West Virginia within the ten. Another four-down situation would result in a Mountaineer touchdown from three yards out.

Going 4 of 7 on third down and 2 of 2 on fourth down, West Virginia would take a 17-7 lead into halftime. Arizona allowed 245 yards in the first half.

“I just have to get off the field,” the senior defender said Owen Goss said I wasn't able to get to the third and fourth down stops. “Coach always preaches, 'Get off the field.' I didn’t feel like we did that tonight, so we just have to go back to the drawing board.”

It appears no adjustments were made for the Wildcats as the first drive included two more fourth-down conversions and the second included a 20-yard touchdown.

When the Wildcats needed a crucial stop, the defense couldn't respond as a 54-yard touchdown would extend West Virginia's lead.

The defense couldn't get a late stop to get the ball back in the fourth and West Virginia would run out the clock.

Penalties were an issue for the defense. The defense had to call three offside penalties and many more were missed by the referees.

“I thought they were really creative with their rhythm and I think they did a great job with the stance of their offensive front,” Brennan said of the offside penalties.

Redshirt junior defensive lineman Dalton Johnson finished the season with 13 tackles and was a redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Chase Kennedy recorded the only sack for Arizona.

Special Teams: D-

It would be a difficult start for the special forces. West Virginia wanted to attempt a field goal but faked it and ran it for a 14-yard touchdown.

“They were scheming on us, we were blocked pretty hard there and we were short on that side of the formation,” Brennan said of the fake field goal.

Senior kicker Tyler Loop would miss his first career PAT in the third quarter. Before the miss, he was 119 for 119. Loop made his other two attempts in the game.

Coaching: D-

It was a thoroughly mixed performance from Arizona. The offense still struggled but made plays when absolutely necessary. The defense couldn't find a fourth down stop and it cost them.

At various points, it appeared as if the Wildcats would simply lie down and take the loss. However, that wasn't the case as they fought back to finish the game.

“I was really proud of the fight, I loved the way we fought in the fourth quarter,” Brennan said

Even in a close loss, it's clear that something is wrong with Arizona and they haven't found a way to fix the problem. Improvised broken plays are not an ideal way to put yourself in a position to win.

“I think, first of all, as a coaching staff we have to pay attention to the details,” Brennan said. “I think there are a few little things that can have a big impact on the result that weren't good enough tonight.”

With four games remaining, Arizona would need to win three of those four games to be bowl eligible.

“It is my responsibility to ensure we pay attention to detail and get our lineups spot on,” Brennan said in his message to the team. “Then it’s important for them to show up and go to work and they have to be ready and committed to fixing the problem.”

The Wildcats travel to UCF next week looking to end a four-game losing streak.