With Anu Solomon out due to concussion symptoms, Jerrard Randall started at quarterback for Arizona on Saturday night in the Wildcats’ matchup at Stanford. It was a start that Randall and his teammates would like to forget, as Stanford defeated Arizona 55-17 at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California.
Simply put, the Wildcats did not come to play because of miscues and injuries. They missed Solomon and linebacker Scooby Wright III terribly.
In his first time in at quarterback as a starter, Randall struggled to get into a rhythm, and so did the Arizona offense. Randall finished with 178 yards on 15-28 attempts and one touchdown.
After the game, Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez said that Randall had been battling with a hurt hamstring leading up to the game.
“He didn’t have the same burst, and I could tell early on,” Rodriguez said. “He tried, he competed, but we didn’t execute.”
The Wildcats came up empty in the opening quarter, falling behind 13-0 before finally getting on the score board on a second-quarter field goal by Casey Skowron.
That would be Arizona’s only score of the half.
Defensively, the UA struggled to contain Stanford’s rushing attack. The Cardinal put up 314 yards on the ground compared to 118 by the Wildcats.
Stanford, which received the ball to open the game, got mostly whatever it wanted, scoring on each of its first three drives. By the fourth quarter, much of the Stanford starters were sitting on the bench due to the blowout.
Stanford’s offensive prowess continued throughout, which featured quarterback Kevin Hogan throwing for 217 yards and two touchdowns on 17-19 attempts. Running back Christian McCaffrey finished with 156 yards rushing on 17 carries. He also leads the nation in all-purpose yards.
As for Arizona, Randall and Nick Wilson made up the bulk of Arizona’s offensive yards. Wilson rushed for 46 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown. Receiver Cayleb Jones led all Wildcat receivers with 3 catches for 28 yards. The offense just didn’t click on all ends because of the Stanford defense.
Stanford finished with 570 yards of total offense compared with Arizona’s 314. Time of possession was another key factor with Stanford having the ball for 37:19 compared to UA’s 22:41.
In other words, this is going to be a game that the Wildcats will want to move past from.
“I’m going to evaluate my staff, myself, my players,” Rodriguez said. “It’s about time for us to regroup in a hurry.”
