Arizona’s defense has been the deciding factor of the first half and has kept them in this game so far, as Arizona leads Washington by a score of 17-13 at halftime.

Arizona’s defense has been putting a lot of pressure on Washington’s quarterback Jacob Eason, as they’ve sacked him one time for 11 yards and made him throw the ball away several times. Arizona’s run defense has been outstanding, as they were pinned within their own 30-yard line after a 44-yard run by Washington running back Sean McGrew, but Arizona stopped the Huskies on fourth down. Arizona has also held Eason to 6-for-10 with 45 yards passing and made a goal-line stand and forced Washington to kick a field goal.

On the other hand, the Wildcats’ offense could not have started any worse in the first quarter, as they were forced to punt four times within their first five drives, including one fumble. Arizona has been blown off the ball consistently on the offensive line, and Khalil Tate has had absolutely no time to throw the ball.

However, with 5:31 remaining in the first half, Tate found Jamarye Joiner for a 40-yard touchdown pass to put the Wildcats within three points. On their next drive, Tate found tight end Bryce Wolma for a gain of 23 yards, which was followed by a 1-yard touchdown run for running back J.J. Taylor to put the Wildcats up by a score of 17-13. 

The same goes for Arizona’s special teams, as they’ve already had one kick blocked and almost had another one blocked, but Washington muffed a punt and Arizona was able to recover it and turn it into points on a 50-yard field goal from kicker Lucas Havrisik.

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