OU football grades vs. Arizona: Jackson Arnold's starting debut is mixed bag in Alamo Bowl
SAN ANTONIO — Arizona rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat OU 38-24 Thursday night in the Alamo Bowl.
The Wildcats, which trailed 24-13 with seven minutes left in the third quarter, rattled off 25 unanswered points to stun the Sooners.
Let’s get to the grades:
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Taking care of the football: F
This was the ballgame.
OU turned it over six times. Sure, the Sooners had 562 yards … But they turned it over six times.
Arizona won the turnover battle 6-1 against an OU team that ranked fourth in the nation in turnover margin entering the game.
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OU stymies Arizona ground game: A
Arizona is a pass-heavy offense, but the Sooners turned the Wildcats into a pass-only offense Thursday.
There was nothing to be had on the ground for Arizona.
The Wildcats, who average 148 rushing yards per game, had 29 rushing yards against the Sooners on 1.1 yards per carry.
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Alamo Bowl atmosphere: B
The matchup had the right recipe for a lively crowd. Most Sooner fans were within driving distance and Arizona fans showed up to see the Wildcats play in their first bowl game since 2017.
OU fans outnumbered Arizona fans, but it was hard to tell by how much. OU’s crimson and Arizona’s cardinal blended in.
The Alamodome, which opened 30 years ago, remains a fine venue for a bowl game. It’s also the home of the UTSA Roadrunners. The Alamodome was home to the Spurs from 1993 to 2002.
The attendance Thursday was 55,853.
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OU defensive line pressures Noah Fifita: A
By taking away the run, OU’s defense was able to be aggressive in its pass rush.
Arizona redshirt freshman quarterback Noah Fifita picked apart the Sooners early on, but the constant pressure eventually got to Fifita.
The Sooners, who struggled all season to pressure the quarterback, tallied five sacks and five quarterback hurries.
Again, the loss wasn’t on OU’s defense. It was on OU’s offense repeatedly putting the defense in impossible spots.
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Jackson Arnold’s starting quarterback debut: C-
Looked like an F- after the first series.
Arnold’s first-down pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage. His second-down pass was thrown behind Drake Stoops and fell incomplete. Arnold’s third-down pass was intercepted by Arizona safety Genesis Smith.
You couldn’t have scripted a worse start for the freshman, who threw another interception on OU’s third drive.
But Arnold rebounded, showing the maturity that his coaches have raved about.
After starting 0 for 4 through the air, Arnold completed 14 of his next 17 pass attempts.
He threw a beautiful touchdown pass to Nic Anderson, who made an immaculate toe-tapping catch. Early in the third quarter, Arnold showed off his arm strength by unleashing a deep shot to speedster Brenen Thompson, who took a bow in the end zone to celebrate the 63-yard score.
But then Arnold’s night took a nightmarish turn.
Arnold threw a third interception right into the hands of Arizona’s Martell Irby and Arnold fumbled in the fourth quarter after getting trucked by a Wildcats defender.
Arnold finished with five turnovers in his first start.
I’m grading the freshman on a curve here.
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Arizona receiving duo: A
Wildcats receivers Tetairoa McMillan and Jacob Cowing had monster nights with 160 and 152 yards respectively.
McMillan found every soft spot in the OU defense, beginning with Arizona’s opening drive.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football grades vs Arizona: Jackson Arnold has rollercoaster debut
