Arizona Wildcats Star Duo Finally Shines Despite Fourth Straight Loss

The Arizona Wildcats fell short of breaking their losing streak this past weekend against the West Virginia Mountaineers, but the product on the field was at least finally a bit more fun to watch thanks to their stars finding their groove again.

Pro Football Focus released their weekly grades for the matchup and the group at the top was mostly filled with familiar faces.

Tetairoa McMillan and Noah Fifita led the team with the highest grades, and it wasn’t just because of their trick play magic.

McMillan in particular received rave reviews, ending the day with an elite 91.3 grade, unsurprising to anyone who watched the game or even glanced at the box score.

Something few players can say, the superstar junior had his second game of the season with at least 200 yards through the air.

He finished with 10 catches on 14 targets with 202 yards and a score. Showing off his usual sure hands, he didn’t drop a pass. He hasn’t let one fall on his accord since dropping two in the loss to the BYU Cougars.

With the team desperate to find anything to work on offense, he actually attempted two passes on the day, completing one of them for 14 yards.

Fifita was the player on the receiving end of that completion, as the two pulled off some magic that led to the first touchdown of the day.

The quarterback has been in need of a good game, as he’s struggled mightily during his extended losing streak.

He was the second-highest graded player of the day, finishing with a solid 79.4 assessment.

In his best performance in weeks, the California native was 21-of-32 through the air for 294 yards and two touchdowns.

Standing at under 6-foot, his NFL prospects are already a long shot. He can’t struggle as much as he has in recent weeks if he wants to get a shot. He’s thrown six interceptions during the four-game skid, even though he didn’t throw one against the Mountaineers.

On defense, the highest grade of the day went to nose tackle Stanley Ta’ufo’ou at a 75.1.

Ta’ufo’ou was a spring transfer from the USC Trojans, where he spent five years unable to string together consistent seasons.

He had eight tackles in this one, doing the best he could to shut down the West Virginia run game. He also pressured the quarterback twice.