Arizona
Micah Bernard says Utah’s red zone efficiency needs improvement after Arizona loss
Utah suffered its first loss of the season in a 23-10 defeat against Arizona at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday night. The game highlighted significant execution issues for the Utes, particularly in the red zone, which was a recurring theme throughout the game. Despite being able to move the ball effectively between the 20-yard lines, Utah struggled to capitalize on scoring opportunities.
Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham didn’t hold back when assessing the team’s performance, saying, “We were horrible, awful in the red zone.” This inefficiency was evident on Utah’s first two drives, both of which ended in failures deep in Arizona territory. The first drive resulted in a turnover on downs after Mike Mitchell was stopped for a loss on fourth and 1 at the Arizona 10-yard line. On the next drive, freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson had a pass broken up on fourth and goal from the 2-yard line.
Where Utah ranks in AP top 25 poll after loss to Arizona
In total, the Utes went 0-for-4 on fourth-down conversions and managed only 10 points in four trips to the red zone. Utah running back Micah Bernard expressed frustration with the team’s performance, emphasizing that the red zone should be a primary focus moving forward.
“We’re just not executing well enough,” said Bernard. “Red zone should be the focus for us. It’s unacceptable for us.”
Despite outgaining Arizona 280-to-197 through the air, Utah failed to convert those opportunities into points as efficiently as the Wildcats. The only bright spot for the Utes was an 80-yard touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter, but they managed just 65 total yards on their other six second-half possessions. Utah’s inability to execute in crucial moments proved costly, with Isaac Wilson, in his third start, showing flashes but unable to lead a consistent offense in the absence of injured starter Cam Rising.
Last night was the seventh consecutive game where the Diamondbacks were held to six hits or fewer. That ties a franchise record, last done in April 2022, and previously in August 2011. The team’s .477 OPS over that time is actually lower than either streak, though due to the efforts of the pitching staff, Arizona are actually 3-4 during the current run. They went 2-5 in 2022, and 1-6 in 2011. There hasn’t been a longer streak in the majors since the Angels went nine in April last year. In the National League, the Pirates went eight in June 2023. And in case you are wondering, the last team to reach a double-digit streak of games with 6 or fewer hits each time? The 1968 Astros reached 11, the year before the mound was lowered.
Let’s hope the D-backs render that moot and the offense comes to life a bit. The three runs added in garbage time last night, because one of the Rangers’ relievers couldn’t find the strike-zone, certainly padded Arizona’s resume. But they were more because of walks than hits. I’ve no doubt the team will hit better. They have batted .152 over the past week. It’s the second lowest in franchise history for a seven-game span. The only worse was April 7-15, 2022 when Arizona hit a remarkable .135, going 28-for-208 in that span. They actually scored three more runs than the current streak, mostly because they had twice as many home-runs (6-3).
Superintendent Tom Horne speaks at 2026 State of Education address
Arizona Superintendent Tom Horne spoke about controversial topics like DEI and ESAs at the State of Education address to the Legislature on Jan. 20, 2026.
Provided by Arizona Legislature
Democrats Brett Newby and Teresa Leyba Ruiz are set to make the argument to voters that they’re the best candidates to serve as Arizona’s top education official for the next four years.
The Arizona Republic will be streaming the Democratic debate for the Superintendent of Public Instruction race in partnership with the Arizona Media Association. The debate starts at 6 p.m. on May 13.
The office is currently held by Tom Horne, who will on May 14 face off in an Arizona Media Association debate against fellow Republican candidate Kimberly Yee, who currently serves as state treasurer.
Newby has worked as a behavioral analyst and professor, according to his campaign. He received a master’s degree in special education. His campaign has hinged on issues like downsizing the state’s controversial Empowerment Scholarship Program, retaining teachers and hiring more school counselors.
Ruiz attended Roosevelt Elementary School District and Phoenix Union High School District as a child before earning her Ph.D. from Arizona State University. She worked as a teacher at the middle and high school level before becoming president of Glendale Community College.
Like Newby, her campaign has also focused on the ESA program. She has also focused on advocating for more funding for public schools and supporting both rural and urban school districts. Ruiz has also spoken publicly about the teacher retention crisis as part of her campaign.
The last trip through the rotation for the Diamondbacks has been really good:
By that 5-game rolling average game score, it’s the best we’ve seen since a run around the All Star Break in 2022:
If we restrict to 5-game stretches with 5 different starters, it’s the best since September 2019:
So yeah, it’s been a while since we’ve had it this good. But this is still a far cry from the best in Diamondbacks history — the current stretch is only tied for 58th all-time. Here’s the best ever:
The good news is that there’s still quite a lot of room for Zac Gallen to improve on his last start, which had a Game Score of only 47. Doing so would give us an even better 5-game average. A score of better than 60 would surpass the 2022 streak; 69 or better would surpass 2018. Although it would take a career-best-tying 89 (reached against the Cubs on September 8, 2023) for him to pull the overall average into a tie for the franchise record. But any improvement on his last start would bring the rolling average up in the franchise rankings.
All records queried here are courtesy of Retrosheet.
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