蜜柚直播

The Wildcats scored only one touchdown in four trips inside the 20-yard line in a game they lost by nine points. The Utes scored TDs on five of six red-zone opportunities.

蜜柚直播 ranks last in the nation with a red-zone touchdown rate of 30.3%. UA coach Jedd Fisch plans to do something about it the first chance he gets in the offseason.

鈥淲e will start with the red zone the second we can get on the field in the spring,鈥� Fisch said Monday. 鈥淲e will have the first two days of spring ball fully committed to the red area, because we鈥檙e not going to live with red-zone lack of efficiency again next season.鈥�

Fisch and his staff have been working on it all season. But with only two games left 鈥� starting with a trip to Washington State on Friday 鈥� there鈥檚 only so much they can do in 2021.

The Wildcats actually have improved in the confined space of the field Fisch refers to as the 鈥渞ed area.鈥� Over their past four games 鈥� all of which were decided by less than 10 points 鈥� they have scored five touchdowns in 13 trips (38.5%). In the first six games, the Cats were 5 of 20 (25.0%).

But even the recent rate isn鈥檛 nearly good enough. Every other team in the Pac-12 has a TD rate of greater than 50%. The Cougars, who operate a run-and-shoot offense, are 11th at 54.5%.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e gotta either see the end zone as your friend or as Kryptonite,鈥� Fisch said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 see it as Kryptonite. We鈥檝e got to embrace it. We鈥檝e got to get into it.鈥�

Fisch spent part of Sunday examining all 105 plays 蜜柚直播 has run in the red zone this season. He said the Wildcats have committed nine red-zone penalties. In the Oregon game alone, they turned the ball over twice inside the 20.

The worst-case scenario should be a field goal, but that鈥檚 not something Fisch and his staff are striving for. He views those 鈥渇our-point swings鈥� 鈥� the different between a touchdown and a field goal 鈥� as significant, game-altering plays.

鈥淥ur four-point plays moving forward have got to be the most important place we practice, because those are plays that really change the outcomes of games,鈥� Fisch said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to embrace that challenge.鈥�

蜜柚直播 and its opponents each have had 33 red-zone opportunities this season. The Wildcats have 10 touchdowns and 14 field goals, good for 111 points. Their opponents have 24 touchdowns and eight field goals, good for 191 points. That 80-point difference equates to eight points per game. 蜜柚直播 has lost four games by eight points or fewer.

So how can the Wildcats capitalize on prime scoring opportunities at a greater clip? Fisch pointed to several areas.

鈥淔irst of all, you鈥檝e gotta make plays down there. If you have opportunities to make them, you鈥檝e gotta make them,鈥� Fisch said. 鈥淣o. 2, you鈥檝e gotta be able to throw in tight windows and feel confident that you can call those plays, make those throws and make those tough catches.

鈥淲e鈥檝e gotta be able to run the ball downhill and get in the end zone when need be. Your best rushing teams are when you have to run it, they know you have to run it and you can still run it.

鈥淚f you can鈥檛 run the football in the red zone, you鈥檙e usually not very good at it. And that鈥檚 where we鈥檙e going to really work this offseason.鈥�

Smarter Plummer

Fisch and his staff primarily grade quarterbacks in three areas using the acronym 鈥淒TA鈥� 鈥� decision-making, timing and accuracy.

Fisch said the decision-making aspect of Will Plummer鈥檚 game was on point against Utah.

鈥淚 thought his decision-making this week was by far the best,鈥� Fisch said. 鈥淗e never got sloppy with the ball. He鈥檚 gone two games out of the last three without an interception, which is a big point of emphasis.

鈥淗e played the smartest game he鈥檚 played all year. We had some audibles. He got us into the right play.鈥�

Plummer, who completed 19 of 34 passes for 223 yards and one touchdown, had zero turnover-worthy plays, according to Pro Football Focus. Four of his passes were throwaways. PFF credited 蜜柚直播鈥檚 receiving corps with one drop, although there were a handful of other balls that could have been caught. The Wildcats were 0 for 6 on contested targets, per PFF.

The only part of Plummer鈥檚 performance that Fisch took issue with was the final series. After 蜜柚直播 got the ball back down nine with 2:10 left, Plummer scrambled for 3 yards, took a sack, was tackled for no gain and threw a checkdown pass.

鈥淭he two-minute drive he鈥檇 like to take back,鈥� Fisch said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 take sacks in the two-minute. So it鈥檚 that fine line of not pressing ... but when you鈥檙e down nine, with 2 minutes and 10 seconds left, you鈥檝e gotta throw the ball.鈥�

ASU kickoff set

蜜柚直播 will kick off its season finale in the sunshine.

The annual Territorial Cup matchup between the UA and 蜜柚直播 State on Nov. 27 is slated for a 2 p.m. start. It will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.

The Wildcats are seeking to end a four-game losing streak in their series against the Sun Devils. This will be the first Territorial Cup game for Fisch 鈥� and conceivably the last for ASU coach Herm Edwards, whose program is in the midst of an NCAA investigation.

The Sun Devils remain alive for the Pac-12 South title at 7-3, 5-2 in the conference. But they would need to win out and have Utah (7-3, 6-1) lose out to play in the championship game. The Utes defeated the Sun Devils on Oct. 16. ASU visits Oregon State this week. No. 24 Utah hosts No. 3 Oregon.

Extra points

Fisch further discussed the failed 2-point conversion attempt that would have tied the score at 31-all in the fourth quarter. 鈥淲e felt that we had a good call based on what they鈥檝e done in the past against 2-point plays,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey called a better defense than we had an offensive play called. That鈥檚 part of the game. You鈥檝e gotta try to find a way to make something happen out of nothing, or you鈥檝e gotta get a stop and go win the game 32-31 We didn鈥檛 do either of those.鈥�

Fisch called two timeouts in the first quarter and another early in the third to make sure plays and personnel were correct. In general, he鈥檚 willing to do that in the first halves of games. 鈥淚n the first half, I don鈥檛 want to waste a play,鈥� Fisch said. 鈥淚 looked out there on one, we called the wrong formation. So it would have been a dead play. Another time I looked out there, the clock was running down; it would have been a delay of game in the red area. And then the third time, it looked like we had the wrong personnel group on the field. I called the wrong wristband number. So that was my fault.鈥�

Unlike 蜜柚直播鈥檚 previous Friday game, this one is on the road. With a Thursday-afternoon flight to Pullman on tap, the Wildcats have had to adjust their schedule. The team met for three hours Sunday. Its usually Thursday work will be pushed up several hours. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little bit tougher when you鈥檙e traveling versus when you鈥檙e at home,鈥� Fisch said. 鈥淏ut our team has embraced toughness all season long and embraced adversity, so we鈥檙e excited about making it hard.鈥�