Arizona Football: 3 takeaways from shootout loss to Hawaii

1. Khalil Tate played into form but still looked rusty at times

A big reason why Arizona failed to reach bowl eligibility last year in Kevin Sumlin’s first season in Tucson was due to the fact that 2017’s breakout star, Khalil Tate, struggled through injuries. Back on the field and healthy to start the new year, Tate still looked rusty as he struggled to hit his targets throughout the night.

Especially in the first half, Tate looked shaky in the pocket, as he had issues getting his feet set and throwing accurate passes to his receivers. While he did not have the best game passing the ball, he got better and better as the game progressed.

The quarterback has always been inclined to look more comfortable when he is scrambling, and his biggest throw of the night was a 57-yard strike thrown across his body as he rolled to the right. By the end of the game, Tate finished the night with 361 yards on 22-of-39 passing with three touchdowns. But a pair of interceptions proved costly, neutralizing much of the work the defense did to get the ball back.

By the end of the game, though, Tate was firing on all cylinders. Down by seven with less than a minute remaining, the field general guided Arizona into position to force overtime. With 10 seconds remaining, Tate found nothing but daylight in front of him.

Bursting toward the endzone, he was caught just a yard from the goal line as Hawaii preserved the upset victory at home. Tate can build on the progression he showed over the course of Saturday night, but the Wildcats as a team must now regroup and hope that Hawaii continues making a run at the Mountain West title and the New Year’s Six this season.