5 takeaways from Arizona football’s 52-31 victory over West Virginia | Michael Lev

It’s quite another to do so in dominant fashion.

Arizona’s 52-31 victory over West Virginia on Saturday was its second in a row by 20-plus points.

I used to think silencing a road crowd was the best feeling in football. That still might be the case, and that happened in Morgantown about midway through the fourth quarter.

But a new contender has emerged: The other team keeping its quarterback in the game in a blowout loss, trying to generate positive vibes for the next game.

Cincinnati did it with JC French IV. West Virginia did it with Michael Hawkins Jr.

It’s not raising the white flag. But it’s a symbol of complete and utter defeat.

It has to be thoroughly satisfying to be on the other side of that. That’s where your Arizona Wildcats put themselves the past two weeks.

Here are my top five takeaways from the second of those one-sided victories:

1. Less is more

Brent Brennan talks about it all the time: The team that wins is typically the one that makes fewer mistakes.

Arizona made fewer critical errors than West Virginia, which often was its own worst enemy.

The turnover table and penalty differential might not completely reveal that, but a closer look tells the story.

The Wildcats finished plus-1 in turnover margin. Their first takeaway led directly to points — Lee Molette III’s 32-yard scoop-and-score fumble return in the first quarter.

The Mountaineers answered with a hit-as-he-threw interception of Noah Fifita that set them up at the 3-yard line. One play later, Hawkins strolled into the end zone to trim Arizona’s lead to 14-10.

At that point, it was all a wash.

Then came perhaps the biggest play of the game. With less than a minute left in the first half, Wildcats cornerback Jay’Vion Cole stripped tailback Cam Cook at the UA 3-yard line. Linebacker Taye Brown recovered.

Instead of a tie game, Arizona took a seven-point lead into halftime. Its lead never fell below seven thereafter. Nor did West Virginia ever possess the ball with a chance to tie in the second half.

Each team finished with eight penalties. But six of Arizona’s were incurred in the first half. The Wildcats had only two penalties in the second half, when they finally pulled away. Arizona also didn’t have a false start after the first quarter, when Fifita was trying to alter the cadence to keep the Mountaineers from jumping the snap (which WVU’s Harper Holloman did a handful of times).

West Virginia was penalized five times in the second half. Those infractions included a defensive holding that gave Arizona a first down and an offensive holding that put the Mountaineers behind the sticks and eventually forced them to go for it on fourth-and-21. They did not convert.

2. Cole major

Arizona had four defensive backs drafted earlier this year. That won’t happen again next year.

But the Wildcats should have at least one — the player UA defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales has dubbed the best cornerback in the Big 12.

I could make the case for Cole as Arizona’s defensive MVP on Saturday and for the season to date.

Yes, safety Cam Chapa had a career-high 15 tackles Saturday, including 10 solos and one stop for a loss. But Cole made the turning-point play and covered extremely well. Pro Football Focus had him pitching a shutout in its initial game review — three targets, zero catches. That included a clutch breakup on third-and-goal from the 7 in the first quarter.

Not only that, but when Cole had to come off the field for a play in the second quarter because his helmet got knocked off, Rich Rodriguez immediately went after Cole’s replacement, Dwight Bootle. Hawkins completed a 40-yard pass to Prince Strachan — West Virginia’s longest play from scrimmage.

If PFF’s charting holds, Cole will remain the only UA defensive player with a sub-50% completion rate against for the season (minimum four targets). He’s at 46.7% (14 of 30).

Entering Saturday, quarterbacks across FBS had completed 63.8% of their passes. So 46.7% is really good.

But Cole isn’t just a cover corner. He regularly inserts himself into the run game. That’s always an attractive trait for NFL teams.

Cole doesn’t have an interception yet this season. He dropped a potential pick-six against BYU.

Hopefully that doesn’t prevent him from earning All-Big 12 recognition — an honor he richly deserves.

3. Good enough to win

Gonzales could be seen smiling and high-fiving some of his defenders on the sideline in the closing seconds of the game.

I’m sure he enjoyed the plane ride home. I hope he did, anyway.

Gonzales revealed during the week that he sometimes has a hard time enjoying success because every little breakdown perturbs him. It’s not uncommon in the coaching profession.

Saturday’s game wasn’t exactly a defensive masterpiece for the Wildcats. They allowed 30-plus points for the first time since the Houston game last October. They surrendered 500-plus total yards for the first time in Gonzales’ year and a half as DC. So he probably wasn’t elated about that.

But unlike West Virginia’s defense, Arizona’s unit made the opposing offense work for its points.

The Mountaineers averaged 5 yards per play (compared to the Wildcats’ 9.5) and 4 yards per rush. Their averages entering Saturday were 6.6 and 5.5, respectively.

Excluding the one-play, 3-yard TD “drive” after Fifita’s interception, West Virginia’s four other scoring drives averaged 11.3 plays (one of which ended with a field goal). Arizona’s seven scoring drives averaged 4.6 plays — including an insane stretch of five TD drives that averaged a mere 2.8 plays.

(All five of those drives were at least 52 yards in length. None lasted longer than 84 seconds of clock time. Like I said, insane.)

RichRod’s teams always have prolific offenses, and this one’s no different. The scheme works — and it works extremely well when you have a fast quarterback (Hawkins) and a tackle-breaking running back (Cook).

Arizona just needed to get a handful of stops, and it did. Gonzales should be proud of that, no matter what some of the final numbers look like.

4. Mizell’s moment

When Isaiah Mizell beat Jason Chambers on a slant pass late in the third quarter, the speedy sophomore receiver was gone. No one was going to catch him.

Mizell could have been gone in an entirely different way this past offseason.

I have no knowledge of Mizell’s thought process or happiness after last season. But let’s look at what we do know.

He’s from Orlando, Florida. He didn’t play much last season. And he wasn’t guaranteed a meaningful role entering this season.

That’s a textbook case for the transfer portal.

But Mizell didn’t transfer, which says a lot about him as a young man — and a lot about the locker-room culture under Brennan.

As recently documented, Arizona doesn’t have a war chest to pay for players. The program is built on relationships and development.

If Mizell didn’t have a good relationship with receivers coach Bobby Wade — and didn’t believe he would develop here — he likely would have left.

Instead, Mizell stuck around, worked to develop his game and body, and took full advantage of the opportunity that presented itself Saturday.

With Arizona’s top three receivers sidelined because of injuries, Mizell moved into the starting lineup. West Virginia couldn’t cover him.

Mizell had a career game with six catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns. He had flashed that type of ability during spring ball and training camp. It all came together when his team needed it most.

5. Midseason assessment

Arizona is in a great spot at the midway point of the season.

The Wildcats are 5-1 despite being one of only three Big 12 teams to have played three road games. They’re one of two in that group with a winning record on the road. Houston is also 2-1.

Arizona’s bye comes at the perfect time. Not only is it exactly halfway through the season, but the Wildcats are banged up and could use a week off.

The second half will be considerably harder, at least on paper.

Arizona has only two road games left, but they’re both tough trips. Texas Tech might not be what it was a year ago, but the Red Raiders are still ranked and will be favored in that game. Kansas State just got handled by Houston, but Manhattan in late November — the week before the Territorial Cup — has major trap-game potential.

Arizona should beat Iowa State coming out of the bye. TCU at home on a Friday night? Winnable for sure, although the Horned Frogs’ defense might be legit.

Utah might be the best team in the Big 12. Playing that game in Tucson instead of Salt Lake City is a big deal. Regardless, it’ll be a physical battle on par with the BYU game.

Arizona State is in a weird spot and might be headed for a .500 season. I don’t see Arizona losing on Fifita’s Senior Day. But it’s the Territorial Cup, so you never know.

Looking at where Arizona is and what lies ahead, you don’t have to squint to see another nine-win campaign. Making the Big 12 Championship Game still feels like a stretch. But after the past two weeks, doubting this team and what it’s capable of might be unwise.