Here is today's game thread as Arizona takes on Southern Utah later tonight with an 8 p.m. kickoff scheduled. As always feel free to join in the conversation as things unfold tonight with UA looking for its first win of the season.
Pregame
Getting the game thread going a little early as this news is starting to become more public. Starting defensive end Justin Belknap, who was already banged up in last week's game against Houston, broke his foot in practice this week and could miss the rest of the season because of it. The expectation is that surgery will take place this upcoming week.
It is obviously another blow to a defense that has already had to deal with injuries up to this point just two games into the season. JB Brown has been backing up Belknap, but it will be interesting to see who takes that starting spot now. UA could slide some other guys over as well. That defensive end spot is definitely not one where there is a ton of depth.
I'll update with any other information before the game.
1st QTR
Arizona wins the toss and opts to defer
* Jarrius Wallace, Scottie Young Jr. and Day Day Coleman are the starting safeties for UA. Jace Whittaker gets the start at cornerback. Finton Connolly, JB Brown and Abraham Maiava are the starting defensive line for the Wildcats. Chris Helbig rushes for 13 yards on the first play of the game for a quick first down; UA forces a third down but Helbig finds Landen Measom for 13 yards and another first down; UA gets called for a personal foul on a late hit moving the chains; A nice defensive stand for the Wildcats to hold SUU to a field goal try; The Thunderbirds miss the 32-yard field goal try and UA will take over at the 20.
* Tate can't find Wolma on the first play of the drive; JJ Taylor rushes for 5 yards bringing up third down; Tate connects with Ellison in stride for 55 yards putting the Wildcats in the red zone; Taylor for 3 yards on first down; Tate finds Ellison for 17 yards and a touchdown as the Wildcats go 1:25 on their first drive for the early lead [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 7 SUU 0 - 9:42 1st]
* Helbig goes incomplete on the first play; James Felila runs it for 3 yards; Jay Green loses a yard and SUU is forced to punt and UA will take over on its own 30
* Taylor starts the drive off with a 3-yard rush; Tate runs it for a yard on second down; Tate hits Shun Brown for 8 yards and the first down; Tate finds Brown again for 7 yards as the Wildcats are now out at midfield; Tate to Brown once again this time for 6 yards and a UA first down; Tate tries to go deep to Devaughn Cooper and can't find him in the end zone; Taylor gets a first down but fumbles trying to stay on his feet and SUU gets the ball back from the Wildcats as UA squanders a scoring chance
* Green rushes for 3 yards on the first play for SUU; Helbig can't find Ty Rutledge on second down; Jalen Cochran nearly comes up with a sack on third down but Helbig gets a way however there were holding penalties on both teams so the play will get replayed; Helbig hits Meason on third down for 22 yards and the chains keep moving as the 'Cats struggling again on third down; Helbig with a short rush on first down but the play is being reviewed for a targeting; no targeting on the play and it goes for a 6-yard rush for Helbig; Helbig for 5 yards and a first down; SUU with a completion but an offensive PI pushes the Thunderbirds back; A holding penalty will move SUU back once more; On 1st and 35, Felila goes for 31 yards on the ground; Anthony Pandy sacks Helbig as the Wildcats get their first sack of the season; Helbig hits Frank Harris for no gain forcing a field goal; Lorenzo Burs gets called for the roughing the kicker penalty keeping the SUU drive alive; Felila goes for no gain; Helbig loses a yard on the next play; Helbig gains two yards and the first quarter comes to an end
1st QTR score: Arizona 7 Southern Utah 0
2nd QTR
* A 33-yard field goal from Manny Berz gets SUU on the board with its first points of the game [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 7 SUU 3 - 14:56 2nd]
* JJ Taylor takes the kickoff 84 yards for the score and Arizona pushes its lead back up [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 14 SUU 3 - 14:42 2nd]
* Filila with a couple rushes for no gain to start the drive; Helbig finds Meason for 9 yards on third down; Helbig rushes for a couple and the first down; Helbig hits Alex Croyle and DFF comes up with the forced fumble but SUU keeps it and moves forward on this drive; an unsportsmanlike penalty gives SUU 15 yards; Helbig hits McCoy Hill and Isaiah Hayes forces a fumble that is again recovered by SUU; Kylan Wilborn comes up with a sack as he has come alive more in this game for the Wildcats bringing up 3rd down; Helbig hits Hill for 12 yards bringing up a 4th and short; Felila gets 19 yards on 4th down getting SUU to the 10-yard line; Green runs it in from 10 yards out as SUU has its first touchdown [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 14 SUU 10 - 9:27 2nd]
* A penalty on the kickoff moves Arizona up the field; Tate with a nice rush but he fumbles at he end of the play and Shun Brown picks it up to keep the chains moving; Gary Brightwell with a nice run on first down to keep the momentum going for the Wildcats; Brightwell with a rush that goes nowhere; Nothing going for the Wildcats on the rest of the drive and the Wildcats have to settle for a 32-yard field goal from Lucas Havrisik [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 17 SUU 10 - 7:41 2nd]
* Jay Green with a couple rushes to give SUU a first down after the first couple plays; Helbig goes incomplete on the next two plays bringing up a third down; Helbig hits Meason for 28 yards and a first down; Helbig hits Nick Colson for 11 yards and another first down; Lelon Dillard with a short rush; Jay Green rushes for 10 yards and moves the chains again for SUU; Green for a 4-yard gain on first down as SUU continues to run it up the gut on Arizona; Tim Hough gets a defensive holding call keeping this drive alive for SUU; Helbig rushes it for 2 yards and this game is tied up [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 17 SUU 17 - 2:39 2nd]
* After an incompletion to Tony Ellison, Tate goes right back to him for 30 yards and another big chunk of yards; Taylor with a 14-yard rush to move Arizona inside the 25; Tate runs for no gain on first down; Taylor jukes his way to about 9 yards on second down taking the Wildcats inside the red zone and bringing up a big 3rd down; Tate can't find Shawn Poindexter in the end zone bringing up a 4th down; Taylor gets the 1st down on the 4th down try giving the Wildcats a new set of downs; Tate finds Brown for 11 yards giving the Wildcats a lead with under 30 seconds to go until halftime [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 24 SUU 17 - 0:23 2nd]
* SUU takes a knee and we'll head into halftime
HALFTIME SCORE: Arizona 24 Southern Utah 17
Pregame
Getting the game thread going a little early as this news is starting to become more public. Starting defensive end Justin Belknap, who was already banged up in last week's game against Houston, broke his foot in practice this week and could miss the rest of the season because of it. The expectation is that surgery will take place this upcoming week.
It is obviously another blow to a defense that has already had to deal with injuries up to this point just two games into the season. JB Brown has been backing up Belknap, but it will be interesting to see who takes that starting spot now. UA could slide some other guys over as well. That defensive end spot is definitely not one where there is a ton of depth.
I'll update with any other information before the game.
1st QTR
Arizona wins the toss and opts to defer
* Jarrius Wallace, Scottie Young Jr. and Day Day Coleman are the starting safeties for UA. Jace Whittaker gets the start at cornerback. Finton Connolly, JB Brown and Abraham Maiava are the starting defensive line for the Wildcats. Chris Helbig rushes for 13 yards on the first play of the game for a quick first down; UA forces a third down but Helbig finds Landen Measom for 13 yards and another first down; UA gets called for a personal foul on a late hit moving the chains; A nice defensive stand for the Wildcats to hold SUU to a field goal try; The Thunderbirds miss the 32-yard field goal try and UA will take over at the 20.
* Tate can't find Wolma on the first play of the drive; JJ Taylor rushes for 5 yards bringing up third down; Tate connects with Ellison in stride for 55 yards putting the Wildcats in the red zone; Taylor for 3 yards on first down; Tate finds Ellison for 17 yards and a touchdown as the Wildcats go 1:25 on their first drive for the early lead [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 7 SUU 0 - 9:42 1st]
* Helbig goes incomplete on the first play; James Felila runs it for 3 yards; Jay Green loses a yard and SUU is forced to punt and UA will take over on its own 30
* Taylor starts the drive off with a 3-yard rush; Tate runs it for a yard on second down; Tate hits Shun Brown for 8 yards and the first down; Tate finds Brown again for 7 yards as the Wildcats are now out at midfield; Tate to Brown once again this time for 6 yards and a UA first down; Tate tries to go deep to Devaughn Cooper and can't find him in the end zone; Taylor gets a first down but fumbles trying to stay on his feet and SUU gets the ball back from the Wildcats as UA squanders a scoring chance
* Green rushes for 3 yards on the first play for SUU; Helbig can't find Ty Rutledge on second down; Jalen Cochran nearly comes up with a sack on third down but Helbig gets a way however there were holding penalties on both teams so the play will get replayed; Helbig hits Meason on third down for 22 yards and the chains keep moving as the 'Cats struggling again on third down; Helbig with a short rush on first down but the play is being reviewed for a targeting; no targeting on the play and it goes for a 6-yard rush for Helbig; Helbig for 5 yards and a first down; SUU with a completion but an offensive PI pushes the Thunderbirds back; A holding penalty will move SUU back once more; On 1st and 35, Felila goes for 31 yards on the ground; Anthony Pandy sacks Helbig as the Wildcats get their first sack of the season; Helbig hits Frank Harris for no gain forcing a field goal; Lorenzo Burs gets called for the roughing the kicker penalty keeping the SUU drive alive; Felila goes for no gain; Helbig loses a yard on the next play; Helbig gains two yards and the first quarter comes to an end
1st QTR score: Arizona 7 Southern Utah 0
2nd QTR
* A 33-yard field goal from Manny Berz gets SUU on the board with its first points of the game [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 7 SUU 3 - 14:56 2nd]
* JJ Taylor takes the kickoff 84 yards for the score and Arizona pushes its lead back up [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 14 SUU 3 - 14:42 2nd]
* Filila with a couple rushes for no gain to start the drive; Helbig finds Meason for 9 yards on third down; Helbig rushes for a couple and the first down; Helbig hits Alex Croyle and DFF comes up with the forced fumble but SUU keeps it and moves forward on this drive; an unsportsmanlike penalty gives SUU 15 yards; Helbig hits McCoy Hill and Isaiah Hayes forces a fumble that is again recovered by SUU; Kylan Wilborn comes up with a sack as he has come alive more in this game for the Wildcats bringing up 3rd down; Helbig hits Hill for 12 yards bringing up a 4th and short; Felila gets 19 yards on 4th down getting SUU to the 10-yard line; Green runs it in from 10 yards out as SUU has its first touchdown [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 14 SUU 10 - 9:27 2nd]
* A penalty on the kickoff moves Arizona up the field; Tate with a nice rush but he fumbles at he end of the play and Shun Brown picks it up to keep the chains moving; Gary Brightwell with a nice run on first down to keep the momentum going for the Wildcats; Brightwell with a rush that goes nowhere; Nothing going for the Wildcats on the rest of the drive and the Wildcats have to settle for a 32-yard field goal from Lucas Havrisik [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 17 SUU 10 - 7:41 2nd]
* Jay Green with a couple rushes to give SUU a first down after the first couple plays; Helbig goes incomplete on the next two plays bringing up a third down; Helbig hits Meason for 28 yards and a first down; Helbig hits Nick Colson for 11 yards and another first down; Lelon Dillard with a short rush; Jay Green rushes for 10 yards and moves the chains again for SUU; Green for a 4-yard gain on first down as SUU continues to run it up the gut on Arizona; Tim Hough gets a defensive holding call keeping this drive alive for SUU; Helbig rushes it for 2 yards and this game is tied up [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 17 SUU 17 - 2:39 2nd]
* After an incompletion to Tony Ellison, Tate goes right back to him for 30 yards and another big chunk of yards; Taylor with a 14-yard rush to move Arizona inside the 25; Tate runs for no gain on first down; Taylor jukes his way to about 9 yards on second down taking the Wildcats inside the red zone and bringing up a big 3rd down; Tate can't find Shawn Poindexter in the end zone bringing up a 4th down; Taylor gets the 1st down on the 4th down try giving the Wildcats a new set of downs; Tate finds Brown for 11 yards giving the Wildcats a lead with under 30 seconds to go until halftime [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 24 SUU 17 - 0:23 2nd]
* SUU takes a knee and we'll head into halftime
HALFTIME SCORE: Arizona 24 Southern Utah 17
