Ka’Deem Carey had runs of 1, 7, 1 and 6 yards at Colorado. Photo by Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona Wildcats sophomore Will Parks started his second consecutive game in place of the injured Jared Tevis and came up with the team’s only turnover.
Parks drifted back into the middle of the field to snag a throw from Colorado true freshman Sefo Liufau at the UA 6 early in the fourth quarter. That preserved a 41-20 lead for the Cats.
Parks finished with seven tackles, tied for second on the team behind linebacker Scooby Wright (nine), in the 44-20 victory in Boulder. Parks also broke up two passes.
“Will is a very, very athletic guy,” UA coach Rich Rodriguez said in his radio interview on 1290-AM (KCUB). “He’s still learning, but that pick was a big play.”
Tevis has been out with an ankle injury.
Sophomore safety Anthony Lopez made his first career start, replacing Tra’Mayne Bondurant (concussion). Lopez made five tackles.
KA’DEEM’S CORNER
Arizona running back Ka’Deem Carey:
–Ran for four touchdowns, giving him 39 career scores on the ground, five away from the school record, held by Art Luppino.
–Has exceeded 100 rushing yards in each of his past 10 games. His 119 yards at Colorado was his lowest total during that stretch.
–Moved into fourth place on the school’s career rushing list, up to 3,274 yards. The record he is shooting for is 3,824, held by Trung Canidate.
–Is tied with Canidate in the school record book for most consecutive 100-yard rushing games.
TAKING SOME HITS
Quarterback B.J. Denker has double-digit rushing attempts in each game this season, with his 15 against Colorado being the second-highest figure.
“He’s not a real big guy, so he’s going to be sore as heck,” Rodriguez said.
“I don’t like for a guy who’s 190 pounds or 180 or whatever he is to run that much. But, at the same time, we gotta do what we gotta do to win.”
HE SAID IT
“Because we can beat that team.” — Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre on why the loss to Arizona hurt more than the team’s other three losses.
HE SAID IT, PART II
“Just very disappointed we didn’t do a better job against Denker. He did a good job; he threw the ball better than I’ve ever seen him throw in every game I’ve ever watched him play. So, he came through, he really did. He did a great job.” — MacIntyre, again.
NOT FAKED
Rodriguez singled out Trevor Ermisch for making a big play on the first snap of the fourth quarter.
Colorado, punting from its 17 on fourth-and-5, opted for a fake, but Ermisch stopped punter Darragh O’Neill after a gain of a yard.
Arizona, which led 34-20, took two plays to score another touchdown.
“That was huge momentum,” Rodriguez said.
Why the fake?
“Because if you saw us playing defense, we couldn’t stop them (Arizona’s offense),” MacIntyre said. “I thought it was a good place to try it.”
INTO THE RECORD BOOK
Denker’s 457 total yards were the sixth-best total in school history. Here are the top five (and note that four of the top six totals have occurred under Rodriguez):
517 — Willie Tuitama, 2007 at Washington
502 — Keith Smith, 1996 at Cal
485 — Matt Scott, 2012 at Stanford
469 — Matt Scott, 2012 vs. USC
461 — Matt Scott, 2012 vs. Toledo
UNDER NO PRESSURE
Arizona did not record a sack against Liufau, who attempted 32 passes.
“We didn’t get a whole lot of pressure on the quarterback, and that’s something we’ve got to look at,” Rodriguez said. “But at the same time, I thought our defensive staff did a good job of mixing some coverages up and giving some help over the top of (Paul) Richardson.”
Richardson had six catches for 112 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown in the first half, when he also drew a pass interference penalty. He had one catch for 20 yards in the second half.