RichRod era begins

The Rich Rodriguez era opened with a lot of drama. Despite gaining 624 yards but scored just 24 points and needed overtime to down Toledo 24-17.

Matt Scott hit Terrence Miller on a 10-yard strike in overtime for the game winner. On the play Scott was flushed from the pocket, raced to his right and threw across his body to find Miller at the goal line.

"Matt made a huge throw in overtime," Rodriguez said.

Scott was 30-46 for 387 yards and two scores. He also had 74 yards on the ground.

Arizona actually had a chance to win the game in regulation. The Wildcats drove down inside the 10, marching nearly 80 yards in the final minutes. Rodriguez decided to play for the field goal, but Scott's effort to center the ball was poor, giving John Bonnano a bad angle on the 24 yarder. Bonnano missed the kick, sending the game to overtime.

The real story was missed opportunities. Two long touchdowns were called back due to penalties and the Wildcats had familiar issues in the redzone. 

The Wildcats drove deep into Toledo territory on the first drive but had to settle for a John Bonnano field goal after Richard Morrison dropped a slant pass in the endzone on third down.

The next possession he'd fumble inside the 20, squandering another redzone opportunity.

In the second half the Cats also stalled inside the 20 and Bonanno hit the uprights on his field goal try.

Overall, Matt Scott was good, but had his issues on the long ball. Austin Hill made a fantastic diving grab in the endzone for a 30-yard score on a ball that was sightly overthrown. 

Scott missed at least two other wide open receivers on deep balls where they had blown past their defenders.

The penalties were the real crippler. Daniel Jenkins had a 67-yard scoring run called back on a hold and a Dan Buckner touchdown was called back on a bad clip by Taimi Tutogi. 

Ka'Deem Carey had the best game of his Wildcat career. He rushed for 147 yards, Carey rushed for 31 yards on his first three carries, then averaged less than three yards a carry until he broke off a 73-yard scoring run.

"He ran pretty hard," Rodriguez said. "Ka'Deem's a good football player. He's a tough guy."

The defense was mostly good. Toledo got on the scoreboard when cornerback Shaquille Richardson bought a head fake which allowed Alonzo Russell to get behind him for a 59-yard score. 

Toledo then scored later in the second quarter on their best drive of the game, marching 64 yards and benefitting from a holding penalty and a personal foul inside the five which gave them first and goal at the one.