A lot of things have to go right to beat ranked teams in three consecutive weeks, but success in some areas stand out from the pack. For Arizona, that has been its ability to convert on third down and keep its opponents from scoring in the red zone.
The Wildcats are ninth nationally in red zone defense, allowing scores on 71.4 percent (25 of 35) trips inside the red zone. They’s 17th-best in FBS on third down, converting 47.8 percent of the time.
Those rates are significantly better than in 2022, particularly the red zone defense, which was 99th at 87.