Arizona’s third-down woes on defense aren’t a new problem. Nor is that problem easy to define or fix. If it were, the Wildcats would have done it already.
We examined every third down the UA defense has faced this season in search of a pattern. That deep dive revealed one area that’s particularly troubling and should be the biggest focus for defensive coordinator Marcel Yates and his staff.
But before we get to that, let’s start with the basic numbers.
Arizona, which opens Pac-12 play Saturday at Oregon State, has allowed opponents to convert 44.2 percent of their third downs.