Kevin Sumlin, Noel Mazzone getting destroyed as Arizona is being owned by Houston
When Arizona unexpectedly fired former head coach Rich Rodriguez amid a reported scandal on campus, the school appeared to make a solid hire — all things considered — by replacing him with Kevin Sumlin. The former Texas A&M coach immediately announced that his former Aggie offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone would be joining him in the desert.
Those two combined with returning Wildcat starting quarterback Khalil Tate appeared to be the perfect marriage of scheme and talent heading into the 2018 season. Well, so far, that’s not materialized on the field.
After losing the opener against BYU 28-23, the Wildcats are now being owned by Houston by a 21-0 margin at the end of the first quarter.
The reaction to Arizona’s slow start has been less than kind to Sumlin:
Needless to say, the Kevin Sumlin era is off to a brutal start. Houston 48-yard TD catch by TE left wide open puts the Cougs up 21-0 4:43 1Q.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 8, 2018
Kevin Sumlin and East Texas just do not go well together. https://t.co/3ChzGahG8O
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) September 8, 2018
Um…the Kevin Sumlin era at Arizona is not going great so far.
— Barrett Sallee (@BarrettSallee) September 8, 2018
Update: 19 plays, 184 yards.#Houston is averaging 9.7 yards a play. https://t.co/ufd2ihUNlA
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 8, 2018
Maybe Sumlin's teams can't cover a TE because they never see one in practice. Just a thought.
— Olin Buchanan (@olinbuchanan) September 8, 2018
The only coach in America who has stopped Khalil Tate is Kevin Sumlin. What on earth is happening there?
— Gregg Doyel (@GreggDoyelStar) September 8, 2018
21-0 Houston. Kevin Sumlin has his work cut out for him this year at Arizona.
— T.J. Moe (@TJMoe28) September 8, 2018
Kevin Sumlin might get fired before halftime.
— WOOPIGSOOIE (@W00PIGS000IE) September 8, 2018
Obviously @espn forgot @UHCougarFB had a message to send to Kevin Sumlin. pic.twitter.com/MaKraO3Twd
— Agnes Brooks (@brooks3342) September 8, 2018
Quick check in on Kevin Sumlin after a less than stellar debut and LOL pic.twitter.com/m1b7Vpt93W
— Matt Alber (@malber9) September 8, 2018
Here’s an example of Arizona’s less than ideal defensive performance early on in this one:
Romello Brooker 52 yards untouched for the TD
Well that was easy…. pic.twitter.com/RbJWDgelur
— NCAAF Nation (@NCAAFNation247) September 8, 2018
Arizona offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone is also taking some heat for his unit’s performance:
What in the world is Noel Mazzone doing? He’s turning Khalil Tate into a guy who throws screens and hands it off.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) September 8, 2018
He’s doing what Noel Mazzone does. https://t.co/PX5oYePNWg
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) September 8, 2018
Two words: Noel. Mazzone. https://t.co/qdo4yFx6NV
— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) September 8, 2018
Noel Mazzone: "Last week I tried to turn Khalil Tate into Peyton Manning."
WHYYYYYYYY?????????
— Medium Happy (@jdubs88) September 8, 2018
I’m shocked, SHOCKED, that Arizona’s offense seems to have taken a step back going from Rich Rod to Noel Mazzone.
— Mike McShane (@mcshanem) September 8, 2018
Kevin Sumlin and Noel Mazzone coaching Khalil Tate is like buying a Ferrari and then filling the gas tank with tapioca pudding.
— Steve Sacks (@vamospatos) September 8, 2018
