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The game itself 鈥� which officially lasted three hours and 43 minutes 鈥� didn鈥檛 end until approximately 11:35 p.m. UA coach Rich Rodriguez and three players shuffled in for postgame interviews around midnight, and after everyone showered, changed, and grabbed a pre-prepared box of Chick-fil-A food for the road, it was already past 12:15 a.m.

Arizona took a chartered flight back to Tucson and didn鈥檛 land in the Old Pueblo until 2:45 a.m., and the Wildcats finally arrived on campus at 3:30 a.m., meaning players and coaches didn鈥檛 return to their houses, apartments or dorms until almost 4 a.m.

The Wildcats still held a light practice on Sunday, as they always do.

Not-so-surprisingly, UA coach Rich Rodriguez isn鈥檛 exactly a fan of this arrangement, and it鈥檚 not the first time his team has dealt with this late-night issue.

Beyond the road games, Arizona hasn鈥檛 had a kickoff before 5 p.m. this year and only has three such kickoffs in its last 26 games.

Saturday鈥檚 game against Oregon State will be the latest of the season, set for an 8:15 p.m. kick on ESPN2. Only three games will be later in college football on Saturday, and none 鈥� Wyoming-Air Force, Boise State-Colorado State and Fresno State-Hawaii 鈥� are Power Five conference matchups.

In that non-bowl 26-game stretch dating back to 2015 counting this week鈥檚 Oregon State game, Arizona has had 19 kickoffs after 7 p.m. locally, three between 5 and 7 p.m., and only three before 5, the last coming on Nov. 5 at Washington State last year.

Since Rodriguez was hired in 2012, 65 percent of Arizona鈥檚 non-bowl games have kicked off after 7, and 17 of Rodriguez鈥檚 28 true road games kicked off that late, too.

Rodriguez vented about the subject at his Monday afternoon press conference.

鈥淓verybody complains about the late-night game, but especially this year when you鈥檙e getting back at 3 or 4 in the morning and who knows what it鈥檚 going to be,鈥� Rodriguez said, then went onto to imply how Arizona鈥檚 schedule should be considered.

鈥淚t鈥檚, OK, Arizona has not played one single day game this year,鈥� Rodriguez said.

鈥淐an we do what we can to put them in the afternoon slot? TV will still dictate it, but I think you gotta ask the question.鈥�

Counting the Oregon State game, Arizona鈥檚 last two games will have been on ESPN networks. Rodriguez said he appreciates the exposure, but he鈥檚 not the only one impacted by all of the late kickoffs.

鈥淭he exposure is nice,鈥� Rodriguez said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 also mindful of the fans. 鈥� From a fan鈥檚 standpoint, I think a little earlier than that is more enjoyable.

鈥淭o me, exposure is nice in recruiting, but I would rather for our sake, coaches and maybe players, certainly for the fans, I would rather for the fans鈥� wishes would be something. 鈥� If it was up to me, I鈥檇 like to consider them. But it鈥檚 not up to me.鈥�

Rodriguez added that the late kicks might be contributing to attendance issues across the country.

鈥淚t鈥檚 harder when they鈥檙e late-night games and you want to do what you can for it to be attractive for your fanbase,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if that鈥檚 a reason throughout the country why there鈥檚 not as many sellouts. 鈥� But it probably has played some factor in it.鈥�

Tate 鈥榳ill learn from it鈥�

after losing to Trojans

The streak is over.

Monday, Washington State quarterback Luke Falk was named the Pac-12鈥檚 offensive player of the week for his performance against Stanford. It ended UA quarterback Khalil Tate鈥檚 record-breaking streak at four straight weeks of winning the award, though this time he wasn鈥檛 even nominated.

Even though Tate started off slow against USC, he still finished with solid numbers 鈥� 161 rushing yards, 146 passing and four total touchdowns.

But most of that production came in the second half 鈥� in the first, Tate only had 19 rushing yards on 12 carries and had completed 5 of 12 passes for 37 yards, which contributed to Arizona falling behind 28-6 in the third quarter.

Rodriguez indicated that Tate 鈥� who grew up nearby in Inglewood, California, and was playing against many of his former high school teammates 鈥� might have been pressing to start the game.

鈥淜halil is a competitor, and sometimes you鈥檝e got to let the game come to you and when you鈥檙e a dynamic athlete like he is, sometimes you just want to try and take charge and dictate to the game,鈥� Rodriguez said. 鈥淎 lot of times you鈥檝e got to let the game come to you and take what they give you and be patient a little bit.鈥�

Tate bounced back in the second half and helped the UA charge back to tie the game at 35 in the fourth quarter.

鈥淭he third quarter and early part of the fourth quarter he was just letting the game come to him and making good decisions,鈥� Rodriguez said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a young guy, he鈥檚 only had a few starts and he鈥檒l learn from it.鈥�

When USC scored and the Wildcats went down 42-35, though, Tate tried to air out a deep throw to receiver Tony Ellison on first down and the Trojans picked it off.

鈥淚t was just a 鈥� it wasn鈥檛 the right decision,鈥� Rodriguez said. 鈥淭ony ran the right route. It was just a guy trying to make a play. Sometimes you gotta be patient and let the game come to you.鈥�

Extra points

鈥� The Pac-12鈥檚 TV partners have elected to use a six-day selection window to determine most of the conference鈥檚 start times for a week from Saturday. Arizona-Oregon is one of four games subject to the six-day window. The others are Utah-Washington, UCLA-USC and Cal-Stanford. The selection order is as follows (all times Pacific): ESPN/ABC at 12:30 or 5, Fox/FS1 at 5 or 1, ESPN at 7:30 or 7:45 and Pac-12 Networks at 4.

鈥� Tate now has 1,087 rushing yards on the season, the first Pac-12 quarterback to ever rush for 1,000. His total is the 12th-highest in the nation.

鈥� Rodriguez said safety Scottie Young was a bit rusty coming off a knee injury that held him out of Arizona鈥檚 previous two games. The freshman had five tackles against USC.

鈥� Running back Nick Wilson (ankle) 鈥渟hould be ready to go鈥� this week. Wilson missed the Washington State game and Arizona eased him in against USC, giving him two carries on the night against USC, both in the second half.

鈥� Rodriguez said he wants to rotate more players into Arizona鈥檚 slot receiver rotation to spell starters Tony Ellison and Shun Brown, and mentioned redshirt freshman DeVaughn Cooper and senior Tyrell Johnson as those who鈥檝e earned playing time.