The Arizona Wildcats missed a miss in their loss to Texas Tech in their first-ever Big 12 Conference home game on Saturday.

There were frustrations throughout the contest, manifested by settling for two field goals and suffering a turnover on downs on their three appearances inside the Texas Tech red zone.

If even one of those possessions had resulted in a touchdown, the game could have turned out very differently.

That was a microcosm of that stunning performance that had the Wildcats looking like a completely different version of themselves than the ones that crossed into enemy territory just two Saturdays ago and pulled off an upset of the 10th-ranked Utah Utes.

After the clock reached zero, the decisions took center stage.

Noah Fifita had a killer interception and Tetairoa McMillan's fumble came at a bad time as they trailed 21-19, which turned into a 28-19 deficit three plays later.

But there are some of the coaching decisions that need to be clarified going forward.

Arizona was 3 of 14 on third downs and averaged 7.1 yards on those situations. This suggests that the play caller and game plan are not doing enough to put this offense in a position to consistently be successful.

Aside from their blowout win over New Mexico, which has one of the worst defenses in the country, the Wildcats have a combined record of 12-51, which puts them 130th out of 133 FBS teams with an 8-12 record would The try in the opening game was scratched.

Even counting this game, Arizona ranks 115th in third down conversion percentage and moves the chains in this situation a little more than every third time.

Another key decision from Brent Brennan came in the fourth quarter after the Wildcats scored 13 straight points to cut the deficit to two.

After recovering a fumble on the plus side of the 50-yard line, Arizona advanced the ball further into Texas Tech territory when Fifita scored on McMillan on a pass that left them three yards short of the red zone.

They couldn't convert a 3rd-and-6 when running back Quali Conley was tackled a yard short of the first down, but with momentum on their side it seemed like a great opportunity for them to be aggressive and go for it on fourth down .

Instead, Brennan opted to sideline the Red Raiders, taking a delay of game when they failed to jump into the neutral zone and settling for a field goal and a 19-18 lead.

Points were tight in this game, so it's understandable why they played it safe, but the slim lead was gone just three possessions later when Arizona missed a field goal and Texas Tech made one of their own.

If the Wildcats had gotten the first down to give themselves another chance for a touchdown, they might have taken a 23-18 lead, leaving the Red Raiders needing a touchdown of their own to take the lead.

Instead of being aggressive in a crucial moment and dictating the results with his offense on the court, Brennan put it in his opponent's hands to make a mental mistake that didn't happen.

That was also a decision that Arizona felt.

This needs to be figured out quickly or the Wildcats will continue to underperform throughout this campaign.