Arizona QB Khalil Tate to miss UCLA game because of left ankle injury

·College football and motorsports writer

October 16, 2018 at 3:12 p.m.

Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate first injured his ankle in Week 2 vs. Houston. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Khalil Tate is set to miss his first game of the season because of a left ankle injury that has hobbled him for most of 2018.

Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin said Tuesday that Rhett Rodriguez, the son of former Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez, would make the first start of his career in place of Tate. The star QB re-injured his left ankle while getting sacked in the first half in a 42-10 loss to Utah on Friday. He was replaced by Rodriguez.

BREAKING: Khalil Tate (ankle) will sit out at least one week. Met with Kevin Sumlin last night. Rhett Rodriguez will start against UCLA. Freshmen Jamarye Joiner/Kevin Doyle will get reps and might play as well.
— Michael Lev (@MichaelJLev) October 16, 2018

Tate injured ankle vs. Houston

The ankle injury has affected Arizona’s offense and Tate’s stat line so far this season. The QB first injured his ankle in the second game of the season and has been a shell of the player he was in 2017.

Tate was college football’s breakout star last season. He had 1,411 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns to go along with 1,591 yards passing with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He got those rushing yards on just 153 carries, meaning he averaged over nine yards a carry. He had more yards per carry than he did per pass attempt.

This season Tate has just 46 carries for 112 yards and two scores. He’s averaging less than 2.5 yards per carry. His passing statistics have declined too. He’s 95-of-178 passing for 1,415 yards and 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. His completion percentage is roughly nine points lower than it was in 2017 and he’s averaging almost a yard less per passing attempt.

Arizona is under .500

As Tate has suffered, so has Arizona. The loss to the Utes dropped Arizona to 3-4 on the season and 2-2 in the Pac-12. The Wildcats were a trendy sleeper pick in the Pac-12 South because of the combination of Tate and Sumlin but the hopes of winning the division are all but gone just halfway through the month of October.

Rodriguez, a sophomore, was 20-of-38 passing for 226 yards and a touchdown against Utah.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

Follow @NickBromberg on Twitter