When he's in the heat of a game, coach Rich Rodriguez doesn't often get the opportunity to be a spectator.
 
Whether he's calling a play, coaching up one of his guys or communicating with his fellow coaches, Rodriguez can't really stop and watch. But when your quarterback runs for more yards than any FBS quarterback in the history of the game, you stop and marvel once or twice.
 
That's the situation Rodriguez found himself in last weekend at Colorado. As sophomore Khalil Tate established a new FBS rushing record for a quarterback, running for 327 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries, Rodriguez had to pause to watch his quarterback work his magic.
 
There was one moment specifically where Rodriguez had to do a double take to make sure what he saw was real.
 
"He made one move that I call the Allen Iverson crossover," Rodriguez said earlier this week. "He did the 'AI' crossover in the open field, and the guy had him square. The guy was a good football, but Khalil made a quick move across on him, which will probably be on our highlight film for the next game."
 
And, as it turns out, on nearly every highlight tape in America this week. The move, just one of the many brilliant ones Arizona's sophomore quarterback made, has left a lasting impression on his teammates and coaches. As did his entire performance.
 
Tate entered in the first quarter after starter Brandon Dawkins exited after being the victim of a late hit on Colorado's sideline. Tate entered and completed two passes before a fumble gave the ball back to Colorado. Arizona then forced a three-and-out to bring Tate back on the field. On his first play, Tate ran 58 yards for a touchdown to kick off his coming out party.
 
He went on to rush for the 327 yards, while completing 12 of 13 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown pass to Shun Brown. The performance was more than enough to earn him Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors, along with Walter Camp Foundation National Player of the Week, Athlon National Offensive Player of the Week and Maxwell Football Club National Offensive Player of the Week.
 
"That's as fast as I've seen Khalil run," Rodriguez said. "I think he's about 15-20 pounds lighter than he was last year. He's in better shape, and he's running faster. He has to continue that; it's about running smart. He's a very athletic guy, and I thought what he did well in both the times we passed and ran the ball, was that he saw the field exceptionally well. That's always something he's been pretty good at, but that was the best I've seen him in practice or the games.
 
"It led to a big-time performance."
 
His running is what most people have focused on and will likely remember. But it was a pass that might have sealed the win for the Wildcats. Leading by just a touchdown with less than 11 minutes to play, Tate hooked up with Tony Ellison for a 60-yard pass to the Colorado 13-yard line. The drive eventually resulted in a field goal, putting the Wildcats up 10. Colorado scored a touchdown on the next drive, but never got any closer.
 
"He wanted to take a shot with a play-action deep ball," Rodriguez said of Tate. "Both the deep options were open, and he connected on one. Some people didn't know he had an arm, but he does have a strong arm and can throw it 80 yards. For a guy who has that strong of an arm, he has always had a good touch. It's just a matter of him continuing to grow with our offense."
  Through five games this season, true freshman linebacker Tony Fields II leads the Wildcats with 34 tackles and three sacks. The freshman from Las Vegas has collected one sack in each of his last three games and hasn't wasted any time introducing himself to college football.
 
The best part for Rodriguez is that Fields isn't the only freshman separating himself this season. Middle linebacker Colin Schooler earned his first start of the season last week at Colorado and has 21 tackles, three tackles-for-loss and one interception on the season. Another true freshman linebacker, Anthony Pandy, also saw extended time Saturday at Colorado.
 
"All those young linebackers that are playing as true freshmen, they're growing up," Rodriguez said. "Even though sometimes there are some growing pains with it, I can see them growing up as the season goes along. There are some technique and fundamental things that we know we've got to continue to push on them, because as freshmen, they're still learning how to play big-time football."