AP File Photo: Arizona Wildcats quarterback Khalil Tate (14) looks to pass just out of reach of Arizona State Sun Devils linebacker Alani Latu (44) during the college football game between the Arizona Wildcats and the Arizona State Sun Devils on November 25, 2017 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — When the Arizona Wildcats and the Purdue Boilermakers meet in the Foster Farms at Levi’s Stadium, it is going to be a good one.

The one player that the Boilermakers will be keying on will be Wildcats quarterback Khalil Tate, who is now a candidate for the Heisman Trophy in 2018.

Tate played little in the first four games of the season, as he rushed for 86 yards and passed for 41 yards. Once he finally got on the field as a starter against the Colorado Buffaloes in week 5, Tate went nuts.

In that game, Tate ran for 327 yards and went 12-of-13 for 154 yards passing with a touchdown and did not throw an interception in a huge 45-42 Wildcats victory.

Over the next five games, Tate continued his torrid pace, as he rushed for a total of 1,207 yards in those six games and the Wildcats went 5-1 during that stretch.

Unfortunately, the season did not end well for Tate, as the Wildcats ended up losing their last two games and fell out of the Pac-12 South race.

On the other sideline, this is the first season for head coach Jeff Brohm, who actually played for the San Francisco 49ers in the late 1990s.

Brohm led the Boilermakers to a 6-6 record and 4-5 in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers won their final two games just to get bowl-eligible for the first time since the 2012 season.

Like the Wildcats, the Boilermakers changed quarterbacks. However, it was due to an injury to David Blough, who was sharing the position with Elijah Sindelar.

Blough suffered a season-ending ankle injury on November 4. Brohm turned the reins and quarterback position over to Sindelar. Over the final three games of the season, the Boilermakers won two of them, including a win over the Iowa Hawkeyes, who were ranked 25th at the time. Sindelar threw seven touchdowns and one interception in those final three games.

Markell Jones finally got the running game, as he rushed for 217 yards in a huge win over the Indiana Hoosiers.