Sumlin said there were “too many critical errors in that game for us to be successful.”

“The performance overall was unacceptable,” he said on the radio show. “… Across the board, we were not good enough, didn’t play good enough and it’s just not acceptable for the results we had Saturday night.”

The Wildcats are off this week, then open their home schedule with a game against Northern Arizona.

Jace time

It wasn’t all bad in the opener.

Senior cornerback Jace Whittaker made a triumphant return to the field, at least from an individual standpoint.

Whittaker, who missed all but one series in 2018 because of injuries, intercepted two passes against the Rainbow Warriors. He also earned the highest grade of any Wildcat on either side of the ball from Pro Football Focus.

“He makes a difference for us,” Sumlin said after the game. “He’s a coach on the field. He’s a leader.

“He’s a guy that we’re going to lean on heavily. You see his experience, particularly with some of those younger guys out there. He’s going to have to continue to be a leader for us as we go forward.”