Arizona defensive lineman Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei (46) swats away a field goal attempt by NAU kicker Marcus Lye that the Wildcats recovered and returned for a touchdown in the third quarter Saturday. NAU had a chance to cut the lead to 14-6. Instead, UA went up 21-3.

 Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

Arizona routed Northern Arizona 38-3 to kick off the third season of the Jedd Fisch era Saturday night at Arizona Stadium.

Now that the first-game dust has settled, here’s a look at what transpired in Tucson on Saturday, plus a look ahead to the Wildcats’ showdown with Mississippi State this week in Starkville:

Pertinent storylines

‘Sand Storm’ defense shines

The efforts to bolster Arizona’s defense, especially the front six, is well-documented, and Saturday was the first look at the unit defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen dubbed “Sand Storm.”

The Wildcats had seven first-year starters — five of them transfers — in the first defensive unit; returning Cats in “Kat” edge rusher and redshirt freshman Isaiah Ward and strong safety Dalton Johnson made their first starts at the UA.

Arizona limited NAU to 3.8 yards per play (the lowest since the win over Cal in 2021) and 6 for 18 on third-down conversions; the Wildcats were 1 for 5 on third down Saturday. It’s also the fewest points Arizona has allowed in a season opener since its 35-0 win over the Lumberjacks in 2013.

“They not just played extremely hard, they played for 60 minutes,” Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch said. “Every time they went out there, they went out there with energy, passion and a ferociousness.”

“We showed our defense has improved,” said UA coach Jedd Fisch after the 38-3 win over NAU on Saturday.

Fisch said he thought “we showed our defense has improved.”

“I think that’s been very clear,” he said. “They played with great passion, great energy. I thought that was nice to see.”

Linebackers Jacob Manu (53) and Daniel Heimuli (48) combined for 111 snaps, while Oregon transfer Justin Flowe played 10 snaps. True freshman Taye Brown (19) and Kamuela Ka’aihue (11) played more snaps than Flowe on Saturday.

Nine defensive linemen — not including defensive tackle Tiaoalii Savea, who was suspended for the first half for his ejection in the 2022 Territorial Cup game — played over 10 snaps.

“The rotation makes a huge difference,” Fisch said. “You could see a fresher players makes a difference, they’re harder to block. Now we got a challenge coming up this week with an SEC school that is going to have a really big offensive line that we’re going to have to rotate our guys in as well.”

A little too physical

Goods news for Arizona: “They took the challenge of being a physical football team,” per Fisch.

The bad news? The physicality led to undisciplined penalties — 11 of them for 89 yards — including two roughing-the-passer calls on Michigan transfer Taylor Upshaw, roughing the punter on Johnson and targeting on safety Gunner Maldonado, who will miss the first half of the Mississippi State game, in the third quarter; Isaiah Taylor was his replacement.

Arizona cornerback Ephesians Prysock drives NAU receiver Myseth Currie off his feet after his catch and run in the second quarter of the Wildcats’ season opener on Sept. 2

“There were some penalties that came along with their passion and energy and kind of their, let’s call it, ‘four weeks of practicing against themselves.’ I think that showed up, and we need to clean (that) up,” Fisch said. “And we will — we certainly will. But I don’t think there’s any question about their passion and energy at all three phases.”

Fisch added the targeting call on Maldonado “was the right call.”

“We gotta keep our head out of the game. ... We need to do a better job of that,” Fisch said.

Protect ya neck

Arizona’s first two turnovers of the season were committed by quarterback Jayden de Laura. Fisch “thought Jayden was very efficient,” completing 18 of 24 passes for 285 yards and accounting for three touchdowns with a 207.7 quarterback rating, yet he committed one interception and a fumble inside the red zone. The interception wasn’t necessarily de Laura’s doing.

“That was a weird turnover going into the red zone,” Fisch said. “Him and T-Mac (intended receiver Tetairoa McMillan) just weren’t on the same page there. We gotta clean that up.”

Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura watches the replay on the scoreboard, waiting for the final decision on Jonah Coleman’s touchdown run in the second quarter of UA’s season-opening win on Sept. 2, 2023, against NAU.

As for the fumble, de Laura sat in the pocket with plenty of time to operate, then running towards the end zone near Arizona’s sideline, he attempted to run over NAU defensive back David Spruiells. De Laura fumbled the ball upon the hit and was rattled after the play; he went to the medical tent for examination but returned to the game.

“If I go out there (again), I’d probably do it differently,” de Laura said. “But I can’t so ...”

Fisch said, “That was (de Laura) trying to play fullback.”

“We do not like that, so we need to work on to protecting yourself in a better manner. ... There’s no place or no need to expose his head in the regard — or really his body for that matter,” Fisch said.

By the numbers

37: UA running back Jonah Coleman had a 37-yard catch during Arizona’s first offensive possession, which put him ahead of his season total (24 yards) from a year ago. Two of Arizona’s top three receivers on Saturday were running backs. Coleman had three catches for 59 yards, while Wiley led the Wildcats with six catches for 57 yards.

45: Arizona wide receiver Jacob Cowing extended his pass-catching streak to 45 games, which is the longest active streak in the nation after Ole Miss receiver Kakhari Franklin didn’t have a reception this week.

85: Arizona’s blocked field goal returned by cornerback Tacario Davis for an 85-yard touchdown in the third quarter was its first since 2002. It’s the longest blocked field goal returned for a touchdown in the Pac-12 since at least 1996.

Injury report

Just before the end of the first half, nickel back Treydan Stukes left the game after a collision. Stukes ended the game with four tackles and two stops for loss. Fisch said the “details (for Stukes) aren’t really clear at this point.” Team captain Martell Irby, who was rewarded a scholarship, played 43 snaps

Arizona right guard Raymond Pulido didn’t play in his UA debut after the 6-6, 330-pound freshman “had a little bike accident on Thursday night driving home from practice,” per Fisch; veteran Sam Langi started in place of Pulido.

“But I believe he will be back,” Fisch said of Pulido. “We took care of that, stitched him up, but kept him at home tonight.”

They said it

Irby, on receiving a scholarship: “That was nothing short of a blessing. I can’t really explain it. ... I’m just glad that my love for the game turned into a scholarship. I will continue to do what I’m doing and continue to love my guys and my team and enjoy tomorrow.”

Fisch, on de Laura’s 53-yard touchdown run: “He read his own read play, pulled it and fell the crashing (defensive) end and took it. I don’t know if he had the same burst as he does now. ... I think he was flying, I didn’t know he had that in him. It was nice to see him take it up the sideline and I thought he did a great job on that one.”

Looking ahead

Arizona opens up as 11.5-point underdogs to Mississippi State, which is coming off a 48-7 win over SE Louisiana. The Bulldogs rushed for 298 yards on Saturday behind Jo’quavious Marks’ 127 yards and two touchdowns.

“We got a big challenge ahead of us and this week coming up against Mississippi State,” Fisch said. “We’ve got to be a better football team. ... We’ll attack the film and get ready for a very good SEC opponent across the country.”

VIDEO: Highlights of Arizona Wildcats's 38-3 season-opening win over NAU (Arizona Athletics YouTube)

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Contact Star Arizona football beat reporter Justin Spears at jspears@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @JustinESports