Arizona football looks to 'finish strong' in fourth quarter of season, 'last stretch of brotherhood'

In the beginning moments of Brent Brennan’s news conference on Monday, the Arizona football head coach briefly became a salesman for the program ahead of the Friday night matchup with the Houston Cougars at Arizona Stadium.

The Arizona-Houston game has the potential to be the lowest-attended game of the season, due to the Wildcats (3-6) being one loss away from missing the postseason, in addition to the UA riding a five-game skid and coming off a 44-point beatdown against a UCF team also riding the struggle bus.

Plus, the ninth-ranked UA men’s basketball team will be tipping off against old nemesis Wisconsin in Madison an hour before kickoff — and it’s the first week of high school football playoffs for Classes 4A, 5A and 6A in Arizona, with several Tucson-area teams hosting games that night.

“We need Tucson, our fans, our (alumni) and students to show up and rock this stadium,” Brennan said. “I know everyone is frustrated with where we’re at, and we need them to show up anyway. We need them to impact third down, we need to impact the red zone with crowd noise and enthusiasm and juice and energy. Please, rally, we need you, let’s get this rocking Friday night.”

Coming off a bye week, with a shortened week against a Houston (4-5) team that has won three out of the last four games, here are some other items Brennan discussed on Monday:

What did Arizona get accomplished during the bye week?

A: “I thought it was good. It gave us a chance to get back to fundamental football, playing good on good and giving all of the players a chance to do a little more individual time, so you get a chance to go back to fundamental work. In all three phases for our team, it’s a good opportunity to do some (self-scouting) and find out what our tendencies are and what are the things that keep showing up that we like to do and how we’re predictable in any way. It was a lot of hard work. It was also good for recruiting. All of us hit the road.”

What was your message to the players now that you’re entering the final stretch of the season?

A: “’How do you want this to feel every day? This last stretch of brotherhood, how do you want this to end? I think that’s something they all lean into heavily. Attacking the work and finishing this the right way is what everyone in the program should be all about right now. We have three games left and they’re all going to be tough, but that’s why you play the games. ... So let’s put everything we’ve got into the next three weeks — starting with this week and starting with what we’re doing right now. ... Right now, we’re in the fourth quarter of the season, so let’s finish strong.’”

The last time you had a bye, you came out and won. Have you seen any similarities between this bye week and the last one?

A: “I think the biggest similarity is how they’ve come to work. I think that’s been a real positive. That’s one of those hard things, when you’re 18-23 years old, when you’re frustrated or disappointed, can you stay on task? Can you still be committed to the cause and still be committed to the guy on the left and the right. If we’re going to say the ‘Bear Down Brotherhood’ is so important, how willing are we going to be to invest in the right things that give us a chance to play well?”

Have there been discussions about the importance of winning three straight to make a bowl game?

A: “Absolutely. That’s the big picture, the long-term thing. But I also know, if we’re looking at thing three weeks from now, we’re going to miss the thing that’s right in front of us. What’s in front of us is more important, and that’s playing good football Friday night in our stadium against Houston.”

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How would you assess the confidence of the team considering the losing streak and you were recently blown out by UCF?

A: “The only way you can start to feel confident is by investing in the process and the work. If we want to feel good in the afternoon, let’s practice our tails off in the morning. ... The consistency of the practice environment and the intention that we bring to that gives you a chance to play with confidence when the game gets here, because you feel prepared (and) you’re excited to play, you know what to do.”

How are you sure your messages are sinking in with the players?

A: “By the way they show up, by the way they’re handling their business in the classroom. Championship behavior is an all-the-time thing. ... To me, when those things start to waver, that’s when I think the messages aren’t hitting home.”

What are your first impressions of Houston?

A: “I think they’re hot right now. They’re playing good football right now. They obviously had a huge win before their bye week, beating Kansas State. The quarterback (Zeon Chriss) is an outstanding player. He can make the throws, but he’s also an incredibly dynamic runner, so that’s one of those things we have to be prepared for. When you watch them on defense, they play hard and they’re athletic. We have a ton of respect for (head coach Willie Fritz) and that staff. Those guys have been good everywhere they’ve been, they’ve won everywhere they’ve been, so we know that we’ve got a big-time football game Friday night.”

UA-TCU kickoff time still TBA

The kickoff time and television coverage for Arizona’s final road game of the season against TCU in Fort Worth won’t be revealed until either Saturday or Sunday, after the Big 12 announced on Monday that it was moved to the six-day selection.

The Arizona-TCU game on Saturday, Nov. 23, is one of six Big 12 contests flexed to the six-day selection window.

The matchup between Arizona and TCU will mark the third all-time meeting between the two programs. The Wildcats beat the Horned Frogs 35-31 in Fort Worth in 1999. Arizona trailed 25-7 but scored 28 second-half points to beat a TCU team led by star running back LaDanian Tomlinson, who rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown against the Wildcats.

Arizona’s two-quarterback offense with Keith Smith and Ortege Jenkins had 337 passing yards, but only had 14 rushing yards. Arizona standout receiver Dennis Northcutt had 10 catches for 257 yards and three touchdowns.

The second matchup was a 13-10 win for TCU over the Wildcats in overtime at Arizona Stadium in 2003.

Extra points

• Brennan started his news conference by congratulating the Arizona triathlon team for winning a national championship in the program’s second year as a university sport. Said Brennan: “Two seasons in and they win the national championship. Pretty special. Congratulations to that team and all of those athletes and the coaching staff, because that it is really special.”
• Former Arizona running back Gary Brightwell reportedly signed with the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad on Monday, per Fox Sports’
  • Jordan Schultz. The former sixth-round pick played three seasons for the New York Giants, before practice squad stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns this season.
  • The FS1 broadcasters for the Arizona-Houston game will be Tim Rush (play-by-play) and
    • Petros Papadakis (analyst).