The Star presents five storylines of interest as the Arizona Wildcats host North Dakota State on Saturday night at Arizona Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. The game will air on FS1.
A scheduling service, an auction and an opportunity: How the UA-NDSU matchup came to be
The question has been lingering for five-plus years: Why would Arizona schedule a football game against North Dakota State — by far the preeminent program in FCS?
It was something of an accident.
In early 2017, the UA was looking to schedule an FCS game for September 2022. The school went through Gridiron, a scheduling service run by Dave Brown, a former ESPN executive who has become the premier matchmaker in college football. That in and of itself wasn’t unusual; Gridiron works with every school in FBS and almost every one in FCS.
What was unique about this particular situation is that Arizona elected to use the auction function on the Gridiron website. No one ever had before. And no one has since.
Arizona was looking to save money. The idea behind the online auction system was that it would save time. It worked on both fronts.
Arizona is paying $425,000 for North Dakota State to play in Tucson on Saturday night. The average payout by Pac-12 schools to FCS programs since 2011 is $555,000, according to Gridiron’s database. Making things even better for the UA from a financial standpoint: Approximately 10,000 NDSU fans are expected to attend the game at Arizona Stadium.
"Out of all the games that have ever been put together ... I don’t know if that will ever be topped," Brown said. "If any school was gonna do it, it’s North Dakota State."
NDSU jumped at the opportunity because it’s hard for the Bison to schedule games against FBS opponents. They’ve won six such matchups in a row. No one wants to play them.
Recalling how it all went down, NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen described the process as "definitely the most unique way we've ever scheduled a football game."
"This was the first time that we ever saw the auction function used," Larsen said. "We thought internally, this could be an opportunity to get an FBS game. So we said, ‘Hey, let's put a low bid in.’ We did, fully expecting that somebody might come in a little bit lower or maybe Arizona wouldn't want that. Lo and behold, they took it."
The man in charge of scheduling at the time for the UA was Mike Parrish, who’s now the director of football operations at Western Michigan. Parrish served in a similar capacity at Arizona from 2012-18.
Parrish tried to follow a basic structure for non-conference scheduling: one opponent apiece from Power Five, Group of Five and FCS. The only FCS foe Arizona faced regularly was NAU.
“We needed (another) FCS game,” Parrish said. “We knew because of what we typically would sell for an FCS game that the less money we had to pay, the better.
"So we figured, we’ll be the guinea pigs. We’ll work with Dave and try to find the cheapest game possible. We went through the process, never expecting that North Dakota State would take low bid.
"We were like, ‘Oh boy, what are we getting ourselves into?’ I should say I was that way because I was the one that was scheduling."
NDSU’s six-game winning streak against FBS opponents took place from 2010-16. The auction was conducted in February 2017, just before Dave Heeke became Arizona’s athletic director. Rich Rodriguez was the coach at the time. Parrish said he asked Rodriguez if he was OK with adding NDSU to a future schedule.
"He said he didn't really care who we were playing," Parrish said. "So we went ahead and stuck with it."
Now Jedd Fisch is stuck with a game that could be construed as a no-win situation for Arizona. The Wildcats are going where most other FBS programs are reluctant to go.
"If I'm in their shoes," Larsen said proudly, "I don't know if I’m scheduling NDSU either."
The Bison do have two future FBS games on the docket: at Colorado in 2024 and at Oregon in 2028, the latter a makeup of a canceled game from 2020. NDSU will receive $700,000 and $675,000 in guarantees, respectively.
The Arizona Wildcats celebrate with their turnover sword during last week’s game against Mississippi State.
Duel threats: Wildcats are taking the ball away – and celebrating with their ‘Turnover Sword’
Step 1: Take the ball away from the opposition.
Step 2: Celebrate said turnovers with a cool prop.
The 2022 Arizona Wildcats are participating in both activities. They’re forcing turnovers at a greater rate. Every time they get one, they race to their bench to commemorate the occasion.
Like several other teams around the country, Arizona now has its own way to acknowledge takeaways. The Wildcats have a “Turnover Sword.”
Every time the defense creates a turnover, members of that unit plunge a football onto the sword, whose handles resemble the arms of a saguaro.
The Turnover Sword is the brainchild of first-year defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen, whose group has taken the ball away five times in two games. Arizona had six takeaways all of last season.
"It’s an identity," said Nansen, who then explained the backstory of the Turnover Sword:
"We have a big chair up in our meeting room. Whoever the player of the day is, with the most strips, sits there. Well, we have a difficult time taking that on the road. So I came up with the idea with the sword, and the boys just took it over."
A Mississippi State staffer heads back to the his bench after retrieving the three game balls punctured by the Arizona Wildcats’ turnover sword in celebration of three turnovers during last year’s matchup in Tucson.
Like the other props that have popped up on sidelines across the country — from Miami’s discontinued Turnover Chain to Tulane’s Turnover Beads to UNLV’s Turnover Slot Machine — the players absolutely love it. The second a turnover-causing play is blown dead, they sprint for the sword.
"It’s great," defensive end Jalen Harris said. "It brings the energy. It makes you want to go and get a turnover so you can hold that sword. We go to the sideline and get to hold it up in front of the student station. You have your teammates around you. So it’s very fun."
Jedd Fisch’s take on the Turnover Sword? Whatever works.
He knew the Wildcats needed to create more turnovers after tying for the fewest takeaways in the nation last season. Nansen’s philosophy is probably the biggest factor in the early uptick. But if the sword is providing even the tiniest bit of motivation, so be it.
"I appreciate that our guys find something to get excited about," Fisch said. "It's a way for them to celebrate with the fans and with themselves.
"It seems to have worked so far. Hopefully we can continue that tradition of getting the ball away."
Arizona safety Jaxen Turner, left, returns a fumble he caused against Mississippi State at Arizona Stadium on Sept. 10, 2022.
Arizona’s most improved player? Safety Jaxen Turner is the early frontrunner
A strong case could be made that safety Jaxen Turner is the most improved player on the Arizona roster.
Turner, a fourth-year junior from Moreno Valley, California, has raised his overall grade on Pro Football Focus from 51.3 to 86.0 (on a scale of 0 to 100). A lot of that has to do with Turner being involved in two turnovers – an interception and a forced fumble (which he also recovered and returned 47 yards).
Additionally, Turner has lowered his missed tackle rate from 20% to 10.5% and his completion percentage allowed from 60.7% to 50%.
It’s all a tribute to his intelligence, work ethic and determination.
"His football IQ is outstanding," UA defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen said. "The ability to go up and get the ball and take the ball away has been really outstanding."
Turner ripped the ball out of the hands of Mississippi State receiver Jamire Calvin last week. Turner might not have been capable of such a move a year ago.
"He really committed to getting his weight, his speed and his strength up this offseason," UA coach Jedd Fisch said. "He had that as one of his goals when we met at the end of last season."
Fisch also credited Turner’s work with position coach Chuck Cecil, who played safety at Arizona and in the NFL, as well as Turner’s willingness to become a more involved leader.
"He's trying really hard to get guys behind him, younger than him and around him, to up their game every day at practice,” Fisch said. “He has a really competitive spirit that helps us a lot. He gets into a good place — a place you want your players to be in for games.”
Receiver Tetairoa McMillan has been “mature and strong and mentally tough,” coach Jedd Fisch says.
How Arizona freshman WR Tetairoa McMillan is handling ‘big leap’ from high school to college
Receiver Tetairoa McMillan might be the highest-profile recruit in the history of Arizona football. But in many ways, he’s just like every other freshman – adapting, in real time, to the hectic day-to-day existence of a Division I student-athlete.
McMillan, one of four players to join the Wildcats from Servite High School in Anaheim, California, has started each of Arizona’s first two games. He has played 121 of 151 offensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and has seven catches for 122 yards and a touchdown.
“I think all of our young kids, collectively, have done a really good job of being able to get ready to play each week,” UA coach Jedd Fisch said. “It’s a big leap. In training camp, you don't have any classes and you're not really competing at, let's call it, a game-day level.
“Now, all of a sudden, classes start Aug. 21. Then you have a game. You're starting. You're catching a touchdown. You're going back the next week. You have classes again, game, classes. It starts piling on to all the young guys.
“He's been mature and strong and mentally tough. I think he can (handle) that pretty well.”
Arizona has 39 true freshmen and 21 redshirt freshmen on its roster. McMillan has played the most snaps of any of them.
He has flashed his talent, showing toughness on a touchdown catch vs. SDSU and athletic brilliance on a subsequent diving grab.
But McMillan — again, like most freshmen — remains a work in progress. He has been the least efficient among Arizona’s receivers, catching only seven of 20 targets (although PFF has charged him with only one drop). He also has a contested-catch rate of just 25% (1 of 4).
Expect 10K fans — and maybe more – from 'frigid arctic'
The word "culture" gets thrown around to describe teams that, frankly, win a lot. And North Dakota State, Arizona’s final nonconference matchup of the season on Saturday, has done its fair share of winning.
Since 2011, the Bison are 151-12 (93%) with nine FCS national championships — including two in the last four years under head coach Matt Entz. Arizona is 70-74 during that span.
North Dakota State has also sent several players to the NFL, including quarterbacks Carson Wentz, Trey Lance and Easton Stick, along with wide receiver Christian Watson and offensive linemen in Joe Haeg and Billy Turner.
In other words: the Bison have culture. NDSU insider Jeff Kolpack from the Inforum in Fargo, North Dakota joined the Star’s Justin Spears on ESPN Tucson earlier this week to provide insight on the Bison. Here are five questions that were asked:
What have the Bison said about facing Arizona in Tucson?
A: “You talk to them during the week and they’ll give you the company line: 'Oh, it’s just another game. Blah, blah, blah.' We all know it’s not. Any time you play the big-brother division, there’s certainly something to prove. … It’s a matter of if they can handle the physicality of it and the speed. The speed is what separates the FBS from FCS teams, and if they can get to their physical game, they’ll be OK. If Arizona turns this into a track meet, it’s going to be a good day for the Wildcats.”
How would you describe North Dakota State’s culture to someone unfamiliar with the Bison?
A: “That’s a great question. Look, they don’t know where we live. Let’s be honest, we’re up near the Canadian border, we’re closer to Winnipeg than any other major city. I remember when they beat Colorado State in 2012 and after the game Colorado State players were like, ‘Yeah, we underestimated that team.’ I’m just thinking about (North Dakota State) just coming off a national title, and I get it. It’s Fargo, North Dakota; most people don’t know where it’s at. There’s a certain advantage to that — an under-the-radar advantage. The FCS title is great, but who in Tucson knows what the FCS is? … (Arizona) should be ready for this game. To me, it comes down to can NDSU establish a ground game versus Arizona’s speed? To me, it’s pretty cut-and-dry there.”
Who is one player on offense and one one player on defense we should pay attention to?
A: “It’s hard to tell, because their first two opponents were not good. Drake and North Carolina A&T — I mean, some of these players hardly broke a sweat. But on offense, I like the fullback Hunter Luepke. He’s a potential late-round draft pick at the fullback spot. … He’s a guy that needs to have a good game on Saturday if NDSU wants a shot at winning this game. Defensively, I like their defensive end Spencer Waege. He’s a sixth-year guy who’s pretty big for a D-end; he’s 275 pounds, almost 280. He’s been around the program for a long time and is kind of the heart and soul of it.”
How has North Dakota State been able to continuously build its roster and consistently win championships at the FCS level?
A: “Arizona has brought in 23 transfers on their roster; NDSU has five. It’s just not what NDSU likes to do. They rarely bring in transfers, maybe one or two a year. They just like to go the high school route and develop kids. One of the advantages of FCS is that you can take a 6-5, 240-pound high school offensive lineman, give him a partial scholarship and next thing you know he’s 6-5, 305 (pounds) and he’s developed over three years. You can take chances on guys like that. … That is an advantage that FCS has, and that’s why NDSU has been good on the offensive line.”
How many Bison fans are you expecting to be at Arizona Stadium on Saturday?
A: “I’m hearing 10,000, something around there. You have to remember, we live in the frigid arctic. There’s a lot of people who have homes in the Phoenix area and head south in the winter. If you don’t have a home, you know someone who does. Plus, this is the first FBS game in six years. … FBS games are what a lot of people are living for as far as travel budget, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 10,000 fans down there.”
