Let’s not misconstrue Jedd Fisch’s message.
The Arizona Wildcats are halfway through his second season. They’re 3-3. He isn’t satisfied with that record. But it’s a lot better than where they were at the same point last year, and isn’t that the goal?
“I’m actually happy with the way our team is playing right now,” said Fisch, whose squad opens the second half of the season Saturday at Washington. “I think our team is happy with the way they’re playing.”
That doesn’t mean they’re happy with every aspect of the way they’re playing. The defense has gotten torched in two of the past three games. The offense has moved the ball but turned it over too much. The special teams are coming off their best outing after some so-so performances.
But there are tangible signs of progress.
“You’re gonna always try to win every game you play,” Fisch said. “But we just played a team (Oregon) that’s 5-1. ... We felt really good about the way we played against Colorado. We lost to Colorado 34-0 (last year); we came back and we beat them 43-20 the next year. We lost to San Diego State 38-14 and came back and beat them 38-20. We played the FCS national champions (North Dakota State), who haven’t lost since, and beat them at the end of the game. We put up 31 points against Cal where a year ago we put up 10.
“So I think that our team is getting better. Our team has unbelievable personality traits, work ethic. They’re doing fantastic in the classroom. They’re doing fantastic in the community. And they’re very young.”
Two of Arizona’s losses came against teams currently ranked in the top 16 in the Associated Press poll — No. 12 Oregon and No. 16 Mississippi State. They’re a combined 10-2.
Two of Arizona’s victories came against teams that were favored to beat them — San Diego State and NDSU. In retrospect, the oddsmakers overrated the Aztecs. Still, it was a road game against a program coming off a 12-win season and opening a new stadium — a quality victory by any standard.
The only game Arizona didn’t win that it could/should have was the Cal contest. The Wildcats had a 24-21 lead and the ball to start the second half. They couldn’t capitalize. It might be the game they look back upon with regret if they fall short of a bowl berth
Arizona coach Jedd Fisch has a few words with quarterback Jayden de Laura before the Wildcats took possession in last week’s loss to Oregon.
‘Going in the right direction’
But here’s the thing about that: No one outside the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility expected Arizona to even contend for a bowl berth this season.
The initial over/under win total for the 2022 Wildcats was 2.5. It inched up to three. If you bet it, the worst case is a push.
An argument can be made that Arizona is ahead of schedule. Again, though, if you’ve been paying close attention to Fisch’s messaging, that isn’t necessarily part of the plan.
“I’m excited about the build,” Fisch said, repeating a phrase he’s uttered countless times this year. “We’ve talked about trusting the process of getting better. Last year at the halfway point we were 0-6; this year we’re 3-3. We’ve had some really good games. We’ve played good football.
“Our red-zone offense is far better. We’re giving up less explosive plays than we gave up. We have more takeaways at the halfway point this year than we had all of last year.
“I believe that we’re going in the right direction. We have a lot of recruits that want to be a part of our program. We have a lot of people that want to be here. We’re also ... at the very beginning stages of where we want to take it. We want to build this program into a championship-level program, into a program that we see Oregon at right now or Utah.”
Fisch ticked off several requirements to achieve that objective, including player development, player retention and staff continuity. But one aspect trumps them all: recruiting.
Before and after the Oregon game, Fisch alluded to the Ducks’ annual excellence in that area. Arizona reeled in a top-25 class in the most recent recruiting cycle, the first of its kind since 2006. Oregon has had six such classes in a row, and its 2023 class is ranked 13th by 247Sports.com.
“They are a very good outfit right now,” Fisch said. “They’re playing at a very high level, and we are doing everything we can to build our program to be able to have the years of sustained success that they have (had).
“They have certainly had years upon years of recruiting very, very good players; very, very big players; very, very strong players. So we’re going to continue to build our program up in that same regard. And as we’re building it, we know that there’s going to be some lumps that we have to take.”
Arizona’s defense was all smiles during their win over Colorado two weeks ago. The solid showing was sandwiched by struggles to contain both Cal and Oregon. The Wildcats will take on Washington on Saturday in Seattle.
Lingering issue
While assessing his team at the midway point, Fisch noted the Wildcats’ improved statistical ranks on offense. He didn’t offer similar numbers for the defense. Besides takeaways, they’re hard to find.
Defense is the puzzle Fisch and his staff have yet to solve, and they’re hardly unique in that regard. Arizona has struggled on that side of the ball for a long time. Last year’s Don Brown-coached unit was the first to allow less than 400 yards per game over a full season since 2010.
The defense has regressed in recent weeks under first-time coordinator Johnny Nansen, who’s been probing for solutions. He’s tweaking the starting lineup vs. Washington. He’s also emphasizing simplicity after his defenders looked flummoxed against Oregon’s shifts and unbalanced formations.
“As a coach, you’ve got to put them in position,” Nansen said. “So I’ve got to do a better job — make sure they understand where their fit’s gonna be and then, overall, what they’re gonna face during the game.
“Every week is a different offense. So trying to keep things simple and allow the guys to play is the biggest thing.”
Nansen added that he doesn’t want to “sit in one defense” all the time, so it’s a tricky balance. Regardless of what it looks like, significant improvement is needed on that side of the ball for the Wildcats to achieve Fisch’s long-term goals.
He speaks often about playing “complementary football,” something Arizona has failed to do consistently during his tenure. In the simplest terms, it means stringing scores and stops together.
Fisch pointed to missed opportunities against Cal and Oregon. In both games, the Wildcats had windows to create double-figure leads, couldn’t do so and ended up losing.
When they can do it on a regular basis, Fisch will be truly happy with the program’s progress.
