It was closer than the oddsmakers predicted, but the No. 20-ranked Arizona Wildcats pulled out a 22-10 win over in-state foe Northern Arizona on Saturday in Tucson.
As the Wildcats prepare for a shortened week against 14th-ranked Kansas State, here are notable storylines, statistics and quotes from Arizona’s latest victory over NAU:
Northern Arizona cornerback DJ VanHook, right, tries to slow down Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan in the third quarter of their Sept. 7 matchup at Arizona Stadium. For the game, NAU did just that, keeping McMillan to just two catches and 11 yards receiving despite the 22-10 UA victory.
Tale of two games
Arizona has played two games, but it has yet to play a complete game.
Here are some of the most notable disparities in Arizona’s offensive production between the first two games of the season against New Mexico and NAU:
- Total yards: New Mexico, 627; NAU, 361
- Touchdowns: New Mexico, eight; NAU, two
- Points: New Mexico, 61; NAU, 22
- Big passing plays (15-plus yards): New Mexico, 11 for 362 yards; NAU, four for 82 yards
- Third-down conversions: New Mexico, 8 for 12; NAU, 0 for 10
It's the first Arizona didn't have a third-down conversion since its loss to Washington State in 2003.
“Oh, my goodness, I didn’t know it was that bad. That hurts,” UA head coach Brent Brennan said of Arizona’s third-down conversions. “Obviously we’re going to have trouble beating anybody if we’re that (bad.) That’s something we have to go to work on.”
Senior running back Quali Conley, who had 166 all-purpose yards (112 rushing) against the Lumberjacks, said Arizona “wasn’t playing hard enough” on third down.
“The defense took control of the game and I just feel like the offense can do better. ... We weren’t connecting on nothing,” Conley said. “There’s room to improve.”
A game after Tetairoa McMillan had a school-record 304 yards and four touchdowns on 10 catches, Arizona’s star receiver had two catches for a career-low 11 yards on six targets on Saturday.
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita passed for 173 yards, one touchdown and an interception. It’s the fewest yards for Fifita as a starter — and the first time the Arizona quarterback has thrown fewer than 200 yards since become the starter.
“We gotta put it together, huh? That’s what I would say,” Brennan said. “We struggled to find a rhythm offensively tonight, which is something we’re going to work on.”
Last week, Arizona’s offense carried the Wildcats to a victory, as the defense surrendered the most points (39) since the 2022 season, which was also the last time the Wildcats played a game without a sack.
Arizona’s defense pitched a shutout in the second half and held the Lumberjacks to 88 yards of total offense in the final two periods. NAU had 198 yards of total offense, which is the first time Arizona allowed fewer than 200 yards since the win over Cal in 2021 that ended the Wildcats’ 20-game losing streak.
Arizona linebacker Jacob Manu (5) chases down an NAU fumble in the fourth quarter of their game at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., September 7, 2024.
Preseason All-Big 12 linebacker Jacob Manu recorded a career-high 14 tackles against NAU, while sophomore linebacker Taye Brown also had a career-high in tackles (11). Nose tackle Chubba Ma’ae’s safety early in the fourth quarter led to running back Kedrick Reescano’s 56-yard touchdown run, the first of his career, to deliver the knockout punch.
Arizona’s missed tackles dropped from 14 to eight between the first two games, according to PFF. Arizona nickel back Treydan Stukes, after giving up eight catches for 96 yards in pass coverage, allowed two receptions for minus-9 yards.
“I think that was a great response from us. We emphasized all week that we need to do our job, be ourselves and I thought we did a really good job of that,” Stukes said. “I’m really proud of the guys out there.”
Although the defense “responded really well, held them to 10 points and shut them out in the second half,” the Wildcats “gotta go back to work,” Brennan said.
“I’m happy as hell we’re 2-0 and we’ve got a big game on Friday night in a short week,” said Brennan. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to figure out in a short window.”
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita gets off his throw with the pocket closing down around him against Northern Arizona in the first quarter of the Wildcats' win over the Lumberjacks Saturday at Arizona Stadium.
O-Line shuffle
Arizona’s offensive woes on Saturday were linked to the protection for Fifita. Brennan said the pocket for Fifita “was a little less clean.”
As expected, left tackle Rhino Tapa’toutai was sidelined with a leg injury and right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea moved over to Tapa’toutai’s spot for Saturday. It was expected for freshman and Phoenix-area product Matthew Lado, who was thrust into the game against New Mexico, to start at right tackle, but while the 6-6, 292-pound Lado “is going to be a great player, he’s just really young,” Brennan said.
“He was at senior prom six months ago,” Brennan said. “Even though he’s a big man, he’s still a young man. He’s developing, and there’s a developmental process to getting good at college football.”
Arizona started the “more experienced” Ryan Stewart, a San Jose State transfer who started last week at right guard, at right tackle, with right guard Leif Magnuson, left guard Wendell Moe and redshirt sophomore center Grayson Stovall making his first-career start in place of senior Josh Baker, who ended his 28-game start streak for an injury.
Although Arizona’s offensive line carved lanes for the Wildcats to run for 188 yards, pass protection against a blitz-focused NAU defense was wobbly and often forced Fifita to scramble outside of the pocket or quickly throw the ball, which doesn’t bode well for Arizona’s first true test against Kansas State.
“I think we need to evaluate on film and see how we looked, see if there’s anything we can do schematically or formationally to give us a better chance to find rhythm,” Brennan said of Arizona’s offensive line. “I also thought they did some good stuff and made some plays. We popped some runs when we needed to and had some good protection, hit some throws. But the consistency wasn’t what we liked it to be.”
Streaking Cats
Arizona won its ninth straight game, which is now the longest active winning streak in college football after No. 10 Michigan fell to No. 3 Texas.
The winning streak “is a testament to everyone who joined the program as the years have gone, and just trusting the process, trusting the brotherhood, believing in one another,” Stukes said.
“We’ve had a couple of new (coaching) staffs and it doesn’t matter,” said Stukes, who has been at Arizona since 2020 and was a part of the 20-game losing streak between the ’20 and ’21 seasons. “The guys in that locker room are high-level guys and high-quality people. It’s just a testament to that.”
Arizona wide receiver Jeremiah Patterson is hoisted in the air after scoring against NAU in the third quarter Saturday. UA now owns the longest winning streak in the nation at nine games.
By the numbers
10: After playing 13 defensive linemen against New Mexico, the Wildcats used 10 on Saturday. Edge rushers Chase Kennedy and Tre Smith each played 44 total snaps, while junior Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei logged 43 defensive plays, according to Pro Football Focus. Ma’ae played 34 defensive snaps, per PFF.
7: Arizona kicker Tyler Loop made seven straight field goals before missing a 27-yard chip shot against NAU.
3: Receptions for slot receiver Jeremiah Patterson and tight end Tyler Powell, a career-high for both. Patterson ran through two NAU defenders near the Arizona sideline for a 17-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
28: With two road games coming up and a bye week in between, the Wildcats won’t have a home game until Oct. 5 against Texas Tech, 28 days from Saturday.
Injury report
Arizona had several key players out with injuries on Saturday between Tapa’toutai, Baker, safety Gunner Maldonado and wide receiver Reymello Murphy.
Starting running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt didn’t play after a “concern raised about his eligibility” arose leading up to the game, after the New Mexico transfer rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown in his UA debut.
“We’re just being overcautious with that and we made that determination (Friday),” Brennan said.
Arizona linebacker Justin Flowe slams into Northern Arizona wide receiver Isaiah Eastman despite his having signaled a fair catch on a punt in the fourth quarter.
They said it
Brennan, on Arizona’s 19 penalties for 195 yards in two games, which currently ranks as the seventh-worst in FBS: “Way too much of that. What we’re going to learn — and hopefully not the hard way — is we have to play football the right way or it’s going to cost us an opportunity or cost us a game. Those lessons are hard to learn, but it’s good to learn when you win.”
Brennan, on his halftime message with Arizona trailing 10-6: “’Stop worrying about the scoreboard — just play! Play!’ I think that’s a hard thing for young people nowadays, because they’re so outcome-focused. There’s a process to winning a football game, and that’s what we need to focus on. ... Nothing is less important than the score at halftime.”
Brennan, on Reescano’s touchdown run: “I was so happy for him. It was his first college touchdown. That was just fantastic. I thought he did a nice job, had some nice runs and ran hard. He gave us something in the second half and he got going a little. To see his big body turn the corner and outrun everybody was awesome.”
Looking ahead
The Wildcats will now face their first ranked opponent of the season when they face 14th-ranked Kansas State on Friday for their first game against a Big 12 opponent. It’s a nonconference game that is part of a home-and-home series that was scheduled in 2016.
KSU climbed three spots in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll after beating Tulane in New Orleans. Arizona is an 8.5-point underdog, according to Action Network.
No. 20 Arizona (2-0) faces No. 14 Kansas State (2-0) at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas, on Friday at 5 p.m. on Fox.
