Arizona Aftermath: Storylines, stats and quotes from the Wildcats' loss to ASU

The Arizona Wildcats ended their disappointing season with a 49-7 loss to 16th-ranked Arizona State, which punched its ticket to the Big 12 championship game in Arlington, Texas, where it’ll face No. 18 Iowa State.

As the Wildcats prepare for the offseason, here are pertinent storylines, statistics and quotes from Arizona’s season-ending loss to its rival.

Arizona no-shows in season finale

Not only did Arizona (4-8) finish the season with its worst win drop-off in a quarter of a century, when it went from 12-1 to 6-6 in 1998 and ’99, the Wildcats weren’t even competitive in a majority of their losses this season, including Saturday’s beatdown by ASU.

In Arizona’s lightning-in-a-bottle season that ended with a 10-3 record and a win over perennial power Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl last year, the Wildcats lost three games by a combined 16 points — two of those games went into overtime on the road, while the home loss was to the national runner-up in Washington.

Arizona lost eight games by a combined 191 points this season. Arizona had two one-possession losses this season: Texas Tech and West Virginia. The other margins of defeat were 24, 22, 27, 44, 21 and 42 points.

However, even in Arizona’s 21-point loss to TCU last week in Fort Worth, the Wildcats were within a possession until the defense unraveled just before the second half. The Wildcats weren’t remotely competitive against their in-state counterpart and trailed 35-0 before scoring. The effort “was really good last week and I thought today wasn’t good enough — and I also think we played a team that whooped our butts,” said first-year Arizona head coach Brent Brennan.

“I think that’s what we’re all sick about, is how that thing felt,” Brennan said.

ASU “got after us in every way,” Brennan added.

“For us to be so unproductive today is soul-crushing,” said Brennan.

The Sun Devils out-gained Arizona 643-210, including 390-57 in the first half; it’s the second-fewest yards the UA has produced in a Territorial Cup game. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita threw for a career-low 126 yards and a touchdown with a 48.3% completion rate. Fifita didn’t have one game with a completion rate under 60% last year; he had four this season. ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt completed 17 of 22 passes (77%) for 291 yards and three touchdowns.

For the third time in the final four games, Arizona rushed for under 100 yards, while ASU running back Cam Skattebo, the Bob Moran Territorial Cup Player of the Game, had 177 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The game plan to contain Skattebo, one of the top rushers in the Big 12, “didn’t go as planned,” said UA defensive end Tre Smith.

“We know he’s a great player and they’ve got a great offense,” Smith said. “The mission was to stop the run, make him bounce and keep him going sideways. ... Best way to put it, they just out-executed us in all phases, to be honest with you. That’s what it comes down to. I’m just going to be pretty blunt with it. They out-executed us and we have to improve.”

ASU out-classing Arizona was the final stamp for “a really hard year,” said Brennan.

“This year was not fun,” said the Arizona coach. “It was absolute misery. There were some fun moments, but not nearly enough. I feel bad, because I feel like I let down these players, I let down this community and I feel like I let down this university.”

Injury pileup

A major component to Arizona’s downfall this season was “extreme circumstances with injuries,” Brennan said. Arizona endured a plethora of injuries, including three season-ending injuries to defensive captains in preseason All-Big 12 linebacker Jacob Manu, safety Gunner Maldonado and nickel back Treydan Stukes, who defensive coordinator Duane Akina called “the best-kept secret in college football.”

Left tackle Rhino Tapa’atoutai went down with a season-ending leg injury and his replacement, UA star Jonah Savaiinaea, who moved over from right tackle, missed his likely last game as a Wildcat due to a leg injury he suffered last week at TCU. Savaiinaea suited up and was a team captain for the pregame coin toss, along with Stukes, Maldonado and center Josh Baker, who was the only one of the four to play on Saturday.

“We were hopeful he could go,” Brennan said. “He never took real reps in practice. He did some movement and we thought there was a chance he’d be able to, but then in his warmup today, he just couldn’t (move).”

A year after Arizona’s starting tackles were Savaiinaea and first-round NFL Draft pick Jordan Morgan in the Territorial Cup, the Wildcats’ tackles were redshirt sophomore Michael Wooten and Joey Capra, who was out of football until Arizona added him in August. Arizona added more to its injury list during the game on Saturday, with safety Jack Luttrell leaving the game and receiver Devin Hyatt going down with a gruesome foot injury that required surgery Sunday morning. UA cornerback and potential draft pick Tacario Davis missed most of the second half with an injury.

Over three seasons, at three different positions, Savaiinaea played in every game leading up to Saturday. Arizona Stadium honored Savaiinaea’s playing career during the first quarter, with the assumption he’s leaving for the NFL.

“He’s an awesome football player and an even better person,” Brennan said of Savaiinaea. “Anyone who knows big Jonah know he has a huge heart, definitely a hard worker, crazy competitor and it’s so important to him. I’m excited for the next chapter for him.”

Savaiinaea wasn’t the only draft-eligible Wildcat honored in the first quarter on Saturday...

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T-Mac’s farewell

Arizona standout wide receiver and projected first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan avoided the in-season injury bug and played in all 37 games in the last three seasons since signing with the Wildcats as the highest-rated recruit in the modern recruiting era. He was also honored in the first quarter for his Arizona career.

McMillan, a Biletnikoff Award finalist, hauled in Arizona’s only touchdown of the game on Saturday and completed the day with six receptions for 68 yards. McMillan, a projected Top 10 draft pick, ended his UA career with a school-record 3,423 yards and 26 touchdowns, the third-most in program history. McMillan’s 213 career receptions ranks fourth in UA history behind Mike Thomas, Bobby Wade and Dennis Northcutt.

“He’s a Wildcat forever,” Brennan said. “He’s a great human being and everybody will always be rooting for T-Mac. Always.”

By the numbers

19: Combined tackles for Arizona linebacker Taye Brown and defensive back Genesis Smith. The Chandler natives and second-year players made their first Territorial Cup starts.

2,418: Snaps Savaiinaea has played at the UA, including 1,057 at right tackle, 985 at right guard and 345 at left tackle.

0: Arizona had zero trips to the red zone; ASU had five.

105: Yards after catch for ASU receiver Jordyn Tyson, who ended the game with eight catches for 143 yards and a touchdown.

They said it

Arizona running back Quali Conley, on former Wildcat and ASU defensive tackle Jacob Kongaika spearing a pitchfork in the “Block A” logo at Arizona Stadium, which caused a postgame skirmish: “That’s our field. Just doing that is disrespectful. The guys who stood up for us, I have the most respect for them. That’s just disrespect. ... That’s just uncalled for.”

Dillingham, on Tucson native and former Marana High School star Trenton Bourguet completing a pass to younger brother and ASU walk-on receiver Coben Bourguet in the fourth quarter: “I think everybody in here understands what Trenton means to the program, so I think that was common sense. That dude has done so much for this program, that family, so let’s give him an opportunity to go out and throw a (pass) to his brother. ... Him being from Tucson, having done that here, it’s a pretty special moment.”

Brennan, on the direction of the program: “You only have one choice when you’re in this position and that is to go to work and believe that you can. The other choice doesn’t lead to the results you want. The good news is, I’ve been a part of a lot of staffs that have taken over programs. I’m not afraid of the challenges ahead. I’m actually excited about it.”

Tre Smith, on the season: “It wasn’t exactly what we wanted and to say that there is no disappointed would be unrealistic. We’re all humans. Coach Brennan works tirelessly, and he’s a great dude. He knows what he’s talking about. We’re just working on getting it all together.”

Looking ahead

Arizona’s offseason is officially underway. The Wildcats will have a head start on the transfer portal, which officially opens on Dec. 9, and are hopeful to keep their 2025 recruiting class intact with the early-signing period beginning on Wednesday. Brennan said, “These next couple of weeks will be chaos in college football.”

“We’re working hard to build our roster, so we can play the best football we can possibly play here at the University of Arizona,” Brennan said.

Coaching changes are inevitable, too. Arizona offensive coordinator Dino Babers, who relinquished play-calling duties after the third game, is on a one-year contract and won’t require a buyout if the Wildcats decide to replace him.

Between staffers and players, “every aspect of the program is under evaluation,” Brennan said.

“This thing starts with me looking in the mirror and doing a hardcore evaluation of the choices and decisions I made and building that out with our entire program every step of the way,” Brennan said.

“The evaluation process begins.”

Photos: Arizona State overwhelms Arizona 49-7 in the 98th Territorial Cup