Arizona Aftermath: Stats, storylines and quotes from the Wildcats' win over New Mexico

It wasn’t a stress-free contest to open up the Brent Brennan era at Arizona, but the No. 21-ranked Wildcats handled their business against New Mexico on Saturday, beating the Lobos 61-39 at Arizona Stadium.

Here are notable storylines, statistics and quotes from the Wildcats’ win over the Lobos:

T-Mac’s historic day

Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita claimed that his longtime buddy Tetairoa McMillan is not only the best wide receiver in college football but the best player in college football overall.

McMillan certainly looked the part of being one of the best players in the country Saturday. After spending the last four months rehabbing and recovering from a leg injury he suffered in the latter part of the spring practice schedule, McMillan showed the best version of himself and put up the best statistical performance ever by an Arizona receiver.

McMillan set a school record with 304 receiving yards on 10 catches and four touchdowns, which tied the UA record. It’s also the second-most receiving yards in Big 12 history behind Baylor’s Terrance Williams (314 yards).

McMillan is the first player in FBS history to have 10-plus catches, over 300 receiving yards, average over 30 yards per catch and have four or more touchdowns in a game, according to OptaStats. McMillan’s 176 yards after catch alone would’ve been the second-most receiving yards by the star receiver since joining Arizona. In the last three games, including his 266-yard performance against Arizona State last season, McMillan has 31 catches for 730 yards and five touchdowns.

“He’s the best player in the country and his statistics showed that,” said Fifita, who passed for 422 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.

McMillan’s four touchdowns on Saturday were for 69, 17, 78, and 40 yards.

“Those big, explosive (plays) were just incredible,” Brennan said. “He outran the whole secondary on that big one down the sideline. He’s awesome and an awesome competitor. He’s also not satisfied, like, ‘We can play better.’ It’s what you hope for.”

Although Arizona was hoping to find other playmaking pass-catchers to complement McMillan, no matter how many times New Mexico adjusted its defense to cancel McMillan’s explosive plays, he found a way to break open. According to Pro Football Focus, the 6-5 McMillan played nine snaps at slot receiver on Saturday.

“They did a really nice job moving him around,” New Mexico head coach Bronco Mendenhall told the Albuquerque Journal. “We didn’t have answers — not effective answers. And when we did, we didn’t execute them well enough.”

McMillan is now 944 yards away from passing Arizona wide receivers coach Bobby Wade for most career receiving yards by a Wildcat.

“I told Coach Bobby when he first got here, ‘Get comfortable being second,’” McMillan told the ESPN broadcast after the game. “Me personally, I think he’s the best receiver in Arizona history. He tells all the time that records are supposed to be broken, and I’m coming for that top spot.”

Defense shakes off wobbly performance

New Mexico’s 39 points are the most Arizona has allowed in a regulation game since its loss to Utah in 2022. The Lobos’ 471 yards of total offense are the most Arizona has surrendered in a regular-season game since its loss to national runner-up Washington last season.

Arizona had 16 missed tackles on Saturday, according to PFF, and struggled to contain dual-threat quarterback Devon Dampier, who was responsible for 83% of New Mexico’s offense with 390 total yards. Brennan linked the missed tackles to Arizona holding back on “live football” in practice “because you’re concerned about losing a good player and not getting him to the game.”

The Wildcats also played 13 defensive linemen on Saturday, and only one of them, Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei, who started at defensive tackle, was a part of Arizona’s rotation throughout the entirety of last season. After replacing nine scholarship defensive linemen last season, the Wildcats sometimes platooned the defensive line.

Arizona defensive backs Genesis Smith and Treydan Stukes each had two interceptions, which unsheathed the UA’s turnover sword, but the Wildcats still have plenty of room for improvement on defense.

“Our defense is fantastic,” said Fifita. “People can say what they want about them. But they’re fighters and they’re always going to get back, because of the leaders on that team, which is (defensive coordinator Duane Akina) and Jacob Manu. No worries about that. We know when we struggle, they’re going to pick us up as well.”

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Loop sets personal record

Arizona senior kicker Tyler Loop made both of his field-goal attempts, including a career-long 54 yards in the second quarter. His predecessor, Lucas Havrisik, owns the record with two 57-yard field goals.

Loop easily made a 46-yarder to give Arizona a 27-24 lead going into the halftime break. He was also a perfect 7 for 7 on PATs, and all 11 of his kickoff attempts were touchbacks.

“He’s such a powerful and confident kid and I’m really happy for him,” Brennan said. “He had a great night.”

By the numbers

8: Arizona has now won eight straight games going back to last season, which is its most since the end of the 1997 season and start of the ’98 season.

627: Yards of total offense for Arizona, which is tied for the eighth-most for a UA team.

106: Rushing yards for Arizona running back and former Lobo Jacory Croskey-Merritt.

3: Touchdowns by running back Quali Conley scored on Saturday, a career-high for the San Jose State transfer. Former UA running back Jonah Coleman also scored three touchdowns, along with 127 rushing yards, in Washington’s 35-3 win over Weber State to help ex-Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch secure his first win at UW.

44,748: Announced attendance at Arizona Stadium.

They said it

Brennan, on his message to the team at halftime: “The biggest thing I talked to them (about) was, ‘Stop worrying about the outcome and worry about right now. Stop looking at the scoreboard — just play football.’ ... Everyone can play. Some teams are better than others. Some teams have better players than others, but everyone can play.”

Fifita, on starting off the Brennan era with a win: “It’s a big-time win for the team and we’re extremely excited about it. We’re not content. There’s a lot of things we gotta fix on both sides of the ball. Offensively, too many mental errors on my part. I gotta be better in that phase. We’ll learn from it, we’ll get better, but we’re extremely excited to get Coach Brennan his first win.”

Conley, on Arizona’s 177 rushing yards in the second half after rushing for 28 in the first half: “We felt like we weren’t being physical enough. We went into halftime talking about, ‘We have to run the ball efficiently.’ We came out and did that.”

Conley, on walk-on and former Canyon del Oro star Kayden Luke, who was a fullback and blocker on three touchdown runs: “We call him Big Red. He’s just energetic and comes out with juice. Every time he comes in, the whole offense gets pumped because he put in the work during practice and in the weight room. He’s a freshman, state champion in wrestling and his presence helps the offense.”

Fifita, on overcoming the first-half struggles: “We learned that we can go through adversity. We learned that when tough times come, we can lean on each other. At the end of the day, we still have the ability to win. ... You will all see a much more disciplined and much better team throughout the rest of the season.”

Injury report

Arizona left tackle Rhino Tapa’toutai, in his first game as the successor to Jordan Morgan, exited the game with a leg injury. Arizona’s tackles to end the game on Saturday were freshman Matthew Lado and Jonah Savaiinaea.

Safety Gunner Maldonado left the game after playing 45 snaps. 

After missing most of training camp, right guard Leif Magnuson returned to the lineup in the first half after San Jose State transfer Ryan Stewart started the first few drives.

Memphis transfer defensive lineman Jarra Anderson, Oregon transfer tackle Michael Wooten, second-year linebacker Leviticus Su’a and junior-college transfer cornerback Johno Price were held out.

Looking ahead

The Wildcats (1-0) face in-state FCS counterpart Northern Arizona (1-0) on Saturday in Tucson, which will only be available to watch on ESPN+. The Lumberjacks beat Lincoln, an independent travel-ball college in Oakland, California, 66-6 in Flagstaff in their season opener Saturday.

Following McMillan’s performance, the Arizona receiver will be in contention for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. Loop could also receive Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

Photos: Arizona Wildcats defeat New Mexico 61-39 in '24 college football opener