Arizona Aftermath: Storylines, stats and quotes from the Wildcats' win over Kansas State

Arizona bent, but it didn’t break in its 23-17 win over Kansas State Friday night in Tucson.

An eventful and wacky third quarter briefly derailed Arizona, however, the UA’s stifling defense propelled the host Wildcats to outlast the visiting Wildcats from Manhattan.

Arizona is 3-0 for the first time since 2015 and is one win away from matching its win total from last season.

Here are notable storylines, statistics and quotes, among other pertinent information, from Arizona’s win over Kansas State.

Arizona answers challenge

Even though Arizona bested Kansas State in total yards (412-193), first downs (21-8), total plays (79-53) and time of possession (36:20-23:40), KSU had several chances to take control of the game — courtesy of blunders by the UA.

With just over nine minutes left in the first quarter, Arizona punt returner Jeremiah Patterson, who signaled for a fair catch, was knocked down by UA cornerback Marquis Groves-Killebrew and muffed the punt; K-State recovered it and took over at the UA 23-yard line.

Arizona’s defense answered with a tackle for loss by cornerback Michael Dansby and defensive end Malachi Bailey, an incomplete pass and a combined sack for defensive back Treydan Stukes and defensive tackle Deshawn McKnight to force a 3-and-out and Kansas State to settle for a 51-yard field goal.

The field goal gave Kansas State its only lead of the game, and Arizona answered with 17 straight points to take a two-touchdown lead at halftime.

KSU started the third quarter with a 75-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Jayce Brown, who took the snap in “Wildcat” formation and ran to the right off tackle for the longest play of the night. Arizona safety Genesis Smith took a misstep and Brown bursted through the second and third levels of Arizona’s defense untouched for the touchdown.

On the following possession, Arizona punter Michael Salgado-Medina dropped the snap, which led to a blocked punt and the ball sputtering before linebacker Taye Brown scooped up the ball and returned the loose ball to the 13-yard line and prevented a safety or touchdown for Kansas State. Starting inside the red zone, Kansas State capitalized on the shortened field and quarterback Avery Johnson scored on a goal-line run to tie the game, 17-17.

Arizona receiver Javin Whatley took a handoff from quarterback Noah Fifita and attempted a pass to tight end Keyan Burnett — his first target of the season — and the UA’s leading receiver became the team’s leader in interceptions after underthrowing Burnett near the right sideline. KSU defensive back Qua Moss intercepted Whatley.

Adversity hit Arizona’s offense, defense and special teams units like a freight train to start the second half. Arizona held a two-touchdown lead, and in less than five minutes in the second half, the UA was in danger of falling behind.

Like a prized fighter, Arizona responded to Kansas State’s haymakers and landed critical punches in the final rounds.

Kansas State’s final five drives after its second touchdown of the night resulted in a punt, turnover on downs, punt, turnover on downs and turnover on downs. Kansas State converted 3 of 17 third- and fourth-down plays.

“When you’re playing a football program as good as Kansas State, there’s going to be some back-and-forth,” said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. “Those guys have won a lot of football games for a really long time, they’re extremely well-coached, they have good players, so there’s going to be some back-and-forth.

“What I love is the response because we had two ugly plays back-to-back and then we responded in all three phases. That’s what good teams do: when something goes wrong, you respond. That’s redline. You saw it. You saw it in the effort, you saw it in the execution and you saw it in the accountability.”

Smith shrugged off the potential touchdown-saving in the third quarter and led Arizona in tackles (8) and pass breakups (3) — two of the pass breakups were during Kansas State’s final drive of the game.

“Miss a play? Miss a tackle? I gotta respond,” Smith said. “I felt like I responded well.”

When Arizona faced Kansas State last season, KSU had a 31-point avalanche to end the game following Dylan Edwards’ punt return for a touchdown. Bad plays snowballing was a common theme in the Wildcats’ disastrous season a year ago. So far, that doesn’t appear to be the case with the current rendition of Arizona.

“There’s definitely been a lot of growth this year as far as responding,” Smith said. “It’s showing out there. ... I feel like the tape shows.”

Mahdi, Fifita power Arizona on the ground

Friday night had flashbacks to the season opener against Hawaii. Arizona had a balanced approach on offense, but the rushing attack was a difference maker — and it was the one-two punch of Fifita and senior running back Ismail Mahdi.

Despite a season-low completion percentage (48.5%), completing 16 of 33 passes for 178 yards, Fifita doubled his rushing touchdown total Friday night with a pair of rushing touchdowns.

Fifita’s first touchdown run was a 15-yarder in the first quarter. His second touchdown was a 2-yard run that was initially ruled down at the 1-yard line, but Fifita broke the plane with the nose of the ball for a touchdown. Fifita had a career-high in rushing yards (48) and carries (15) on Friday.

“That’s one of those things about Noah that we’ve known and we see it on display every day: the kid is a competitor,” Brennan said. “He’s a Class A, big-time competitor — and he doesn’t care how it looks. He doesn’t care if he has to throw it, hand it or run it himself, but he’s going to orchestrate it.

“I think that adds another element to us that makes us dangerous, and I think (offensive coordinator Seth Doege) is doing a good job of putting him in those situations, and Noah has played a lot of football and he’s settling in and finding those moments where those opportunities present themselves and he’s taking advantage of it.”

Added Mahdi: “That’s lethal. They gotta account for him. He’s a baller, I love that guy. He plays great. To be able to use his feet, that defense gotta read him and not just focus on the (running back). It’s very important.”

Mahdi finished with 189 yards on 22 carries yards and had runs of 60 yards, 34 yards and 15 yards. Former UA safety Gunner Maldonado prevented Mahdi’s 60-yard run from resulting in a touchdown.

Mahdi produced the most rushing yards by an Arizona running back since Michael Wiley’s 214-yard, four-touchdown performance in the 2022 Territorial Cup. Mahdi’s 189 rushing yards are the most for a college football running back against a Power 4 team this season. His 221 all-purpose yards out-gained Kansas State’s entire offense.

Arizona running back Kedrick Reescano missed his second straight game with a leg injury and Quincy Craig was limited due to a shoulder injury, according to the Fox broadcast. With Mahdi in a more prominent role, the former all-purpose All-American and Texas State transfer had his breakout moment at the UA.

“It felt like the games at Texas State, just getting the ball,” Mahdi said. “I’m used to it. I’ve played a lot of snaps in my career. I’m used to what I displayed out there.”

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Mahdi also had a drive-extending 27-yard gain on a check-down pass from quarterback Noah Fifita to convert a third-and-15 in the fourth quarter. Mahdi caught the pass at the Arizona 43-yard line and was tackled at the KSU 30-yard line.

“He threw the ball to me, I got it and got vertical, made a play,” Mahdi said.

Mahdi had the second-most receiving yards (32) for Arizona behind Chris Hunter (37).

“I’m so proud of that kid,” Brennan said of Mahdi. “What an awesome human being he is. ... Ish just kept showing up and ripping off big runs with physicality and finished, receivers were blocking down field. There was a lot of good there.”

Battle of the trenches

Before every team dinner leading up to a game, Brennan chooses a position group to get their food first.

“At our team meal tonight, I told our team that this game is going to be won up front,” Brennan said. “’O-Line, D-Line, you eat first,’ which is dangerous because you don’t know if there’s going to be anything left.”

Arizona’s defensive line had help from the UA’s four-linebacker lineup that featured Taye Brown, Max Harris, Chase Kennedy and Jabari Mann. Kennedy and Arizona defensive tackle Deshawn McKnight combined for six quarterback hurries — half of Arizona’s total as a defense on Friday — according to Pro Football Focus.

“Just getting our best guys out there at all times,” Smith said of Arizona’s four-linebacker lineup. “Mixing and matching different personnel is great. How they can mix and match different personnel on offense, we can do the same on defense. I felt like that was a really smart move by (defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales) and the (defensive) staff.”

Arizona switched up the offensive line and had a starting lineup of left tackle Ty Buchanan, left guard Chubba Ma’ae, center Ka’ena Decambra, right guard Alexander Doost and right tackle Rhino Tapa’atoutai, who made his second start of the season. Brennan said Tapa’atoutai, who split reps with Tristan Bounds, is on a “pitch count” as he continues to work his way back from a knee injury.

Four UA offensive linemen were penalized against Kansas State. Tapa’atoutai had three holding penalties in the first half; he has four in two games. Decambra had a snap infraction, Bounds had a false start penalty and Buchanan and Ma’ae, who made his first start at left guard, were also flagged for holding.

“In terms of the offensive line, I know we have some work to do, but I’m excited about their progress,” Brennan said. “I really am. I think that has shown up in the first three games. ... I saw that group continue to answer and answer every time on both sides of the ball.”

Brennan was encouraged by Arizona’s run-blocking and said Mahdi “doesn’t make those plays without that offensive front blocking the way they had to against a team that’s normally hard to block.”

“Those guys are freaking good, man,” Brennan said of Kansas State’s defensive line. “I’m really excited about how they responded.”

By the numbers

7: Arizona’s defense has seven shutout quarters — over half (58%) of the 12 total quarters played — this season.

118: Excluding Kansas State’s 75-yard touchdown run, KSU had 118 yards of total offense — 44 yards in the first half.

0: Between the first half on Friday and the previous two games, Arizona didn’t allow a touchdown. Arizona allowed just 12 points and no touchdowns in the first 10 quarters of the season. Last season, Arizona surrendered 63 points and eight touchdowns in the first 10 quarters.

2: Tackles for Maldonado in his return to Tucson.

11,581: Days since Kansas State last played in Tucson, which wasn’t against the UA. Kansas State won the Copper Bowl in 1993 at Arizona Stadium — the first-ever postseason victory for KSU. Kansas State routed Wyoming 52-17 for the first of nine bowl victories for Kansas State under longtime head coach Bill Snyder.

They said it

Smith, on Arizona’s third- and fourth-down defense: “We emphasized throughout the week knowing what’s coming before it happens with down and distance. ... And just getting off the field. That’s a championship down, so we gotta get off the field. We felt like we did well in that.”

Smith, on Arizona’s test against Kansas State: “We know this game was going to be tougher compared to our first couple of games. Each and every game is a faceless opponent. We’re going to attack our preparation the same each and every day, so I feel like we did that and our results showed.”

Mahdi, on Arizona’s preparation: “It doesn’t matter if it’s the Chicago Bears or Tucson High, we’re going to go out there and play our brand of football, which is redline.”

Brennan, on Salgado-Medina’s three missed field goals and dropped punt: “I got faith in Michael. He had two bad plays, but then he responded and hit that field goal after that. I believe in that young man and he’s going to be a great player here for years to come.”

Brennan, on Arizona’s defense: “Any time you hold any Division I team to under 200 yards of total offense, that’s a special night. That is a hell of a football night. Our defensive staff and those players should be ecstatic. We’re ecstatic for them because that’s big time. ... We gotta give the defense their flowers. That was awesome.”

Injury report

Stukes, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Big 12 opener against Utah last season, made his season debut and started in the UA secondary. It marked Stukes’ first game in 349 days.

“That’s my guy,” Smith said of Stukes. “I was super happy to be out there with him. I wish he was out there more, but I know Gavin Hunter is going to hold it down. Gav has really, really stepped up. I’m proud of both of them and I know we have a lot of dogs in the secondary.”

Arizona defensive end Tre Smith went through pregame warmups and was dressed, but sat out on Friday. Smith suffered a leg injury in Arizona’s win over Weber State last week.

Reescano missed his second straight game with a leg injury. Despite making his debut last week, linebacker Riley Wilson missed Friday’s game due to injury.

What’s Next

Arizona enters a bye week before its Big 12 opener against the 14th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday, Sept. 27, in Ames. Arizona is 3-1-1 all-time against Iowa State. The Wildcats won the previous two meetings in 1968 and 1966. Arizona’s only trip to Iowa State was in 1968.

Photos: Arizona notches a 23-17 win over Kansas State, NCAA football