A quarter of the way through the inaugural season under head coach Brent Brennan, the Arizona Wildcats aren’t unscathed and no longer have the longest active winning streak in college football and a spot in the Associated Press Top 25 following a 24-point loss to Kansas State, but they do enter Big 12 play with a 2-1 record.
Before Arizona faces No. 12 Utah on Sept. 28 in Salt Lake City for the Wildcats’ Big 12 opener, the Wildcats will hit the reset button this week for the first bye of the season.
“I think the bye comes at a good time for us,” Brennan said Monday. “I think it gives us a chance to hopefully get a little bit healthy and clean up some of those things we did not do well the other night. The other part of that is I gotta give Kansas State credit; they’re a good football team.”
Brennan held his only news conference of the week on Monday. Here are some of the questions he answered:
Arizona head coach Brent Brennan shouts out to the defense during a series against Northern Arizona in the third quarter on Sept. 7 at Arizona Stadium.
What do you think is the team’s identity at this point of the season?
A: “We’re still finding it. We’ve had moments of really good football in all three phases, then we’ve had moments of not great football. The consistency piece is really what we’re trying to achieve. That’s up to me and the rest of the coaching staff to continue to take advantage of the time we have this week and next week to not only prepare for a very good Utah team on the road, but get our own stuff tightened up.”
Sixth-year running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt hasn’t played the last two games due to eligibility concerns. Is there an update on his status?
A: “There’s not. ... I just feel bad for the young man. I really do.
Do you think Arizona properly vetted Croskey-Merritt?
Arizona head coach Brent Brennan watches during the first half of Friday’s loss at Kansas State. UA is 2-1 through his first three games as coach. “We’ve had moments of really good football in all three phases, then we’ve had moments of not great football,” Brennan said.
A: “I did through the compliance office. He was thoroughly vetted. Now we’re just waiting to see what the end decision or end result is with the NCAA.”
Arizona ranks 103rd in college football in rushing defense. Why do you think the Wildcats have struggled to defend the run this season?
A: “That’s a good question. We did a good job of that a couple of weeks ago. Obviously last week was different. Quarterback run adds a different element especially when the quarterback is as athletic as the kid we played last week. That adds another component to it. I think there’s some things we can do schematically that we’re talking about in terms of being cleaner on that. Technically, there’s some things the guys playing can do mitigate some of that.”
In training camp and games, Arizona has used delayed handoffs on running plays. What is the reasoning behind that concept?
A: "If we're running some sort of gap scheme or we're pulling offensive linemen or it's some kind of zone scheme — if it's that gap scheme, you don't want the (running) back to be ahead of the pullers. We're obviously using offensive linemen and tight ends in that scheme — and fullbacks, too, sometimes. In the zone scheme, you normally want a chance for down linemen to get some movement on the downline."
How do you plan on addressing penalties this week, because Arizona ranks near the bottom in college football with 28 penalties for 269 yards?
A: “To me, and I know I mentioned this the first week, I draw a line between the stuff that’s fixable: false start, offsides, pre-snap (penalties), formation (penalties). Those are things we can control. ... Some of those penalties, we’ll hammer technique, we’ll hammer fitting our hands inside and understanding that if that guy gets outside of our frame, we gotta let him go, that type of stuff. The ones that happen in the football game, you’re trying like hell to avoid. But the ones you can eliminate are happening during pre-snap or after the whistle, which are catastrophic to me, which we’ve done a good job of that.”
Arizona head coach Brent Brennan hugs running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt before the season open. It’s not known if Croskey-Merritt will play again for UA.
Is there an art to defensive linemen drawing holding penalties?
A: “I think some guys are better at drawing those penalties than others. In my experience, they tend to be guys that play really hard, guys that are relentless in their pursuit to the football or the quarterback and end up fighting through and getting on the edge of an offensive lineman and having that offensive lineman be in a bad position to stop it.”
What’s the best way for defensive linemen to sell holding calls to referees?
Matchups for the eight games in the conference this week
A: “We’d like them to keep playing through the play, because if you do the Vlade (Divac) flop and they don’t call it, then the ball is running past you for a touchdown. I’d rather have you play through it and make the tackle.”
How can other pass-catchers besides Tetairoa McMillan get involved more in the offense?
“You saw a little bit last week. Montana (Lemonious-Craig) had a couple good plays. I think we’re expecting Jeremiah Patterson to come along. ... Also, the tight end position. Keyan (Burnett), Sam Olson can help us there, too.”
Do you plan on donning a flower lei around your neck for every game this season?
A: “Those leis are gifts from players’ families. On Friday, that was gift from T-Mac’s grandmother. I thought it was very thoughtful and I’m sure there are some people out there who don’t like it and that’s OK. I’m just trying to be respectful to our players’ folks and their culture.”
Arizona head coach Brent Brennan exchanges high fives with fans on his first Wildcat Walk as the team heads into Arizona Stadium for the season opener against New Mexico.
Do you feel like the players are feeling the pressure of offseason expectations?
A: “That’s definitely possible. It’s hard for anyone to handle a ton of praise or negativity; both can be dangerous for young people. That stuff never gets shut off for them. It all comes directly to their phone. ... Back in the day, when we played, it might be in the newspaper, but your college friends don’t read the newspaper so they weren’t going to give you a hard time about dropping a pass or missing a tackle. But now, if you drop a pass or miss a tackle, 10,000 people might blow you up on Twitter and say a bunch of hard stuff to hear. That’s part of their life they have to deal with and we’re trying to help them deal with. Just watching college football the last couple of weeks, there’s a lot of people dealing with managing expectations and playing to the level they’re capable of playing. For us, we haven’t had those kind of expectations going into a season before, so we’re definitely battling that.”
Although there have been doubts from fans after the loss to Kansas State, but what about this team gives you optimism that Arizona can still have a successful season?
A: “It’s the leadership of the team. I think we have great young people in that room and I think those are the ones we’re going to lean on, because we’re going to need their best when their best is needed. No one has higher expectations than the players and the people do for what we’re trying to do. That’s just part of it.”
Announced opponents for the UA football team through 2033
