“Lev it on the Field” is back for Week 2. It’s the Star’s unique look at Arizona’s upcoming football matchup and other happenings around the Big 12 through the eyes of UA beat reporter-turned-columnist Michael Lev. Away we go ...
Cleanup on aisle 520.
Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson.com and The Wildcaster.
That’s the task for Arizona against NAU on Saturday night. The Wildcats need to play a tidier game than they did in the opener against New Mexico. They need to wipe the tables, dust the shelves and sweep the floor. Mopping it wouldn’t hurt either.
On offense, Arizona needs to run the ball effectively from the jump. Yes, I know — the Wildcats scored 61 points and had 627 yards last week. But so much of that came on big plays via the sublime connection between Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan. Arizona can’t have another first half like last week, when it gained just 28 yards on nine rushing attempts. In the second half, the ground game got going — 177 yards on 17 totes. More of that, please.
Arizona defensive back Dalton Johnson, left, gets the barest of touches in trying to stop New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier in the fourth quarter of their game Saturday at Arizona Stadium.
On defense, well, there’s a lot. For starters, better rush-lane discipline. Defensive linemen can’t just go flying upfield, especially against mobile quarterbacks. Devon Dampier won’t be the last one Arizona faces.
The tackling must improve. Pro Football Focus charged Arizona with 14 missed tackles. Defensive coordinator Duane Akina said it was 16. Regardless, you want that number to be below 10. The Wildcats achieved that objective seven times last season, including the first five games of their season-ending seven-game winning streak.
Finally, Arizona has to play with more composure. Five of the Wildcats’ nine accepted penalties were unsportsmanlike conduct or personal fouls. All of them were called against defensive players. Veteran safety Dalton Johnson put it best: “We can’t have personal fouls. Not gonna fly.”
New Mexico's defense smothers Arizona running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (1) during the first half of their game Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, at Arizona Stadium.
Take that for data!
It is entirely possible that by about 12:45 p.m. Saturday, Arizona will own the longest winning streak in the nation.
As recently as two years ago, nothing would have seemed more implausible. But it’s true!
Arizona takes an eight-game streak into the NAU game. Defending national champion Michigan has won 16 in a row. But the 10th-ranked Wolverines host No. 3 Texas at 9 a.m. Saturday. The Longhorns are favored by a touchdown.
Texas destroyed Colorado State last week. Michigan, facing a pseudo-rebuild after the departure of Jim Harbaugh, looked shaky vs. Fresno State. (The final score was 30-10; the total yards were 269-244.)
Maybe the Wolverines were holding back, knowing that the UT matchup was coming. Maybe they’re vulnerable.
If it’s the latter — and Arizona takes care of business vs. NAU — the program that lost 20 straight games from 2019-21 will be the hottest team in college football.
(Rincon) Market report
Going up: Senior living
Our guy Mike Gundy is holding his weekly radio show at an unusual locale — Legacy Village of Stillwater, a senior living community. An Oklahoma State beat writer posted pictures of this week’s show depicting dozens of residents of Legacy Village watching Gundy do his thing. Many were wearing orange Cowboys gear. All were hanging on Gundy’s every word. You may not agree with everything Gundy says or does — I sure don’t — but this is an undeniably lovely gesture.
Actor and Texas superfan Matthew McConaughey gestures as the teams warm up before the national semifinal between Washington and Texas on Jan. 1 in New Orleans.
Going down: Originality
Really, Johnny Nansen? A turnover sword? Leaving Arizona for Texas is one thing. Taking the Wildcats’ turnover prop, or at least the concept, with you is quite another. The turnover sword is Tucson’s thing, not Austin’s. You couldn’t come up with an alternative? Here are three options: 1. Turnover Stetson — take the ball away, get a crisp, white cowboy hat with a burnt-orange band. 2. Turnover Horns — headgear with Bevo-like steer horns. 3. Turnover McConaughey — Fathead image on a stick of Texas’ most famous fan. This isn’t that hard.
A question from my X
“Do you think the offense will be 2023 Cowboys-like with McMillan getting 29% of targets, or should we expect more balance?” — @UAIvann via X/Twitter
Dallas receiver CeeDee Lamb led the NFL with 181 passing targets last season — nearly 30% of the Cowboys’ total. McMillan blew away that mark in the opener with an astounding 50% target share. I don’t think that’s sustainable.
Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, left, scores a touchdown as New Mexico cornerback Bobby Arnold III pursues during the second half of last Saturday's game at Arizona Stadium.
LaJohntay Wester of FAU was the most targeted wide receiver in college football last season. His 152 targets accounted for 39.2% of the Owls’ total allotment.
Brennan Presley of Oklahoma State had the second-most targets (143). His share was 27.6%.
Washington’s Rome Odunze was the only other receiver with 140 or more. His share was 26.2%.
I fully expect McMillan to be Arizona’s most-targeted receiver in 2024; if he isn’t, something’s wrong. But as the season evolves, so will opponents’ game plans and coverages. They’re going to try to take McMillan away — or at least make it as difficult as possible for the Wildcats to get him the ball.
McMillan’s target share likely will settle in the 30-35% range with a total of about 130 (10 per game over 13 games). But given McMillan’s skill and chemistry with Fifita, I wouldn’t be surprised if that figure crept toward 40%.
Threads
Unless it’s all black or all white, most monochromatic football uniforms don’t work for me. Utah’s all-red look with black and white trim is an exception. I especially liked the Utes’ video presentation of their uniforms for Saturday’s game against Baylor. They sent two players to what looks like the frozen tundra. It reminded me of the climactic battle in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” set on Crait, a planet with a surface of white salt. When the speeders scrape against it, the salt turns red.
Utah's Zemaiah Vaughn, left, and Landen King pose in the Utes' all-red uniforms that they'll wear in Saturday's nonconference game against Baylor.
What he said ...
“For their roster and their team, it's obviously a really, really big game. And for our roster and our team, it's a big game but it doesn't feel the same as a Big 12 game. ... So making sure our players understand the importance of that because every team you line up against now in college football can beat you.” — UA coach Brent Brennan
What he meant ...
“This game is NAU’s Super Bowl, and we better take it seriously. I wasn’t here in 2021, but I know what happened. It can’t happen again. We have to come out with intensity and intent. We can’t give them any glimmer of hope. If we fail in that regard, it could be a rough night.”
The other side
Eric Newman, via the Arizona Daily Sun:
Arizona first-year head coach Brent Brennan reacts during the second half of the Wildcats' game against New Mexico on Aug. 31 at Arizona Stadium.
Maybe the magic shine of a few years ago when the Northern Arizona football team beat Arizona in Tucson has worn off a bit.
In 2021, the Lumberjacks stunned the Wildcats 21-19 by stopping a late 2-point conversion. In 2023, Arizona, which is now a Top 25 team in the FBS, crushed Northern Arizona, 38-3, in a game that was never close.
And now it's a whole new coaching staff and a revamped roster in Flagstaff. ...
Those who were around when Northern Arizona prevailed in Tucson will always remember it fondly. But if Saturday's upcoming contest between teams with records of 1-0 is just another game, that could be a good thing.
"We haven't really talked about it that much," said linebacker Tommy Ellis, who was a redshirt freshman in 2021 for the Lumberjacks, "because we're trying to write our own game story this time, and it's hopefully something we can be proud of in future years."
Pick to click (aka #fadelev)
The most impressive performance by a Big 12 team in Week 1: ASU’s 48-7 victory over Wyoming. The Sun Devils outgained the Cowboys 499-118 and dominated one of the Mountain West’s most consistent programs. Yes, Wyoming is in a state of transition, and the Cowboys probably weren’t accustomed to 100-degree temps at 8 p.m. But I liked what I saw from Kenny Dillingham and ASU, and I’m riding with them this week against Mississippi State (plus-5.5). It would be the Sun Devils’ first win over an SEC opponent. (season record: 1-0)
Arizona State linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu (30) intercepts the ball in the first half of the Sun Devils' game against Wyoming on Aug. 31 in Tempe.
One last thing
You know what would be nice Saturday night? A game that doesn’t last three hours and 59 minutes.
It’s not entirely clear why the opener was nearly four hours long. Three official replay reviews are logged in the game book, and there were at least two unofficial reviews. The NCAA average is about 2.2 per game.
College football implemented the two-minute timeout this year, adding a stoppage with two minutes to go in each half. The average game length entering Friday was 3:28, up five minutes from last season.
That includes seven games that were 4:07 or longer. The longest: Marshall-Stony Brook (4:48), Virginia-Richmond (4:48) and Penn State-West Virginia (5:53). All three had weather delays.
The UA-New Mexico game had none. Yet it was 15 minutes longer than the Wildcats’ longest game last year. That one, at USC, went to triple overtime. No other UA game was longer than 3:31.
We all love college football. Just not that much college football.
