“Lev it on the Field” is back for Game 9. 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 ...
For Arizona to save its season, the Wildcats will have to boldly go where no one has gone before.
Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson.com and The Wildcaster.
They’re going to have to win the “Space Game.”
You don’t want to be UCF’s “guest” for the Space Game. It’s like being sucked into a black hole.
The Knights — aka Citronauts this week — are 7-0 in the Space Game. Their average margin of victory is 28.8 points. They treat the visiting team like it’s an asteroid hurtling toward Earth. Boom!
How can struggling Arizona possibly hope to disrupt SpaceU’s latest mission? It’ll take something extraordinary. The UA squad that outscored West Virginia 19-7 over the final 16:18 last week will have to show up for 60 minutes. The Wildcats have shown no signs lately that they’re capable of such a feat. But if you’re going to launch a comeback, where better than the city that sits 50 miles west of Cape Canaveral?
Arizona coach Brent Brennan congratulates defensive back Demetrius Freeney after his coverage on a punt vs. Colorado on Oct. 19, at Arizona Stadium. The Wildcats face a tall task this week: Beating UCF in the ‘Space Game’ in Orlando.
It helps that UCF is scuffling, too. Gus Malzahn blew up his coaching staff this week amid a five-game losing streak. The QB situation is in disarray. The program is on red alert.
Some have compared the start of the Brent Brennan era in Tucson to another recent regime. Sorry, but this is not Kevin Sumlin, The Next Generation.
There is one possible parallel, though: Sumlin’s first UA team, in 2018, was 3-5 before beating Oregon and Colorado in back-to-back weeks to give itself a chance at a bowl berth. That bid ended in crushing fashion in the Territorial Cup.
The biggest difference between then and now: Both of those games were at home. The 2024 Wildcats have to navigate the Space Game.
Brace for impact.
Take that for data!
Remember that fleeting moment when Arizona had the longest winning streak in the nation? Yeah. Good times.
Less than two months later, the Wildcats are riding a four-game skid. But as UA losing streaks go, this is nothing.
In my first full year on the football beat, 2016, Arizona lost eight in a row — including a 69-7 thrashing at Washington State. (That was a fun afternoon.) The Wildcats were so decimated by injuries that year that they literally ran out of running backs.
Arizona lost five straight between the end of 2017 and the start of ’18. The last of those was a miserable 45-18 setback at Houston. That game drew an unusually large contingent of national media and scouts who planned to go to Clemson-Texas A&M that night. They all left at halftime.
A Texas Tech cheerleader runs over and taunts the Zona Zoo student section after the Red Raiders broke out on top with a touchdown in the first quarter vs. Arizona on Oct. 5 at Arizona Stadium.
Then, of course, came The Big One. Arizona’s school-record 20-game losing streak began Oct. 12, 2019, and ended Nov. 6, 2021. Those were the truly dark days.
(Rincon) Market report
Going up: Late lead changes
According to the conference’s crack research staff, the Big 12 leads FBS with 17 lead changes in the fourth quarter of league games. Additionally, the Big 12 has the most go-ahead scores (11) in the final three minutes of conference games. Arizona has had a hand in both. The Wildcats took a 19-18 lead over Texas Tech with 10:07 to play on Oct. 5. Tech regained the lead with 2:21 left. Speaking of the Red Raiders ...
Going down: Helmet comms
Texas Tech was one of the driving forces behind the most recent controversy to hit college football. Apparently, the new coach-to-player communication system was not encrypted. Per ESPN, Red Raiders athletic director Kirby Hocutt “requested a report from the Big 12 on its recent games against TCU and Baylor — both losses — to ensure the integrity of the games were not compromised ... after learning that anyone with a scanner and knowledge of how to locate the frequencies had access to those in-game communications.” The Big 12 determined that no games had been compromised. But the league now has an update that enables encryption. My advice to the teams: Make sure your password is more complicated than “RedRaidersFootball2024!”
A question from my X
“Why do they always choose to run straight up the middle, nothing to the outside? And why not use the true freshman FB as a lead blocker if you are going to run up the middle?” — @daylitefilms1 via X/Twitter
The answer to the first question depends on what you mean by “outside.” Pro Football Focus’ charting shows 72 rushing attempts — out of 210 total — outside the tight end. Defined that way, Arizona is actually running “outside” more this year (34.2%) than last year (29.2%).
PFF doesn’t distinguish between handoffs and pitches. I cannot recall a pitch to a tailback for an outside sweep this season. I also can’t recall the Wildcats running a speed option. Those don’t seem to be features of an offensive system that needs to be overhauled in the offseason.
As to the second question, Arizona has abandoned the jumbo package the past two weeks featuring six offensive linemen and freshman Kayden Luke at fullback. That could be because of injuries up front and/or not wanting to put Luke — who’s now a key reserve at tailback — in harm’s way. But it’s puzzling considering that the formation was fairly effective earlier in the season.
An Oklahoma State player models the throwback uniforms the Cowboys will wear vs. ASU on Saturday.
Threads
Oklahoma State’s throwback uniforms for homecoming vs. ASU on Saturday are ... something. To honor the team’s 125th season, the Cowboys will wear black helmets featuring the interlocking “OA” logo “that served as the official letter and emblem of the O.A. Association, organized in October of 1909 by the athletes of Oklahoma A&M College,” per OSU’s website. But that’s not the part of the uniform that had social media buzzing this week. The ensemble features black sleeves and socks with orange horizontal stripes. It’s safe to say that look has not been well received. Historical context matters here, though: The school’s original nickname was Tigers.
What he said ...
“We played a lot of games across the country at my previous stop, and it's always about how you handle the travel and not (letting) that be an excuse. We know we're going to Florida. It doesn't matter. The football field is gonna be the same size and width and length. Let's get ready to play.” — Brennan
What he meant ...
“When I was at San Jose State, we played in Austin, Pullman, Fayetteville, West Point, Kalamazoo, Auburn and Toledo. Heck, in 2020, we PRACTICED 330 miles from home. Tucson to Orlando on a chartered flight? That’s a breeze. But I will break out the ‘Hoosiers’ clip if I have to. Love that movie. Norman Dale is The Man.”
The other side
Chris Boyle, via The Daytona Beach News-Journal:
Objectives have officially been recalculated at UCF following its five-game football freefall.
"Our goal is to make a bowl game, there's no doubt," Knights coach Gus Malzahn said during his weekly availability Monday.
Baylor players celebrate a touchdown against BYU on Sept. 28 in Waco, Texas. After losing three straight, the Bears have won two in a row.
It's a far cry from the lofty preseason bluster, and even more disappointing considering the Knights — for the second season running — wasted a 3-0 start with a winless October. It's a downturn that has coincided with trotting out four quarterbacks, losing starting wide receiver Kobe Hudson to a potentially significant injury and, most recently, firing defensive coordinator Ted Roof.
However, keeping UCF's bowl streak intact is the quickest and easiest way to shift the increasingly sour mood around the program and alleviate further doubt about Malzahn's future in charge. UCF has not missed the postseason since its miserable 2015 campaign, during which George O'Leary retired.
Pick to click (aka #fadelev)
Big 12 games pitting teams from Texas have been a thrill ride. You never know how they’ll go — and you have to be ready for the plot twist at the end. That said, I like what I’ve seen from Baylor lately and feel comfortable laying three points against TCU. The Bears entered their Oct. 12 bye on a three-game losing streak. They’ve won two straight since, averaging 48.5 points and 299 rushing yards. Dave Aranda might save his job after all. (season record: 5-3)
One last thing
Disappointing seasons and quarterback instability often go hand in hand. Take UCF, for example. The Knights have started three different QBs already — and conceivably could make it four if they decide to give redshirt freshman Dylan Rizk the nod vs. Arizona.
We’ve seen this here aplenty. Anu Solomon struggled to stay healthy after his breakout season in 2014. Then-freshman Khalil Tate — eight days shy of his 18th birthday — had to start a game in 2016. Jedd Fisch used three different starters in 2021, when two of the options suffered season-ending injuries.
All of which makes this UA season that much stranger. Despite being hit way more often than he should be, Noah Fifita hasn’t missed a snap because of injury. Despite struggling at times, Fifita isn’t in danger of losing his spot.
Backup Cole Tannenbaum took seven snaps at the end of the Colorado game — after Fifita got sacked seven times. The contest had been decided by that point.
Fifita’s regression suggests a second parallel to 2018 — quarterback and offensive scheme never quite meshing. To keep him around for another season or two, Brennan needs to solve that problem ASAP.
