Breaking down Arizona’s game vs. Kansas, other happenings in the Big 12 | Michael Lev

“Lev it on the Field” is back for Game 9 against Kansas. 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 ...

When Arizona faced Kansas in men’s basketball last season, it was a huge deal. It’s such an attractive matchup that the Big 12 is having them play twice this season, including prime TV real estate on ESPN’s “Big Monday.”

The Arizona-Kansas football game Saturday is at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The stakes are meaningful but middling compared to, say, the BYU-Texas Tech matchup earlier in the day. The winner of Wildcats-Jayhawks becomes bowl-eligible. It’s better than nothing.

Arizona and Kansas are both considered “basketball schools” — and for good reason: They have 20 Final Fours and five national championships between them.

I’m not a big fan of that label because it’s so limiting. Who says you have to be one or the other?

UA athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois doesn’t believe in putting limitations on anything. Brent Brennan — whose brother, Brad, played here during the Dick Tomey glory days — knows what the football program is capable of being at its best.

It requires a significant investment, of course. Arizona began to pour more money into football during the Dave Heeke-Jedd Fisch era, and that hasn’t changed under Reed-Francois and Brennan. Reed-Francois — who came to Arizona from Missouri, a program on the come-up in the mighty SEC — understands how vital football is to the economic well-being of modern-day athletic departments, even at so-called “basketball schools.”

So does David Booth, the business mogul for whom Kansas’ football stadium is named. On the eve of the season, Booth donated $300 million to the KU program — one of the largest gifts in college sports history. That came on the heels of the $450 million first phase of KU’s “Gateway District” stadium renovation project.

Phase II, at an approximate cost of $360 million, is expected to feature a hotel; condominium units; student housing; retail, restaurant and office space; and a 20,000-square-foot outdoor plaza.

Kansas clearly doesn’t see itself as just a “basketball school.”

Will UA fans ever feel the same passion for football that they do basketball? Colleague Justin Spears and I often joke that any tiny bit of news about men’s basketball — as minor as a recruit putting Arizona in his top five — will get more page views than a football story that’s infinitely more substantive. My most-read story so far this month? Five takeaways on the men’s hoop opener vs. Florida.

Winning remains the biggest driver of interest. UA men’s basketball has been a postseason participant for most of the past 40 years. UA football is seeking just its third bowl bid in the past nine seasons.

You gotta start somewhere. It might as well be Saturday afternoon on ESPN2.

Take that for data!

Brennan’s team is trending in the right direction, which is all you can ask after his bitterly disappointing first season.

How much better are the Wildcats than a year ago? Let’s look at some numbers:

– Arizona has more wins (five) through eight games than it had all of last season (four) — with the possibility, at least on paper, of adding several more to that total.

– Arizona has scored more points (273) than it did all of last season (261).

– Arizona has forced more turnovers (18) than it did all of last season (16).

– Quarterback Noah Fifita has more touchdown passes (21) than he did all of last season (18).

All this good stuff was happening before Arizona blew out Colorado. It’s harder to see it, and sell it, when you lose, even if those defeats are by one score against quality opponents.

(Rincon) Market report

Going up: Big 12 CFP possibilities

The initial College Football Playoff rankings suggest that the Big 12 might be more than a one-bid league this year. The CFP committee gave BYU (No. 7) and Texas Tech (No. 8) the respect they deserve. One will knock the other off Saturday. But let’s say Tech, which is heavily favored, wins by a touchdown or a field goal. BYU wouldn’t fall very far in the rankings — and would remain in position to make the Big 12 Championship Game by winning out. Let’s say the Cougars face the Red Raiders again, and BYU wins the rematch. Texas Tech would be in basically the same position as SMU last year — and the Mustangs made the CFP.

Going down: Coach Prime’s Buffaloes

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Colorado is trending in the wrong direction. After what seemed like a breakthrough win over Iowa State, the Buffs have dropped two in a row by a combined score of 105-24. Their effort appeared to be lacking at times in the second half last week vs. Arizona. Deion Sanders prohibited players and assistant coaches from talking to the media, changed starting quarterbacks for a third time this season and reportedly is changing play-callers. Those are all signs of a program in turmoil. The loser of Saturday’s Colorado-West Virginia game in Morgantown will be out of the race for a bowl bid. I’d be surprised if it isn’t the Buffaloes.

A question from my X

“If you are Kansas, how do you attack Arizona? What’s our most glaring weakness?” — @jeromeg52 via X/Twitter

If I were head coach Lance Leipold, I would have walked into offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski’s office last Sunday and said: “Jim, we’re running the damn ball in Tucson.”

Although Arizona ranks sixth in the Big 12 in rushing yards allowed per game (138.4) and fourth in yards allowed per attempt (3.69), we’ve seen what a committed, physical ground attack can do against the Wildcats’ relatively undersized defense.

BYU rushed for 258 yards against Arizona. Houston totaled 232. Both averaged more than 5 yards per carry.

Kansas is capable of executing a run-heavy game plan. The Jayhawks have topped 200 yards four times. They have three players with at least 271 rushing yards: tailbacks Leshon Williams and Daniel Hishaw Jr. and quarterback Jalon Daniels.

It might look like something more exotic before the snap, but expect Kansas to run plenty between the tackles. Any other approach would be malpractice.

Threads

Although UCF’s annual “Space Game” was scheduled to take place Friday night — before our deadline for Saturday’s paper — we’d be remiss if we didn’t highlight the Knights’ latest kits. The theme for “Mission IX” is “Hyperspace,” and the black uniforms depict the idea of zooming through space at extraordinary speeds via sleeves and numbers that “visualize the concept of hyperspace travel, symbolizing the push to make science fiction a reality,” according to UNISWAG.com. The glowing helmet stripe, meanwhile, takes inspiration from “mach diamonds, the brilliant formations that occur during high-speed combustion.” As Jean-Luc Picard would say, “Engage.”

What he said ...

“That’s on me because we put him in a really challenging position. ... We also didn’t give Braedyn the full playbook. I thought he did a really good job operating. I thought he took a couple shots, he stood in there with toughness. That showed up a lot in the film. I love Braedyn. He’s an outstanding football player, and he’s going to be great when we need him to be.” — Brennan on backup QB Braedyn Locke, who went 0 for 6 vs. Colorado

What he meant ...

“Could Braedyn have played better? Of course. But I’m never going to throw one of my players under the bus in a public setting. That’s just not who I am as a coach or person. Any criticism will be delivered directly to them in a constructive manner. If some fans think that makes me soft, so be it.”

The other side

“It’s still going out and preparing to win a football game each and every week. They know what a sixth win will do. We’ve got to do everything we can to make that happen this week against a really good football team on the road. ... It’s not a daily, talked-about matter. We continue to stress preparation in everything that we do and finding a way to get everything done without putting extra pressure on them.” — Leipold on being one win away from bowl eligibility

Pick to click (aka #fadelev)

There is no logical reason to take Iowa State over TCU, even with the Cyclones getting 6.5 points. I’m doing it anyway. Why? Iowa State can’t be this bad ... right? Once 5-0, the Cyclones have lost four in a row. They haven’t won since beating Arizona on Sept. 27. Maybe they’re just too beaten up at this point. Or maybe Matt Campbell, who’s an excellent coach, will find a way to rally the troops. TCU is coming off a bye. Before that? A pair of six-point wins over Baylor and West Virginia in which the yardage totals were about even. (season record: 4-4)

One last thing

UA receivers coach Bobby Wade was teammates with Brian Urlacher with the Chicago Bears from 2003-05. Urlacher was in Tucson last week, serving as the guest speaker for a luncheon promoting the upcoming Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl.

Urlacher expressed surprise that Wade had become a coach.

“I can’t imagine that guy coaching,” Urlacher said, drawing chuckles.

Whether Urlacher was joking or not, the implication was clear: Wade wasn’t very mature back then.

He’s come a long way since.

Wade, 44, is now a respected mentor at his alma mater. Who better to tutor Arizona’s young receivers than someone who endured a rough upbringing, starred here and spent seven seasons in the NFL before working his way up the coaching ranks.

“We all gotta go through growing pains, and we all mature at different paces in life,” Wade said. “Being a rookie in Chicago with Brian and watching those guys, just how they went about their business ... and understanding if this is something that I want to do for a long time, it’s going to take a lot of change in where I was personally.”

Wade made the changes he needed to make. It’s a great lesson for his charges.