After blowing out Hawaii and Weber State by a combined 79 points, Arizona faced its first big test of the season against Kansas State.
Despite some hiccups along the way, the Wildcats passed the exam and are off to their first 3-0 start since 2015 following a gritty 23-17 victory over Kansas State .
More importantly, the Wildcats are showing signs in coach Brent Brennan’s second season that they could return to the form they showed in 2023 during former coach Jedd Fisch’s final year in Tucson, when Arizona went 10-3 and finished 11th in the final Associated Press poll.
Three missed kicks and a poorly executed trick play that resulted in an interception indicated there is still work to be done, but the Wildcats got revenge against an opponent that had trounced them by 24 points last season.
“I think every football game, when you’re playing against a program that’s as good as Kansas State, there’s going to be back and forth,” Brennan said. “Those guys have won a lot of football games for a really long time. They’re extremely well coached. They have good players. And so there’s going to be back and forth.”
Brennan has seen ups and downs, along with the back and forth, during his tenure.
After that successful 2023 season, the Wildcats experienced an exodus of talent in the offseason – starting with Fisch, who departed to take the job at Washington, taking several Wildcat standouts with him such as running back Jonah Coleman and cornerback Tacario Davis.
Two offensive stars remained in wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and quarterback Noah Fifita, but the team still struggled, going 4-8 as Fifita led the Big 12 Conference in interceptions thrown despite having a premier target like McMillan.
McMillan moved on to the NFL and was drafted eighth overall by the Carolina Panthers, leaving behind a relatively unknown group of wide receivers and putting more pressure on Fifita to make plays through the air and with his feet.
The junior quarterback in three games this year has taken on that challenge, passing for six touchdowns and no interceptions, while rushing for three scores. As a result, it looks as though the Wildcats might be hitting their stride again.
The victory against Kansas State was confirmation that the Wildcats are going in the right direction, especially considering the adversity they overcame.
“What I loved was the response because we had,” Brennan said. “Two really ugly plays back-to-back, and then we responded. We responded in all three phases there.”
This included Arizona’s defense, which had a rough season in 2024 when the Wildcats gave up 31.8 points per game.
“I feel like there’s definitely been a lot of growth this year, as far as responding,” said Arizona junior defensive back Genesis Smith. “It’s showing out there. I mean, the only thing you do is compare games, (see) if we responded last year or not, and then see how we’re responding this year. So I feel like the tape shows.”
The tape will show that on the first play of the second half, Kansas State wide receiver Jayce Brown rushed for a 75-yard touchdown out of the wildcat formation. Smith missed the tackle on that play, but got right back up and kept fighting.
“I definitely felt that in the back of my mind,” Smith said. “But how (do I) respond? (I) missed a play, missed a tackle, how (do I) respond? So I felt like I responded well. I’m back to that.”
Smith is one of the veteran leaders of this new-look Arizona defense that has played well this season.
The Wildcats had five interceptions and seven sacks through the first two games, and gave up a combined nine points to their first two opponents. Against a much more seasoned opponent in Kansas State, defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales’ unit still held its ground, limiting Kansas State to just 193 total offensive yards even with that 75-yard burst by Brown.
“I think coach Gonzales and that staff did an awesome job of the plan,” Brennan said. “I think it was a mixture of that and other stuff, different personnel groups trying to match their personnel groups. I think any time you hold any Division I team to under 200 yards of total offense, that’s a special night.”
While the defense does deserve their flowers for a special night, as Brennan put it, the run game has shown to be more polished than last year. In 2024, the Wildcats as a team rushed for 1,274 yards. They have already gotten to nearly half of that total in just a quarter of the games.
Led by senior running back Ismail Mahdi and a stout performance from the Wildcats’ offensive line, Arizona ran for 234 yards against Kansas State, with 189 coming via the legs of Mahdi, who was named co-Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week with Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby.
“In regards to Mahdi, he doesn’t make those plays without that offensive front blocking the way they had to against a team that’s normally hard to block,” Brennan said. “Like, those guys are freaking good. And so I’m really excited about just how they responded and how Ish just kept showing up and kept ripping off big runs with physicality and finish, and receivers blocking downfield.”
Mahdi was a star before he came to Arizona, rushing for 2,322 yards in 25 games with Texas State. But Mahdi really came into his own against Kansas State, making plays after getting an opportunity due to injuries to the running back corps.
“It’s just part of it,” Mahdi said. “Players get hurt, you have to step up. It’s just an opportunity.”
While Mahdi made the most of his opportunity, another Wildcat stepped up in the run game as well. Fifita rushed for a career-high 48 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
“I think that’s one of those things about Noah that we’ve known and that we get to see on display every day,” Brennan said. “The kid is a competitor. He is a Class-A, big-time competitor, and he wants to win.
“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. So I think that adds another element that makes us dangerous.”
After a bye week, the Wildcats face an even more dangerous opponent when they play 14th-ranked Iowa State in their next game, but Brennan is confident that this season will be unlike last season because of the adversity Arizona has shown it can overcome.
“I’ve learned that this team loves to compete, and they care about each other,” Brennan said. “I think lots of people say that. I think it’s real here, and I think it matters. I think that’s why you see that kind of effort.
“That’s why you see that kind of celebration. I don’t know if you saw our sideline in the fourth quarter when our defense was out there. It was on fire. It was awesome. And so this team really cares about each other. It’s important to them. Every day they show up to work, and they work their tails off, and they do it for each other. It’s an unselfish group. And so I’m excited because we’re 3-0.”
Brennan’s team agrees with that sentiment.
“It’s attacking our preparation,” Mahdi said. “No matter if it’s the Chicago Bears, (or if) it’s Tucson High. We’re going to go out there and play the brand of football that we play, and that’s where it matters.”
F the Wildcats and the horse they rode in on. First two games are always a joke in College ball and it has evolved into nothing but an NFL minor league based solely on $$$$!!!!
who wants to loose last – other team wins ?
here comes
IOWA St
Oklahoma
BYU
nothing to it right?