And, just like that, the Arizona Wildcats are back in the thick of it.
For all the first-month hand-wringing, the whining, the moaning, the unearned certainty on social media that new head coach Brent Brennan was in over his head and should promptly go back to the Mountain West, the Wildcats did the one thing that was most important in September.
Beat Utah.
In Salt Lake City.
The Wildcats, in their first official Big 12 game, knocked off the presumptive league favorite on Saturday night, a 23-10 victory over No. 10 Utah that was most notable for the fact that Brennan’s team was superior on both sides of the line of scrimmage, areas in which the Utes have been known to be big, bad bullies.
Didn’t see that coming.
But, in case you haven’t been watching for, oh, most of your life, this is college football.
You almost never see it coming.
The Wildcats – uneven and undisciplined early in the season — had two weeks to recover, re-evaluate and respond to a 31-7 butt-whuppin’ at Kansas State on Sept. 13. And they did. Arizona was outgained 235-56 on the ground on that Friday night in a non-conference matchup but flipped the script against Utah with a 161-84 advantage in the run game.
Mission accomplished: 1-0 in the Big 12.
Don’t take this lightly.
Even though the Utes didn’t have starting quarterback Cam Rising (finger), do you know how hard it is to win anytime in Salt Lake City? The Utes had won 33 of their past 35 games at home.
Do you appreciate how rare this is for the Wildcats? The program had been 5-32-1 in its history against AP Top 10 teams on the road.
“I think the players just stuck together and keep believing in each other and played until the last whistle,” Brennan said in his postgame radio interview.
“They love each other, and it was so important for them to just play good football together. They weren’t going to let them anything talk them out of that. And so they just kept fighting for each other. I think that’s what we saw, and that’s what made it so amazing. It was a total team win.”
Yep.
Let’s take a look:
The tight end emerges
You’ll probably hear much more this week about the play-calling and how Arizona approached that issue during the bye week, but you saw it Saturday night: The tight ends were more involved – and Keyan Burnett can absolutely be that No. 2 pass-catcher to take pressure off star wideout Tetairoa McMillan.
The offense was balanced and effective, if not explosive, against a tough Utah D.
Burnett had career highs with five catches for 76 yards, including his first career touchdown, aa 35-yarder in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory.
“It means everything to me,” the junior said of the TD. “It’s a testament to my coaches for believing in me and trusting me to go out there and make a play.”
Listen to the postgame show below for talk about the influence of passing game coordinator/tight ends coach Matt Adkins.
Wildcats offensive line comes together
Dealing with injuries and mixing the combinations, the offensive line was not a strength in the first three games.
But the week off helped young ‘un Rhino Tapa’atoutai (struggled mightily at Kansas State) to get physically better, and strong Northwestern transfer Alexander Doost stepped in to start at right guard.
If this starting line sticks together — LT Tapa’atoutai; LG Wendell Moe, C Josh Baker, RG Doost, RT Jonah Savaiinaea — the outlook considerably brightens for the final two-thirds of the regular season.
The Wildcats averaged 5.4 yards per rush against the Utes.
Wildcats defense making plays
The Wildcats did what they had to do. Facing freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson, Arizona did a nice job of crowding the line of scrimmage to limit the run, kept him from getting outside as a runner, and made him try to beat Arizona as a passer.
The result was that Wilson completed only 20 of 40 passes and was picked off twice.
Cornerback Tacario Davis was credited with five pass break-ups, including two on fourth down. The Utes went 0-for-4 on fourth-down opportunities, including in the red zone on their first two drives of the drives, which were massively important tone-setting stops for the Wildcats.
“(Defensive coordinator Duane) Akina and the defensive staff just did an awesome job getting prepared,” Brennan said. “The way the players practiced this week, just the attention the detail, the effort, the intensity and physicality they put into the practice environment gave us a chance to win this game.”
Noah Fifita is still Noah Fifita
After throwing an interception into double coverage in the end zone – and not spotting an open receiver in the middle of the field – Fifita did this, which speaks for itself.
“He is insanely talented,” Brennan said.
Tyler Loop is still Tyler Loop
He made field goals of 47, 53, and 33 yards, although he pulled a 56-yarder wide left with plenty of distance in the final minutes. Even the TV announcers commented about how you can hear the difference when Loop’s foot meets the ball … or maybe they read my story. Either way, what a weapon.
So, there you have it.
Mission accomplished: 1-0 in the Big 12.
The league is wild and crazily competitive. I have zero idea of what will happen next. But, Arizona fans, if you started the season dreaming of a conference championship and the College Football Playoff, keep on dreaming.
The next two months could be a lot of fun.
Top photo: The Arizona Wildcats celebrate a win over the Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium. (Rob Gray-Imagn Images)
