Arizona Comes Out Flat in Loss to No. 14 ISU
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Coming into Saturday’s game, Arizona (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) felt like it had momentum with an impressive start to the season and getting healthy during the bye-week. However, on the first drive of the game, the Wildcats marched down the field looking for points but missed a 46-yard field goal by kicker Michael Salgado-Medina, which seemed to set the tone of the game against No. 14 Iowa State.
Arizona, found itself in an early 22-0 hole against Iowa State due to missed opportunities, sloppy play and unforced errors. The Wildcats would score right before half making it a 15-point game.
Just a tad short . But Rocco Becht is dialed early - as you can see here to Chase Sowell 🌪️#Big12FB | 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/IERZ7YBJKw
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 27, 2025
Still, the Wildcats fell 39-14 against Iowa State (5-0, 2-0) as the early errors and slow start to the second half proved to be too much for Arizona to overcome.
Arizona’s defense had been one of the better units nationally coming into the game holding opponents to 8.7 PPG, which was tied for sixth in college football. But, the Wildcats’ defense clearly hit a pump in the road against the Cyclones.
In the first three games of the season, Arizona had done a good job of eliminating explosive plays with the only one that really stood out being the 75-yard touchdown run by KSU.
Through the first three quarters against Iowa State, the Wildcats allowed SIX explosive plays with all of them coming through the air against Arizona’s secondary.
have a Half Carson Hansen
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 28, 2025
13 Carries - 2 for TDs#Big12FB | 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/1lZ337WlF3
Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht was able to go 14 of 20 passing for 243 yards with most of his yardage coming on those six plays.
Now, although Becht was able to get the job done through the air, he did most of his scoring damage on the ground scoring on the 1-yard line against the Wildcats’ defense three times.
Meanwhile, Arizona couldn’t get off the field when it needed it most as Iowa State went 6 of 12 on third down conversion. Plus, the Wildcats allowed the Cyclones to go 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions.
Everything seemed to spiral out of control for Arizona, which unlike the Cyclones struggled on third downs going an underwhelming 4 of 13 for the game.
When looking at the stats, Arizona was able to move the ball and put up yardage against the Cyclones’ defense. However, the Wildcats’ struggles on third and fourth down plays caused Seth Doege’s unit to come up empty in critical situations.
Despite Arizona being able to come up with a turnover in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats came up empty again late in the game with an interception thrown by Fifita in the red zone to seal the deal.
Arizona is clearly a better team than last season but the Wildcats put together another poor road performance in the Brent Brennan era and now have lost 4-straight road games in blowout fashion dating back to last season.
The Wildcats will now head back home and will be looking to clean things up as the team gets ready to take on Oklahoma State with a 12 p.m. (MST) kickoff on TNT.
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Troy Hutchison grew up attending Arizona athletic events, which gave him a unique perspective and knowledge of the athletic department's rich history. He attended UA and began covering the Wildcats in 2018. As the Arizona Wildcats Beat Writer on SI, he is set to deliver wall-to-wall coverage to give fans an in-depth perspective.
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