Arizona Looking to Bounce Back Offensively Under Seth Doege

Arizona hired Seth Doege as its new offensive coordinator shortly after the end of last season

Oct 12, 2024; Provo, Utah, USA; A general view of the helmet worn by Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita (11) during the game against the Brigham Young Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

After last season did not work out for coach Brent Brennan and Arizona with Dino Babers as the offensive coordinator, it didn’t take long for them to turn the page to another play-caller heading into this season as Brennan brought in Seth Doege from Marshall. 

In his one year with the Thundering Herd, Doege helped lead them to a top-20 offense nationally in rushing yards to go along with averaging 31.8 points per game. Marshall QB Braylon Braxton finished in the top-25 in the country in yards per completion and was the only FBS quarterback to have an 8:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Doege will look to help bring that same magic back to Arizona QB Noah Fifita following his down year last season after he exploded onto the scene with the Wildcats two years ago.

“From the moment I met (Doege) when he came and spent some time with us, I was just really impressed with the energy he brought and the conversation had incredible juice, which I'm looking for high energy guys,” Brennan said at the Big 12 Media Day.

Brennan has shown his willingness to adapt this offseason with the changes he has made across the board, and that started with the hire of Doege shortly after the conclusion of last season. 

“In my mind, I was like, okay, how do you win games late in the season? You got to be able to run the football,” Brennan said. “So talking to Doege and talking about the championship run they went on last year Marshall. His ability or his willingness to adapt the scheme to fit the personnel is what really solidified it for me.”

The biggest component to getting Arizona’s offense rolling this season will be regaining the confidence of Fifita that he showed a couple of years ago when taking over behind center in the middle of the season. It didn’t take long for the two of them to gain a relationship as Fifita talked about at the Big 12 Media Day.

“We built a fantastic relationship from the moment he got on campus. That's a big reason I wanted to stay at Arizona to play for him,” Fifita said. “Like I said, he's probably the best scheme I've ever seen. From an offensive standpoint. He's a fantastic person, and we'll hang out in his office all the time and just talk stories. So I've heard a lot of stories about his playing days.”

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