Brent Brennan's Analysis on Saturday's Game and Arizona's Next Opponent
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Last Saturday's loss was a tough one to swallow for head coach Brent Brennan and his crew of players who wanted so badly to prove that they can compete with the Big 12's best teams that it has to offer.
The Arizona Wildcats were blown out by the No. 14-ranked Iowa State Cyclones 39-14 in front of a rowdy crowd at Jack Trice Stadium.
Despite the loss, there were plenty of things to take away from the game and build off of for the rest of the season.
Brennan talked about what was taken away from that and how they can build off of what was done well while also adjusting to what went wrong for Arizona's next game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on October 4.
Here is a collection of Brennan's most interesting quotes from Monday's press conference.
On Noah Fifita struggling to pass the ball downfield
"I think it was a combination. I think I at times him getting moved off his spot and then I think he missed a couple throws and I think that's just that was frustrating and disappointing and knowing Noah Fifita he's going to dive into the process is going to give him a chance to hit those throws, because no one cares more about this football team and this football program more than he does."
On the performance of the offensive and defensive line
"There's some good stuff up front there. There's some good stuff in this game up front. Our O -line, no false starts, right? We were disciplined in a hard place to play. I was excited about that. I thought that was a positive. I thought that that did show some good red line. I thought our effort was good in the O and D line. When they run the ball 47 times and averaged 2.4 a carry, that's a hell of a day against a good football team on the road."
Brennan's analysis of OK State
"I think their quarterback's a dual threat guy and he can be a problem with his arm and his legs. They've got a really good group of receivers and they've done a good job of putting together guys that are explosive and then also some big body guys. Their running back is a good player. On defense, they have a lot of experience, especially in the secondary guys that have had a ton of snaps and then their defensive front is big and long.
On the lessons he learned from playing on the road
"I think the simplest thing that you can learn from that is when you play one of the top teams in your conference at their place, you cannot turn the ball over four times. You can't do that. Just start with that. It's the simplest one to point to. But then the other things that are big is third down on both sides of the ball was not good enough. Not nearly good enough. And then also the big plays, our lack of explosiveness on offense and then their explosiveness on defense. And when I look at that, the big plays that they made, the trick play, great execution, great call, tip my hat. The throws that Rocco made outside down the field were big-time fantastic football throws."
On the play of the defensive backs
"They play with a lot of defensive backs. They do a good job of keeping a a roof on things. Not as much aggressive pressure as we are, so it's different. So when anytime you add somebody to the front, right, if that ball gets out, there are less people in the back to tackle. I think, you look at that the play I think that you're talking about coming right out of halftime, Our best player, Genesis Smith, missed a tackle. Genesis will make that tackle this week. I believe in Genesis as much, if not more than any player on his football team."
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Nathaniel Martinez and a set of shoulder pads at 7 years old. He later graduated from Pima Community College in 2023, where he began writing for the Pima Post. He is working to achieve a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Media Studies.