Brent Brennan has a message for the rest of college football about Noah Fifita
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Brent Brennan and the Arizona Wildcats secured a 42-17 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday night, moving to 2-1 on the year in what was a record-breaking performance for star quarterback Noah Fifita.
Fifita threw for 326 yards against the Huskies, which passed Nick Foles for first place in program history in passing yards. Shortly after the record was broken, Fifita was subbed out of the game and a video message from Foles was shared on the jumbotron congratulating the fifth-year senior.
Coach Brennan spoke about Fifita's record, Arizona's response to a rough start, Caleb Smith's punt return touchdown, and more after the game on Saturday night:
On Arizona's progress as a team three weeks into the season
"We talked all week about getting better from game two to game three and that's been our focus. I was excited to see us finish a game and continue to make plays. That's effort, that's execution, and that's accountability. This month we are defining our identity, figuring out who we are as a football team. Ball security, tackling, special teams excellence, and then penalty avoidance. I think you saw progress in all those areas tonight."
On Noah Fifita's record-breaking night
"Special night for Noah Fifita. Just what an incredible young man. How cool was that having Nick Foles on the jumbotron, just celebrating that with him becoming the all-time passing leader."
"It wasn't like we went into the game saying we're going to get him the record tonight. We're focused on doing whatever we have to do to win the football game. But we came out of that last drive and somebody said he's two yards from the record, so I felt as a program we owe it to him to give him a chance to do that here, and that's why we put him out there that last drive."
On Arizona's response to giving up 10 quick points to NIU
"I love the response. We need to start fast in all three phases, but I love the response and the big lesson for us tonight is how we respond matters and I felt like after that initial push we had 42 unanswered until the last 15 seconds. So I was really excited."
On Caleb Smith's punt return touchdown
"We were fired up and I think you could see the sideline just erupted when that play happened. We felt going into this game that if we could get him a little bit of space he could get loose. He's a really talented player. He's a very, very hard worker, incredibly diligent, and it was just so fun to see that excitement from everybody because everyone loves him."
More on Fifita
"The whole country should be talking about this kid. Not just based on how he plays, but who he is and the choices he has made throughout his career. So many other people would have jumped ship and taken the money or gone somewhere different, but that guy has stayed and watered the grass here and made it into something truly special."
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