Third Downs May Decide Arizona-Iowa State Game

We dove into both Arizona and Iowa State's efficiency on third down and saw how they matched up.

Sep 6, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Brent Brennan watches from the sidelines during the first quarter of the game against the Weber State Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

The 3-0Arizona Wildcats are back from the bye week and will be facing the 4-0, No. 14-ranked Iowa State Cyclones for the first time since 1968 to open up their Big 12 portion of the schedule in a battle of the unbeatens.

Arizona's offense has been a nightmare to deal with for opposing defenses, but its efficiency on third downs is a small cause for concern.

Third down stats

Sep 12, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita (1) looks to pass the ball during the first quarter of the game against the Kansas State Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

The Wildcats' third-down conversion rate so far has been a moderate one at 41.03%, which is slightly down from last year's 42.94%. That puts them at No. 68 in the country.

Despite Arizona's slight struggles on third down, there is still plenty of time to improve on that with nine games to go in the season.

The Wildcats seem to step it up when they play their in-conference opponents. Despite the game against Kansas State not counting as a conference game, Arizona was 8 for 18 (44.4%) on third down conversions, which is a huge step up from the 27% rate in week one against Hawaii.

Arizona passed the ball on third down a total of 20 times through three games this season. Of those 20 attempts, 14 were completed, with seven of those being converted for a first down and one for a touchdown.

The Wildcats ran the ball 19 times for 30 yards with an average of 1.58 yards per rush. Of those 19 runs, seven of them were converted for a first down and three of those resulted in a touchdown.

That is a good sign for the Arizona offense that faces an Iowa State defense that ranks 84th in the country when it comes to third-down defense percentage.

Iowa State's efficiency on third down

Iowa State Cyclones' quarterback Rocco Becht (3) runs with the ball against Iowa during the second quarter in the Cy-Hawk Series at Jack Trice Stadium on Sept. 6, 2025, in Ames, Iowa | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Arizona's opponent, the Iowa State Cyclones, boasts an impressive 50% third-down conversion rate through four games of their schedule. The Cyclones' 25 50 third-down success ranks them as the 24th-best team in that situation nationally, fourth in the Big 12.

Of Iowa State's 27 pass attempts on third down, 11 of those were converted for a first down and four of them for a touchdown and an interception.

Iowa State has run the ball 23 times on third down and converted 11 of those into a first down and one into a touchdown. It also averages 3.04 yards when it runs in that specific situation.

Despite Iowa State being highly efficient in that category, Arizona has the eighth-ranked defense in third-down conversion stops. Collectively, its opponents have converted the ball nine times on 40 tries (22.5%).

The Arizona defense's average yardage for its opponents has been eight yards on third down and they have converted just four times out of 24 (16.7%) attempts. Arizona has allowed just one conversion for a first down on 10 attempts when its opponent is within six yards.

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