Three BOLD Observations from Arizona's 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.
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.
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.
Now with the game over, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have put together our three observations from the Wildcats’ loss to Iowa State.
Three Observations
Conversion Issues
- Arizona went 4-for-13 on third downs and 5-for-16 on third down and fourth downs combined. The Wildcats left themselves behind the chains all night and weren't able to overcome it in a tough environment on the road for the first time this season. That'll be a focus of emphasis as Arizona looks to bounce back next week back at home against Oklahoma State.
Noah Fifita
- The Arizona offense as a whole appeared to be confused and one dimensional at times, specifically the play of Noah Fifita, who is usually in control of his squad.
- Fifita did his best to lead his team down the field and put points on the board, but the throws down the field were not there for him as he averaged just 7.9 yards per pass completion.
🗣️ Our ball!
— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) September 28, 2025
📺 ESPN https://t.co/uRjvjlmoQh pic.twitter.com/OZHaFwAzah
- He also threw two bad interceptions against the Cyclones, letting the 3-3-5 defense get the best of him and his receivers.
- Fifita utilized his legs to keep the offense rolling in the last game he played, but those opportunities were not there for him against an Iowa State defensive front that relentlessly crashed down on him.
- Overall, Fifita played a somewhat efficient game, but mistakes stopped the offense dead in its tracks and he was not able to get the ball downfield the way he had needed to for success.
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
Arizona’s Secondary
- One of the best units on the Wildcats’ team this season has been the defensive secondary, which is filled with veteran guys and led by safety Genesis Smith. Arizona had held two of its first three opponents to under 100 yards passing.
- However, against Iowa State, the Wildcats allowed SIX explosive plays in the passing game and watched Becht rack up 243 yards passing while going 14 of 20 on his throws.
- Arizona will need to clean things up in the secondary in order to get the defensive unit back on track after giving up 39 points to the Cyclones.
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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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Ari Koslow is a sports writer covering the University of Arizona athletics at On SI. Koslow has been covering Arizona sports for several years. Born and raised in Seattle, he is a diehard Seahawks fan and a longtime sufferer of the Mariners. He is a huge fantasy football fanatic. Koslow is a graduate of Arizona’s School of Journalism.
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.