Improvements Arizona Can Make After Win Over Hawaii
Arizona ran the score up on Hawaii in its 40-6 win on Saturday, showing that it is a completely different team from last season's, which went a very underwhelming 4-8 and finished 14th in the Big 12.
Arizona showed that it made incredible amounts of improvement from the addition of depth to the defensive line, to bolstering the physicality of the running backs to take pressure off of quarterback Noah Fifita.
Distribution of the ball was also a matter of concern as Fifita had trouble targeting receivers other than Tetairoa McMillan last year. Now that he is in the NFL, head coach Brent Brennan went out and signed six new receivers from the transfer portal and through high school recruitment.
He was impressed with the speed that the revamped wide receiver room showed off on Saturday. Eight different receivers were targeted in the pass game.
"I think we have some room to grow there," Brennan said. "I think that part of it, we had a couple guys who were unavailable tonight, who are impactful players at that position. I think we also saw some guys do some stuff. We saw some freshmen get in there and mix it up and make some plays. And I think the more people that we can get on the field. And the more confidence Noah has for distributing the football makes it harder to defend us."
Brennan was also enthused about the physicality that the running back room showed, as three different runners carried the ball six times, all of them scoring a touchdown.
"In the run game, I thought all three backs ran hard," Brennan said. "Some of that stuff they had to create, because everything, or a lot of what Hawaii does, is they're always kind of plus run game. They're always trying to outnumber you in the run game. And so we knew that some of those runs that our back was going to be one-on-one with a linebacker or safety and he was either going to have to make him miss or break a tackle. And so I thought there was good physicality there, too. So I'm encouraged."
The defense has also made a major step up from last year. in that part of the field, they created five turnovers, 10 tackles for loss and four sacks.
"I think that was exciting," Brennan said. "We had 10 different players have a tackle for loss in the game, which is exciting... So, I think in terms of where we're at, it's a great start now. Now I want to put my foot on the gas pedal, like, how great can we be? And so I think, when we look at that tape and evaluate what went well and what didn't, I think that we're going to be really excited about the stuff that was good and then we're also going to be really demanding."
Where there was major improvement, there are still some things to clean up before Arizona gets into the Big 12 portion of its schedule. Here is a list of three things the Wildcats could improve on after its domination of Hawaii.
Third down efficiency
Despite putting 40 points up on Hawaii and being perfect from the red zone, Arizona struggled on third downs, going 3 for 11 in that category.
The Wildcats will need to work on execution when it comes to situational play calling for them to improve on that.
Doing so will increase offensive production and decrease the constant need for big plays and fourth-down conversions.
Consistent quarterback play
While Fifita looked good for the most part, there were some drives where he seemed to be off with his timing.
There were some missed throws to his receivers, a couple occurring in the red zone, albeit he was able to recover from them and lead his squad to a perfect 6 for 6 in that area.
Whether it was off timing or just missing/sailing passes, that area should tighten up prior to Arizona playing the better opponents.
Consistency on the offensive line
While the run game was highly efficient, Hawaii managed to get a good amount of pressure on Fifita during some pass plays, particularly on the right side, causing him to be flushed out of the pocket.
Improving in pass protection will be highly critical for Arizona to succeed later on in the bulk of the season, when it faces stronger fronts later on.
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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.