Taking a Deep Dive Into Noah Fifita Against Houston
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Welcome! To another edition of the Arizona Wildcats Insiders Podcast featuring your host Troy Hutchison, who will be delivering a daily podcast discussing everything happening surrounding Arizona athletics giving you an inside look at all the programs on campus.
Hutchison has been covering Arizona for the last seven years with his coverage spanning all-across UA’s campus from football and men’s basketball to Title IX sports. Plus, with so many former Wildcats playing at the next level in their prospective sports there will be moments where he will take a deep dive into the Cats excelling outside of Tucson.
So far in the Brent Brennan era of Arizona football, the Wildcats have had their struggles on the road with four-straight losses dating back to last year. UA has lost those games by an average of 28 points and have fallen behind by double-digits in all four games.
On Saturday, Arizona (4-3, 1-3) was able to get things going early by striking quickly as quarterback Noah Fifita hit receiver Tre Spivey for a 70-yard touchdown pass, which seemed to set the tone early for the offense.
Despite the fast start, Arizona found itself trailing 21-14 to Houston (6-1-,3-1) at the half thanks to defensive struggles in the second quarter. And once again, the Wildcats lost the middle eight of the game, which resulted in a Cougars 31-28 win over the Wildcats.
Similarly to the BYU game, Arizona’s defense struggled against the run as Houston quarterback Conner Weigman sliced and diced the middle of the defense by racking 98 yards on 14 carries. Meanwhile as a team, the Cougars rushed for 232 yards for the game.
The rushing attack for Houston really opened things up in the secondary against Arizona as the Cougars totaled 164 yards through the air and racked up three passing touchdowns.
Just two weeks ago, the Wildcats’ defense hadn’t given up a passing touchdown all season. Now, Arizona has allowed four in two games.
Near the start of the fourth quarter, Arizona was able to cut into the lead with a rushing score from Spivey, which sparked the offense.
After getting a key stop with a missed 48-yard field goal by Houston, Arizona’s offense methodically moved the ball down field and tied the game up on a rushing touchdown from running back Kedrick Reescano.
Although the Wildcats battled back in the fourth quarter to tie the game, Houston got the ball back with under five minutes left and relied on its running game to set up the game-winning 41-yard field goal against Arizona.
It wasn’t just Weigman that gashed the Wildcats’ defense on the ground, Houston running back Dean Connors racked up 100 yards on 20 carries and really seemed to wear down Danny Gonzales’ defense.
At the end of the day, it was another heartbreaking loss for an Arizona team that seemed to be haunted by road games with the losing streak growing to five games for Brennan and his staff.
Now that the game is in the books, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have put together our grade for quarterback Noah Fifita against Houston.
Noah Fifita’s Stat Line
Against Houston, Fifita was able to have one of his best games of the season, going an impressive 24 of 26 totaling 269 yards and two touchdowns.
Grade: A
Reason
This was the best game of the season for Fifita, his passes were sharp, on the money and leading the receivers to the open space. There were not many passes where he threw behind the receiver, or missed completely.
Fifita gave Arizona every chance to get back in and win the game. The loss does not fall on him, or the offense as a whole.
The only mistake Fifita made was making the wrong read on an RPO call on 4th and 1 that led to an Arizona turnover.
Please be sure to share your thoughts on the grade we gave Noah Fifita and what you think of his performance against UH. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link and give us a tweet!
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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