Arizona Still Struggling With Ongoing Issues on Special Teams

The Arizona Wildcats football team has now started 3-0 for the first time since 2015 after taking down Kansas State in a gritty game that saw both squads try to get up on one another.

Head coach Brent Brennan was more than thrilled about the win and credited his team for fighting through when things started to get tough.

"I think every football game when you're playing against a program that's as good as you say, there's going to be back and forth, back and forth," Brennan said.

"Those guys have won a lot of football games for a really long time. They're extremely well coached. They have good players. And so there's going to be back and forth. What I love is, I love the response, because we had two really ugly plays back to back, and then we responded in all three phases. And that's what good teams do, is when something goes wrong, you respond, and that's redline."

MSM — Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats punter Michael Salgado-Medina (19) against the Colorado Buffalos at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

By the end of the game, Arizona was the dominant team in total yards with 412 against a K-State defense that was out to prove itself after a sluggish start to the season.

Arizona is now heading into a bye week and will look to polish off the mistakes that were made before it faces a well-disciplined, tough No. 14-ranked Iowa State Cyclones team in Ames, IA.

Aug 30, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Brent Brennan walks down the Wildcat Walk before the start of the game against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

One particular area that Arizona needs to improve on before facing its biggest challenge of the season in the Cyclones is the special teams unit.

While most of that unit has been solid, several mistakes occurred, such as a dropped snap that resulted in a blocked punt and two missed field goals by Michael Salgado-Medina.

The kicking game needs improving

Michael Salgado-Medina kicking a field goal. | Sarah Rosewater, Arizona Athletics

By the end of the night, Salgado-Medina missed three of the six field goals that he attempted. Despite the forgettable outing that he had against K-State, Brennan is still confident in his kicker's ability.

"I got faith in Michael, and he had two bad plays, but then he responded to get the field goal after that," Brennan said during the post-game press conference. "So I believe in that young man, and he's going to be a great player here for years to come."

Sep 12, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats defensive lineman Deshawn McKnight (0) celebrates after he tackles the Kansas State Wildcats during the third quarter of the game at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

All three of Salgado-Medina's misses were from 47, 62 and 46 yards out. His first two field goals were from 31 yards out. His final field goal was from 41 yards.

"I think we've got work to do there. I think there's some coaching that needs to be detailed up in some of those spaces. I think that Coach Naivar is an outstanding special teams coach in terms of the detail, energy, time, and effort he puts into it. And I think that's part of that red line that hasn't shown up as a total execution special team space. So I think the buy is coming at a valuable time, because I think some of the challenges we've had there are fixable, and we need to get to fixing them."

Please let us know what you think about Arizona's special teams unit and what else needs to be fixed before it plays Iowa State. You can do so on our X account. Just click the link to find us and be sure to give us a follow.

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