Arizona Football Talk: Arizona vs. No. 14 Iowa State Preview
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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 respective sports, there will be moments where he will take a deep dive into the Cats' excelling outside of Tucson.
Arizona sought to get back on track after an underwhelming first season under Brent Brennan, during which the team finished 4-8 and missed a bowl game despite preseason high expectations.
Well, after changes were made to the coaching staff and the roster, Brennan seems to have the Wildcats moving in the right direction with the team starting the year with 3-straight impressive wins over Hawaii, Weber State and Kansas State.
On the offensive side of the ball, Brennan brought in coordinator Seth Doege to fix the issues from a season ago, where the team averaged 21.8 PPG. However, if you take a deeper dive into the offense, the unit struggled to crack 20-plus points if you take out the New Mexico game, where the Wildcats dropped 61 points on the Lobos.
When you take that game out of the equation, Arizona averaged 18.2 PPG, putting the unit near the bottom of the conference.
So far in three games, Arizona is averaging 37 PPG which places the Wildcats at No. 37 nationally.
Meanwhile, on the defensive side of the ball, Brennan promoted Danny Gonzales to defensive coordinator, where he has mixed up the scheme and has brought a new aggression to his unit.
In three games, the Wildcats have held opponents to 8.7 PPG, which places them at No. 10 nationally. Arizona has only allowed two touchdowns all season, with both coming against Kansas State in the last game.
Now, Arizona gets ready for a game against No. 14 Iowa State following the bye week with a Saturday 4 p.m. (MST) kickoff time on ESPN.
As we get closer to kickoff, the first availability report of the Big 12 season for Arizona and Iowa State has been released. Going into the bye week, the Wildcats had several players who had been banged up through the first week and saw some time missed on the field.
Some guys that had been going through injury issues were defensive end Tre Smith, running back Kedrick Reescano, receivers Kris Hutson and Chris Hunter, defensive back Tredyan Stukes, and linebacker Riley Wilson.
Of all of those players that have been going through issues, only Reescano was listed, and the rest seem good to go after the first availability report of the season. This means, the Wildcats are the healthiest they’ve been all year as the team heads into Ames to take on the Cyclones.
Knowing that the Wildcats are coming into the game healthy and have had a bye week ahead of the game against No. 14 Iowa State, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have made our game prediction for the showdown in Ames.
Game Prediction
No. 14 Iowa State: 20
Arizona: 17
Reason
These might be the two best defensive teams in the Big 12 conference, with elite-level athletes at all three levels of the defense. Arizona has been able to slow down the running game and keep running quarterbacks under control.
This game will be two tough teams fitting a physical battle that will be won by special teams. If you look at the issues the Wildcats have had with that unit, Iowa State seems to have the edge. So, that is why we are going with the Cyclones to escape with a three-point win.
Please be sure to share your thoughts on our game prediction for the Wildcats’ game against Iowa State. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.
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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