In its first real test of the season, Arizona showed that it’s nowhere close to perfect, but that it’s matured significantly in the second year under Brent Brennan. The UA jumped out to a 17-3 halftime lead, but made costly mistakes in the third quarter that allowed Kansas State to close the gap and tie the game in the second half. But the hometown Wildcats, led by quarterback Noah Fifita, who appears to be returning to 2023 form, and a defense that’s one of the best in the nation, carried Arizona to a gritty victory. Between the good, the bad, and everything in between, check out our five reactions and takeaways from the Arizona Wildcats’ 23-17 win over Kansas State.
1) Noah’s ark keeps Arizona afloat
After a storybook season earned him Freshman of the Year honors in 2023, Noah Fifita took a step in the wrong direction in 2024 under signal callers Dino Babers and Matt Adkins. Well, with new offensive coordinator and former Texas Tech quarterback Seth Doege at the helm, Fifita is returning to 2023 form. Through three games, Fifita has racked up 712 yard and six touchdowns through the air, while completing 61.5 percent of his passes. As impressive as those numbers are, just as important is Noah Fifita’s security with the football. At this point last season, Noah had thrown three interceptions. This year, Fifita has yet to turn the ball over this season, either via an interception or fumble.
Not only is Noah Fifita making smart decisions with the football, he’s also expanding his game as a rushing threat. While Fifita has only accounted for 37 yards on 28 attempts, he has notched three rushing touchdowns this season, after entering the season with just one career rushing score.
It’s not just the fact that Fifita is using his legs, it’s the way he’s using them. Last season, Fifita often tucked the football due to receivers’ inability to get open, but this year, Fifita is scrambling because he wants to, not because he needs to. With an already loaded running back room, Fifita’s added threat as a runner, especially in the red zone and around the goal line, puts that much more pressure on opposing defenses.
2) Danny’s defense is DOMINATING!
After the year Arizona had in 2024, there were inevitably questions about the product on the field in 2025. Seth Doege has quelled those concerns on offense, but what about on the defensive side of the ball? Well, Danny Gonzales, who was elevated from linebackers coach and special teams coordinator in 2024 to defensive coordinator in 2025, has quieted the concerns on defense as well.
Arizona’s defense is allowing just 8.67 points per game on average, good for 18th-best in the nation. Among teams that have played three games this season though, Arizona is second in average points allowed, behind only Indiana.
The Wildcats’ defense leads the nation in turnovers gained with a whopping eight takeaways through three games. Arizona is also one of four teams in with a plus six turnover margin, tied for first in Division 1 football.
Junior defensive back Genesis Smith has been everything as advertised, while veteran defensive back Dalton Johnson and linebacker Chase Kennedy continue to make game-impacting plays week in and week out, pressuring quarterbacks, forcing fumbles, and falling on loose footballs.
It’s still too early to say the Desert Swarm is back, but Arizona’s defense under Coach Gonzales certainly appears to be on that trajectory.
3) Right tackle, more like wrong tackle
As good as Arizona’s offense has been this season, the offensive line, and particularly right tackle, continues to raise concerns. Hawaii transfer Ka’ena Decambra at center and former Texas Tech left tackle Ty Buchanan have impressed through the first three games. At right tackle, Michigan transfer Tristan Bounds and Rhino Tapa’atoutai, who is returning from a season-ending knee injury in 2024, not so much.
Rhino has a team-low 38.6 offensive PFF grade through his two games, earning a 60.1 run blocking grade and a 14.4 pass blocking grade. By the numbers, Bounds has been better, earning a 70.5 overall offensive grade, with 69.7 run blocking grade and a 71.8 pass blocking grade. The two also lead the team in pressures, hurries, and sacks allowed on quarterback Noah Fifita.
Tapa’atoutai excelled during his freshman season, but has a lot to prove as he continues to ramp back up to his 2024 pre-injury form. Until that happens, offensive line coach Josh Oglesby, as well as Seth Doege and Brent Brennan, will need to continue exploring new combinations and possibilities on the line.
4) Penalties will cost Arizona a game
If there’s been one glaring spot through three games this season, it’s Arizona’s discipline in the penalty game. The Wildcats, who have been called for 25 penalties for a total of 190 yards, are tied for the ninth-most penalized team in Division 1 this season.
The offense has had touchdown opportunities negated in all three games due to penalty calls, either wiping touchdowns off the board, or forcing Arizona to settle for field goals after getting behind the sticks.
Right tackle Rhino Tapa’atoutai leads the team with five penalties committed, adding to his struggles as he works to return from his 2024 season-ending knee injury.
Arizona’s offense and defense have been dominant enough this season that it has been able to overcome the penalties, but at some point, in a contested game, the Wildcats won’t be so luckly.
Simply put, “one penalty is too many penalties,” as offensive coordinator Seth Doege pointed out.
5) Special teams looking more suspicious than special
As impressive as Arizona has looked on offense and defense, the Wildcats’ special teams unit has left something to be desired through the quarter-mark of the season. Michael Salgado-Medina and the punting unit continue to struggle under first year coordinator Craig Naivar, and Friday’s game against Kansas State was no exception.
In Arizona’s disastrous third quarter, Salgado-Medina dropped a punt, leading to a turnover on downs, which set K-State up with an instant red zone opportunity at the UA 13 yard line. That miscue led to an Avery Johnson rushing touchdown, knotting the game at 17, before two more field goals helped Arizona escape with a 23-17 lead. Between a nearly-blocked punt in Week 1 against Hawaii, and the struggles on Friday, it feels like it’s a when, not an if, that Australian punter Isaac Lovison takes over punting duties.
The punt-return game also is not as crisp as it needs to be. Kansas State’s only first-half points came on the other Arizona special teams miscue in the game, when defensive back Marquis Groves-Killebrew bumped into Jeremiah Patterson, who muffed the punt, giving K-State the ball at the Arizona 23 yard line.
With a bye-week on the schedule, special teams operations are one of the many things Arizona can devote a little extra time to before traveling to Iowa State for its first Big 12 game of the season on Saturday, September 27.