AMES, IA – After an exciting 3-0 start to the season, Saturday was a harsh reality check for the Arizona Wildcats. In the Big 12 season-opener, as well as the program’s first game against the Cyclones since 1968, Brent Brennan and Co. were thumped from start to finish, suffering a 39-14 defeat. Here is everything Arizona head coach, as well as quarterback Noah Fifita and defensive back Treydan said postgame following the loss at No. 14 Iowa State.
Brent Brennan:
Brent Brennan on how Arizona’s performance against Iowa State:
“Going into the game, you guys heard me talk about, you know, this game being a measuring stick for us. And, you know, I own that reference, and tonight was a harsh measuring stick. I think, you know, there was moments where we showed toughness and made some plays, but it wasn’t nearly enough. I think that’s one of those – the harsh reality of losing a game like that, when we don’t execute on the level that we need to against the top 12, 14, opponent in their stadium, you’re not going to feel great about the result.
And you know, as I look at it, I think this is something that we have to learn from, and I have to learn from it, and we have to regroup and learn from what we did well, what we didn’t do well, and really attack them, and really attack that collectively. And I think because there were opportunities in all three phases that we did not take advantage of, and that’s Redline accountability.
I tip my hat to those guys. Coach Campbell, Iowa State, very good football team, and they did a great job tonight. But you know, for us, you know, moving forward, I’m looking forward to getting to work tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to seeing how our team attacks the process of getting the things fixed that didn’t go well tonight, and that starts with me. So we’ve got a lot of work to do. We have a lot of football left to play. I love this team. I’m excited about this team, but tonight wasn’t good enough.”
Brent Brennan on Arizona’s subpar special teams play:
“Well, I think you missed the field goal, those are momentum plays, you know what I mean. And so that, you know, because we feel we put together a nice drive there, you know, coming off the kickoff return. So you know, that part of it is disappointing, because we believe in Michael and he’s a young player, but he needs to make that kick. He knows that. The Dalton [play], I got to see the film that because something looked funny there.”
Brent Brennan on linebacker Riley Wilson’s performance:
“I think we’re excited about Riley. I think Riley’s a guy that we’re excited to have healthy and ready to rock and ready to rock and roll, and so you started to see him, you know, getting mixed tonight and be effective when he was in there. And I think, you know, the linebacker group is a good group for us. So I think the good thing is to have good players in depth and high level competition in as many positions as possible.”
Brent Brennan on the offense struggling to get into rhythm throughout the game:
“I agree. And I think that’s, you know, that’s one of those things that when your offense doesn’t execute collectively, that’s on everybody that’s a part of it, coaches, players, all of us. And that’s why I’m excited to get back, look at it, and see what those issues were.
I thought Iowa State is a really sound defense. They play hard, they tackle well. And I think the, you know, when we turn the ball over, those were such huge momentum swings in the game. You know, we just, we would have some momentum, be moving the ball, or we’d get to stop, be moving the ball. And then we had those turnovers coming [at] like really, really costly times, and it really impacted the outcome.”
Brent Brennan on timing issues between quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Chris Hunter:
“I think more than anything, I think, you know, some of those times, Noah got moved off his spot, you know, with the pass rush or pressure, you know. So that part of it is frustrating, because Chris has been a really solid player for us.”
Brent Brennan on Iowa State’s offensive attack:
“I think that’s the hard part about it is with the way they’re built, with their tight ends, and they’re really big offensive line, the quarterback being an effective runner, you know, them always getting to even or, you know, trying to get the plus one in the run game. And I thought they did a really good job of moving the football, combined with the big shots over the top, you know, got into some of those situations and we gave them big plays down the field.”
Brent Brennan on Arizona’s defensive performance overall:
“I think we can play better. I think everybody’s going to say that. And I don’t think you need to be a genius to figure that out. You know what I mean. But I think we can play better in all three phases. And like I said earlier, this game was a big time measuring stick for us, the harsh one hurts, because, you know, they beat us, and they beat us fair and square. But now, what are we going to do about that’s what I want to know. Like, what are we going to do about as a team, as a coaching staff? How are we going to fix that ****? Because that was not it.”
Brent Brennan on the impact field position had in Saturday’s game?
“Massive. Right? Like, that’s like, especially when you’re on the road, like, those field position, the field position swings, I would say, really, starting field position for Iowa State, versus starting field position for us. You know, some of that was penalties, you know, I mean, like, some of that, you know, obviously, on the on the drive with the hit, [with] Dalton on the kick-catch interference, right? Like they’re going to get, they’re going to have the ball at midfield, and then we added 30 yards of, you know, free yards on the kick-catch interference and then the pass interference there on, you know, down the sideline. So those are things you can’t do if you’re going to be a good football team, you can’t do those things.”
Brent Brennan on running back Quincy Craig being limited to four carries:
“Well, I think, you know, Ish ran the ball really well against a really good defense a week ago or two weeks ago, and so he got the lion’s share of the carries. We feel great about that running back room, we really do. All those guys can play, all of them can contribute. You know, tonight we went with Ish.”
Brent Brennan on the performance from Arizona’s offensive line:
“I think those guys are coming together. And that’s an always an ongoing process with your offensive line, because it’s five players, and in that group, we’ve got, you know, a couple of transfers, and you know, some young guys playing, but I think Coach Oglesby does a good job. I think we’re making progress there. It’s not good enough yet, but I think we’re making progress.”
Brent Brennan on Treydan Stukes’ first interception since returning from his season-ending knee injury:
“Stukes is a leader of our football team. He’s an outstanding young man. He’s a great player, and we’re excited to have him back full speed. And I think as you see him continue to play, and gain confidence, and get his legs underneath him, you’re gonna see more great football plays from Treydan Stukes. So we’re excited he’s back.”
Brent Brennan on Arizona overcoming adversity and learning from the loss at Iowa State:
“The biggest thing is that we have to be honest about what happened tonight. We have to be really honest about it, and we have to be willing to take the coaching. And coaches have to be honest with each other and ourselves about the plays we call, the situation we put our players in, that kind of thing. And if we’re honest about it and really dive into our process, then that’ll give us a chance to continue to improve as a football team, because we’re one month into this season.
Obviously, we’ve got a ton of football left to play, and so how we attack the work, how we attack our process, and make the adjustments, and whether it’s schematic or personnel changes we need to make, then that’ll put us on the right track for where we want to go. But we’re, like, I’ve said this many times, we are a football team. We want compete for championships, and so we know that we have to get to work and we have to earn that process, or we have to earn that through our process.”
Noah Fifita:
Noah Fifita on the loss to Iowa State:
I”t’s hard. It’s definitely hard. Losing though is difficult, but there’s a lot to learn from it. You gotta be able to start faster, especially offensively. Gotta help our defense out when they when they get us a big time stop. So, I’ll eat this one. I know Coach Doege’s taking it personal as well. So we’ve got to help Coach Doege [get] right, and we’ve got to get back to the drawing board.”
Noah Fifita on Arizona’s lack of offensive rhythm:
“Yeah, I’ll take the blame for that. I mean, at the end of the day, the offense goes how I go. So if I’m not getting the ball out of my hands, if I’m not putting the ball inn play, we’re going to struggle. So I know Coach Doege came in and said this loss is on him, and respectfully, I disagree on the guy – I gotta be a lot better for him. Gotta be a lot better for the offense.”
Noah Fifita on his first interception of the season:
“The corner made a great job coming off in cover two. He made a great play. But I gotta be able to see that and check it out.”
Noah Fifita on running back Ismail Mahdi’s performance:
“He’s played fantastic since spring ball, since we got him. We knew he was special. I don’t think we knew how special a person was. He works extremely hard each and every day. He’s always smiling during some of those off drives. He was a big voice on the sideline for us to keep us up. So he’s a tremendous person.
Noah Fifita on how Arizona can learn from the loss at Iowa State:
“We’ve got to respond. That’s our message, Redline and respond. And we got to be able to go in and do that now. So this one game, obviously we want to win them all, but that’s one game in a 12 game season. So we got to be able to bounce back. We got to see how fast we can get back to Redline.”
Noah Fifita on Kris Hutson scoring his first touchdown as an Arizona Wildcat:
“He’s super explosive, and he’s a fierce competitor. Every time a play needs to be made, ‘K-Hut’ is going to be able to make it. So it was great to see him back on the field getting his feet back under him, and I know him and the rest of the receiver room are going to take off.”
Treydan Stukes:
Treydan Stukes on the loss to Iowa State:
“We just didn’t accomplish our goal, obviously, at the end of the day is to win. We didn’t do that, obviously, so we’ve got to go back to the drawing board. Can’t go back in time. Let’s get back to practice, get it cleaned up and [get] ready to get out here next week.”
Treydan Stukes on Iowa State’s offense, especially on third down:
“They’re just a really well coached, well disciplined team. They had some good stuff for us. Kind of got us in some heaters, got some looks they wanted, and you know, were able to capitalize. And you know, there’s also stuff that we left out there, plays we could have made. We’ll see it tomorrow, film, obviously, and then we’ll get back up there and start making those plays.”
Treydan Stukes on playing against Iowa State’s physical roster, including its tight ends:
“I mean, yeah, they got some big fellas in the tight end. They run a lot of 12- and 13-personnel. So, you know, but we were prepared for it. We thought, you know, we had a good game plan going in. Just didn’t execute it well enough.”
Treydan Stukes on getting his first interception since returning from his season-ending knee injury in 2024:
“It felt good. You know, it’s always a big time play to get the ball back to best quarterback in the conference. So, you know, we’ll try to get some more in. But at the end of the day, we’re, you know, team goal’s to win and get that gas up.”