Brent Brennan said after the Territorial Cup on Saturday that Arizona’s season has been an “absolute misery.” While we wouldn’t go that far, the Wildcats left a lot on the table, especially given the return of one of the best quarterback-wide receiver duos in the nation, and high expectations coming into the season. With Year 1 of the Brent Brennan era officially in the books, check out our 2024 Territorial Cup postgame analysis and thoughts heading into the offseason.
Offense
– Arizona’s offense against ASU was straight up bad. The Wildcats couldn’t move the ball, finishing with just 210 yards of offense, and averaging a mere 3.6 yards per play in the 2024 Territorial Cup. Play-calling has been questionable at best all season long, but yesterday was particularly frustrating, as the UA had just 126 passing yards (season-low) and 84 rushing yards.
– Noah Fifita has not looked as sharp as he did a year ago during his PAC-12 Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign. He looks less comfortable in the pocket, is holding the ball longer, taking more sacks, and forcing more turnovers. While it’s certainly a step backwards, Fifita has been without a stable offensive line for most of the season. After Raymond Pulido became unavailable for the season, redshirt freshman Rhino Tapa’atoutai was thrust into the starting lineup, before suffering a season ending leg injury. The offensive line also saw injuries to Josh Baker and Jonah Savaiinaea, who missed their first games as Wildcats this season. So, while replacing Jordan Morgan was already a tall task, going from Morgan and Big Jonah book-ending the line last season, to Michael Wooten and Joey Capra starting in Saturday’s Territorial Cup, is nowhere close to the same.
– With Arizona’s tanks upfront already damaged, the Wildcats needed their artillery to step up big against ASU. Instead, they fizzled out. Like much of the season, Jeremiah Patterson and Montana Lemonious-Craig were invisible in the receiving game yesterday, with MLC’s biggest play coming after the game as he tried to prevent former Wildcat and ASU defensive lineman Jacob Kongaika from planting a pitchfork on the Block A at midfield in Arizona Stadium.
But just how absent have the Wildcats’ receivers been all season? Biletnikoff Award finalist and Arizona’s all-time receiving yards leader Tetairoa McMillan hauled in 1,319 yards. The rest of Arizona’s wide receivers and tight ends (eight players with at least one receptions) had 1,298 yards combined. And while redshirt sophomore Chris Hunter showed flashes, hauling in 35 receptions for 323 yards and three touchdowns, the gap between him and T-Mac is just too large. Simply put, Arizona does not have the weapons to be as explosive as it did last season. Jeremiah Patterson is not Jacob Cowing, and Keyan Burnett and Sam Olson, even by committee, are not Tanner McLachlan. The moral of the story: Wildcat fans should cherish their memories with T-Mac, because it will be a long time before another receiver like that lands in Tucson.
– Arizona’s ground game was a similar story on Saturday and throughout the 2024 season. The Wildcats put together one of their poorer ground game performances of the season, rushing for just 84 yards in the Territorial Cup loss to ASU. Arizona struggled to find gaps in ASU’s defense, and was unable to use its strength to break through inside, or speed to beat the Sun Devils around the edge. Between a porous offensive line, questionable play design featuring delayed handoffs and other slow-developing runs, and a significantly weaker room than a season ago that featured Jonah Coleman and Michael Wiley, the Wildcats have a lot of work to do this offseason. Fortunately for Arizona, Alonzo Carter is one of the more thoughtful and creative running back coaches in the Big 12 and country, and should have the group much improved heading into 2025.
Defense
– For the first time all season, Arizona looked truly dejected on Saturday. After playing with so much fight and heart over the past two weeks against Houston and TCU, the Wildcats looked like they were going through the motions for much of the 2024 Territorial Cup. They missed tackles, and failed to pressure or sack Sam Leavitt much at all, tallying just two sacks and one quarterback hurry. Arizona surrendered the most yard to an opponent this season against the Sun Devils, who generated 643 yards of total offense, averaging 9.9 yards per play. After spending the week preparing to spoil ASU’s chances at a Big 12 Championship and CFP spot, the Wildcats did quite the opposite.
– Is there any other program across the country with injury issues like Arizona’s? We’d be hard pressed to find one. Defensive captains Treydan Stukes, who defensive coordinator Duane Akina called the “best kept secret in college football”, Gunner Maldonado, the reigning Alamo Bowl defensive MVP, and Jacob Manu, Arizona’s leading tackler prior to his injury, all suffered season-ending injuries early into conference play for the Wildcats. Arizona also battled injuries to cornerbacks Tacario Davis and Marquis Groves-Killebrew, defensive tackles Isaiah Johnson and Chubba Ma’ae, and more throughout the season.
Young or inexperienced players including defensive backs Jack Luttrell and Owen Goss, and linebacker Kamuela Ka’aihue played with admirable heart and energy, but their lack of game experience was exposed down the stretch for Arizona. Brent Brennan said after the game that “every aspect of the program is under evaluation” and that a “hardcore evaluation” of the program and its staff begins on Sunday. Outside of the offensive play-calling, strength and conditioning needs to be at the top of his list. It’s already hard enough to having a winning season in college football, so to do it while having to ‘MacGyver’ a defense without its three best players and then some is damn near impossible.
– Defensive coordinator Duane Akina spoke about “adding a twist” to Arizona’s defense during spring ball. He emphasized being more aggressive, having the defensive line and edge rushers standing up more, and more vertical pass rush lanes on the way to the quarterback. But that didn’t materialize into more sacks and QB hurries as intended. Sacks are down from 34.0 to 20.0 and QB hurries are down 62.0 to 35.0 versus the 2023 season. Injuries to Stukes, Isaiah Johnson, and Chubba certainly didn’t help, but the Wildcats struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks throughout the season, and were ineffective at generating a consistent and effective pass rush all year long.
– Dalton Johnson was a bright spot, both on and off the field, on an otherwise dull defense for Arizona. Much like Martell Irby last season, Johnson stepped into a hybrid-linebacker/safety role for the Wildcats down the stretch, and excelled. He led the team with 94 tackles, and continued to prove that he is Arizona’s best open-field tackler. Even after tough losses, week after week, Johnson took time to speak with media, never got frustrated, and always delivered a strong and powerful message to the locker room about staying connected and supporting the brotherhood.
Special Teams
– Execution on special teams has been a concern all season for Arizona. Saturday was no exception, as Tyler Loop’s lone field goal attempt was not without controversy in the 2024 Territorial Cup. Left tackle Michael Wooten came on to the field late, drawing a false start penalty. Loop’s 55-yard re-try, which would be his final field goal attempt of his Arizona career, was no good after it soared right. Special teams coordinator Danny Gonzales is really smart and experienced football coach, and an even better person, but allowing a punt return for a touchdown against Kansas State, nearly allowing one against Houston, and the number of botched snaps and holds on field goal and PAT attempts are inexcusable mistakes.
Coaching
– There’s a lot of trust that Brent Brennan needs to rebuild with Wildcat Nation. Arizona fans have lost confidence in the direction of the program, and the coaching staff hasn’t done or said a lot down the stretch to restore any of that confidence, especially after the 2024 Territorial Cup. While we believe Brent Brennan should be retained for at least one more season, changes need to be made immediately, starting with a comprehensive review of the offensive staff. Offensive coordinator Dino Babers, who is on a one-year contract, hasn’t called a play since September, and Matt Adkins was responsible for orchestrating Arizona’s abysmal Big 12 play for most of the season. Defensively, it feels like Duane Akina and Co. did an okay enough job given the injuries and challenges. One way or another, expect changes to be announced soon.