TUCSON, AZ – After a much anticipated offseason, Team 123 officially took the field on Saturday night for the season-opener against in-state foe NAU. Arizona looked polished on both sides of the ball, using a balanced air and ground attack, while defensively not allowing any points. As coaches always say though, the biggest growth of the season happens between week one and week two. Here are five takeaways from the Arizona Wildcats’ 35-7 season-opener victory against the NAU Lumberjacks.
Efficiency and balance key for Noah Fifita and Arizona’s offense:
Arizona finished with 520 yards of total offense against the Lumberjacks, the most in a season-opener this decade. Noah Fifita and Sawyer Anderson combined for over 300 yards through the air, while a stable of running backs led by Kedrick Reescano and Antwan Roberts rushed for 206 yards. While the volume is impressive, the efficiency should have second-year offensive coordinator Seth Doege smiling when he goes back to watch the tape.
Fifita was a crisp 22-of-29 passing, throwing for 262 yards and two touchdowns, both over 20 yards. He averaged more than a first down per throw – 11.9 yards to be exact – and was smart with the football, getting it out quick when he could, extending plays when he needed to, and never forcing the ball into tight windows. He did have a couple of throws behind targets on quick slants, but even First-Team All-Big 12 signal-callers aren’t perfect all the time.
On the ground, Kedrick Reescano and Antwan Roberts were explosive with the football in their hands. Reescano picked up right where he left off last season, averaging nearly five yards per carry and punching it into the end zone for a pair of goal line scores, including one on 4th and goal. Roberts was my surprise of the night – the Marshall transfer only had four carries, but made the most of his opportunity, rushing 45 yards (11.3 yards per carry) and a touchdown. Had he not lost a fumble midway through the fourth quarter, he likely would have eclipsed 60-70 yards rushing and tacked on another score, because every time he had the ball in his hands, it looked like he could go the distance.
Arizona’s will need to clean up offensive mistakes, including a pair of lost fumbles, if it wants to hang with BYU on the road in week two. The Wildcats will need to play a nearly-perfect game need week in Provo if they want to take down head coach Kalani Sitake and second-year quarterback Bear Bachmeier’s Cougars, which finished with 521 yards of total offense – one more than the Wildcats – and hung 63 points on their in-state FCS foe Utah Tech on Saturday.
Thriving on third down:
One of the Wildcats’ more glaring opportunities on offense last season was their ability to convert on third down and capitalize on opportunities in red zone. Now, some of that is to be expected in the first year of a new offensive scheme, but had the UA been able to stay on the field longer and score touchdowns instead of field goals, perhaps it could have been playing in the Big 12 Championship game a season ago.
Last night though, the offense was noticeably improved. Arizona finished the game 7-of-12 on third down, 2-of-2 on fourth down, and was a perfect 4-4 in the red zone, finding the end zone on all four visits. By contrast, Arizona converted just 3-of-11 third down attempts in last season’s opener against Hawaii and was 0-of-10. Talk about an improvement!
After the game, Brent Brennan highlighted the importance of the UA’s efficiency on critical downs and spots on the field, noting Fifita’s ability to take over in those situations.
“Some people will tell you that the only calls that matter are third down and red zone calls. Everything else is just call whatever you want. We don’t see it that way, but some people feel that way. I think there was a lot of good execution there.”
“That’s part of Redline. And I think when when Noah is playing at that level, he gives us a real chance, not just with his ability to make good decisions throwing the football, but also with his ability to create with his legs and still throw the ball and run, which makes him a dangerous person on third down.”
The Wildcats will need to drive that improvement, especially as competition ramps up down the stretch of the season in hostile environments like Provo next week and Lubbock on Halloween.
Arizona’s special teams secret weapon – the “Boomin’ Onion”:
After Arizona’s flawless first-half offense stalled after halftime, it did give Brennan and special teams coordinator Craig Naivar a look at one of their more intriguing newcomers this offseason – Aussie punter Chase Ridley. Ridley was impressive during fall camp, but under the lights of Casino Del Sol Stadium, you’d never know it was his first collegiate game.
Ridley punted three times for the Wildcats for a total of 144 yards, while averaging 48 yards per punt. His longest boot of the evening went for 50 yards and he pinned two kicks inside the 20 yard line.
In some ways, Brennan and Naivar should look at Ridley as a secret weapon. Of course, they’d both rather have the offense converting third downs, but when his name is called, they can feel confident that the “Boomin’ Onion” will have fans cheering “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, Oi, Oi!” when he puts toe to leather.
Danny’s defense playing complimentary football:
After sending five starters in the secondary to the NFL, there’s been a lot of talk this offseason about how Arizona would replace that depth and experience on the backend. Defensive coordinator was adamant that the Wildcats’ defensive line and linebacker core were stronger than ever and would help anchor the defense this season. Last night, his prediction, or rather, his intuition came true.
Arizona recorded five sacks against the Lumberjacks on Saturday, the most since last season’s opener against Hawaii. Fifth year senior Chase Kennedy made a living in the backfield, accounting for 50 percent of the Wildcats’ sacks, including two in the first half. Freshman linebacker Dash Fifita showed off his quick twitch and athleticism, using a spin move to bring down NAU quarterback Ty Pennington for another sack in the first half.
Gonzales said it repeatedly throughout fall camp, but if Arizona’s front seven could pressure quarterbacks, it would not only get home for sacks, but force them to rush passes and throw interceptions. And that’s exactly what happened in the third quarter.
After being awarded a scholarship on Thursday night, junior safety Quinn Olson, who made his first career start as a Wildcat, jumped in front of pass in the third quarter for Arizona’s first interception of the season, highlighting the balance and complimentary style Gonzales is looking to play with this season.
No one is asking Quinn Olson to be the next Treydan Stukes – though safeties coach Brett Arce does believe he has some Stukes-like tendencies and can be the next great player to start their career as walk-on – but rather, if the defense can work together, speed up quarterbacks, force rushed decisions, and play with balance and strength across all three levels.
That balance is particularly important because the defense did miss a number of early tackles, especially in the secondary. While it didn’t lead to any points, the Wildcats did look like a group that didn’t do much live tackling during fall camp, which they didn’t. That should resolve itself with each passing week, but the pressure from players like Kennedy and Fifita certainly helped allow the secondary to settle into the game.
Saturday’s game was also a good reminder that Danny Gonzales’ defensive schemes are often fluid and adjust in real-time.
Last season, offenses moved the ball well out of the gate, but were neutralized after 15-30 minutes of play, which is exactly what happened against the Lumberjacks. NAU finished with 127 yards of offense, converting 4-of-8 third down attempts, in the first half, but in the second, had just 66 yards and went 0-for-6 on third down.
Arizona doesn’t have Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson, and Genesis Smith patrolling the secondary this season, but its balance and complimentary play on defense could lead to the group being even stronger than a season ago.
Game Day enhancements bringing soul to the Sol:
Athletic Director Desireé Reed-Francois heard the feedback loud and clear – the game day experience at Casino Del Sol Stadium needed an upgrade, and boy, did it get an upgrade! Between a state of the art sound system and new LED lighting, Wildcat Nation had one of the best game day experiences it has seen in a long time.
The sounds system was noticeable from the jump, but really popped when the Pride of Arizona’s pregame hype video featuring the Sudler Trophy was played. As the sun set behind the west side of the stadium, the flashing lights and effects after each Arizona score became more and more pronounced.
Arizona certainly got good use out of its new features, especially with five total touchdowns, including that perfect 4-for-4 finish in the red zone.
Then came the “Redline Lighting” as Brent Brennan called it to start the fourth quarter. Red LED lighting, coupled with storm warning sounds, created an eerie, ominous effect in the stadium, before AC/DC’s Thunderstruck began blaring through the venue, energizing fans and the team for the final 15 minutes of the game.
Folks that didn’t make it to Saturday’s season-opener are in for a real treat when they make it down to Casino Del Sol Stadium for the first time this season. Arizona doesn’t just have a first-class quarterback and marching band anymore. Now, it has the facilities and infrastructure to go along with it.