Arizona looking for bounce back in second season under coach Brent Brennan

By Canadian Press on August 18, 2025.

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona’s first season under coach Brent Brennan did not go as planned.

Plagued by key injuries on defense and an offense that sputtered at times, the Wildcats took a step back last year after building momentum under previous coach Jedd Fisch.

“When you have a tough season like we did a year ago, you’ve got to fix what is broken and then you have to put those pieces together,” Brennan said.

Arizona appeared to have the pieces in place to continue the success it had under Fisch before he left to coach at Washington.

It didn’t pan out.

Injuries to three of their best defensive players and an inconsistent offense — despite having All-American receiver Tetairoa McMillan — led to a 4-8 finish after winning 10 games the year before.

The Wildcats retooled for their second season under Brennan, adding speed and skill at receiver and running back to complement quarterback Noah Fifita.

Arizona also brought in offensive coordinator Seth Doege, a Mike Leach disciple who had success at Marshall, and promoted Danny Gonzales — the former New Mexico head coach — to stabilize a defense that struggled last season, particularly against the run.

“The expectation around here, ‘God, you guys have been bludgeoned, so no one thinks we’re going to be worth a darn,’” Gonzales said. “That’s outstanding to me because all we get to do is talk about the end.”

Finding Fifita

Fifita had a breakout 2023 after starting the season as a backup, throwing for more than 2,800 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions. He wasn’t quite as productive last season, throwing for 2,958 yards, but with 12 interceptions to 18 touchdowns while completing 60% of his passes.

“I think that the step back for Noah Fifita is my fault, not his,” Brennan said. “We didn’t do a good enough job running the football. We didn’t do a good enough job protecting him, which I think we’ve done. We’ve made some moves in the direction of making that better right now.”

Replacing McMillan

Arizona has a big hole to fill after the departure of McMillan, one of the best receivers in program history.

The Wildcats will try to make up for the loss of his production by spreading the ball around to what could be five speedy receivers in the regular rotation.

Four of those are transfers, including Javin Whatley, who caught 108 passes for 1,810 yards and 12 touchdowns in four seasons at Chattanooga.

“I felt like we were missing some people on the other side of T-Mac, like we needed to have more, we needed more speed,” Brennan said. “I think we’ve added that in the offseason.”

Dialing up the D

Arizona took a step back defensively last season after making inroads under Fisch.

The Wildcats were one of the worst defensive teams in the Big 12, exacerbated by injuries to linebacker Jacob Manu, defensive back Treydan Stukes and safety Gunner Maldonado.

Arizona has most of its secondary back, including Stukes and Genesis Smith, but multiple new players up front.

Schedule

Arizona has a chance to get its 2025 season off to a good start with five of its first six games at home.

The Wildcats open against Hawaii on Aug. 30, with home games against Weber State, No. 17 Kansas State, Oklahoma State and BYU after that. Arizona has road games against Iowa State, Houston, Colorado and Cincinnati before closing out the regular season at rival Arizona State.

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John Marshall, The Associated Press