The University of Arizona football team (3-4, 1-3 Big 12) lost their second straight home game to the University of Colorado, Boulder (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) in a 34-7 outing on Oct. 19 at Arizona Stadium. A rough stretch of games has the Wildcats with three straight losses since their statement win over then-No. 10 University of Utah.
This is the longest losing streak for the Wildcats since 2022 and they tie their biggest home loss since the 49-22 outing against the University of Oregon in 2022.
A special teams decision started the game off with an onside kick which seemed out of the ordinary, but head coach Brent Brennan said, they were trying to steal the opening possession from Colorado.
From turnovers, injuries and penalties, the Wildcats were far from their best. They would lose Jacob Manu, Rhino Tapa’atoutai, and others due to injure throughout the game. While they were able to hold Heineman Trophy candidate Travis Hunter to under 50 yards, the Buffaloes stomped any chance of a comeback early.
Brennan explained after the game that the team needs to evaluate why so many players have been getting injured.
“All of us are super concerned with where it’s at, we have to evaluate every aspect of what we’re doing to figure it out,” said Brennan.
Offense:
The first half was slow for the Wildcats, with only one of the seven first-half drives resulting in a score. The lone touchdown would go into the hands of wide receiver Chris Hunter, this would be Hunter’s first collegiate touchdown and the only score of the day.
This single touchdown would tie the Wildcat’s lowest-scoring home game since the 70-7 loss against ASU in 2020.
Noah Fifita was quiet in the pocket to start the game with just eight completions for 87 yards, however, his rushing game told a different story. Fifita was able to run for several massive gains, the most impressive being a 24-yard run in Colorado territory late in the first with Fifita juking Travis Hunter. Fifita’s feet were the headline of a lackluster Arizona offense, he would rush for a career-high of 24 total yards. He would finish the game with 138 yards passing, one passing touchdown, and a late-game interception. Fifita has thrown 12 picks in 9 straight games.
These massive runs were crucial for Fifita as the Colorado defense made their day by sacking him in the pocket. They would finish with 7 sacks, Colorado’s most since 2010.
The offense was plagued with a long list of penalties that hampered the offense from fully developing. They had a total of six offensive penalties, with three against Offensive Lineman Michael Wooten.
Defense:
The Arizona defense folded early as Colorado scored just under three minutes into the game. This set the tone for most of the contest, except for an interesting turn of events that saw Arizona recover a fumble and then fumble the ball back to Colorado and finally an interception on Shaduer Sanders.
Safety Jack Luttrell grabbed the first interception and then another in the fourth quarter, getting two interceptions in his first career start.
“[Luttrell’s] been in the building a lot these two weeks,” said defensive back Dalton Johnson. “You know, for me, that really shows that he wants it.”
Looking Ahead:
Wildcat’s football continues next week where they face the West Virginia University Mountaineers on Oct. 26 at Arizona Stadium. This will be there first ever collegiate football matchup against each other.
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