Entering the 2024 season, the University of Arizona football team had been extremely hyped to achieve success after a 10-3 2023 season and a bowl win against the University of Oklahoma in the Valero Alamo Bowl.

The offseason shook the Wildcats program entirely with the exodus of head coach Jedd Fisch, defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen, offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll and several key players on the previous year’s roster. While the Wildcats suffered several key losses, the main core of Noah Fifita, Jacob Manu and Tetairoa McMillan still kept hopes high as Arizona entered a new era for the program.

Despite these changes, the Wildcats were eager to get the season started. In the preseason Big 12 rankings, Arizona had landed fifth in the Big 12 predictions and Sports Illustrated saw the team having a nine-win season with a possibility of, at worst ,going 6-6. 

However, Arizona failed to meet their lofty expectations and finished the season 4-8. The Wildcats had several high points early on, with a massive win over the University of New Mexico and an upset victory over the University of Utah. That’s where the high points would end though, as Arizona started a five game losing streak after the Wildcats defeated the Utes. 

Arizona also ended their season being blown out by in-state rival ASU 49-7. Arizona had won the Territorial Cup two years straight but relinquished it after the loss. This was the lowest scoring outing by the Wildcats since the 70-7 blowout by the Sun Devils in 2020.

Despite struggles throughout the season, there were many high and low points for the Wildcats on both sides of the ball.

Offensive:

Starting with the passing game, quarterback Fifita began his season with a bang with a massive 422 yard and 4 touchdown game against New Mexico. However, this would be his best game of the season. Fifita posted eight games with over 200 passing yards, which was less from the 2023 season in which he threw over 200 in his nine games as starter. 

Fifita also recorded 12 interceptions on the year, seven more than the five he threw last season. The offensive line also allowed Fifita to be sacked a total of 26 times in 2024, compared to 14 the year prior. Despite a rougher time passing the ball, Fifita became more mobile, averaging more than double the amount of carries he had in 2023 with 66 in 2024 and 31 in 2023.

McMillan was one of the core pieces remaining on the shaken Wildcats roster, and certainly one of the bright spots headed into the season. McMillan had five games this season recording 100 plus receiving yards.

McMillan’s best game of the season also came against New Mexico, where he had 304 receiving yards and 4 touchdown receptions. This game broke the record for single game total receiving yards in program history. McMillan also surpassed Bobby Wade later in the season against TCU for the most receiving yards in Arizona history, finishing with a total of 3,423 yards to Wade’s 3,351.

Arizona suffered a loss in their running back core over the previous offseason, losing Jonah Coleman to Jedd Fisch’s move to the University of Washington. Arizona would find their replacement in Quali Conley, who received most of the team’s rushing touches. Conley was a transfer that followed Brent Brennan from San Jose State. Conley had a 1,000 plus yard season for the Spartans in 2022. 

Conley had both stellar games and games he would like to forget this season. Going from a 112 yard game against NAU to a -2 yard game against UCF, Conley ended the season with 745 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Defensive:

The defensive side of the ball also saw some holes after the offseason shifts, especially in losing cornerback Ephesians Prysock to Washington. However, a core group stayed in defensive backs Tacario Davis, Dalton Johnson, Genesis Smith and linebacker Manu. 

The Wildcats also found some studs in defensive back Jack Luttrell, linebacker Taye Brown and transfer defensive lineman Tre Smith. Despite a core group of players returning from a stellar defense the year prior, Arizona’s defense would have five games over the season where opponents scored five or more touchdowns. The Wildcats also had four games in which opponents scored over 40 points. 

Despite this, the real standout on defense was the rise of Luttrell and Smith to cemented roles on defense. Both Luttrell and Smith grabbed three interceptions this year. Smith would also have six pass break ups in the season. 

Another standout was Colgate University transfer Owen Goss. Goss had two fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles. He also recorded 52 total tackles on the year. Transfer Smith would also lead the team in sacks with 4.5. These new faces certainly made some games exciting and brought some of the key moments that occurred throughout the season.

Special teams:

Tyler Loop has been the consistent kicker for the Wildcats, and this season proved no different. Loop, however, would miss his first extra point of his collegiate career against West Virginia University and another against the University of Central Florida. Despite these errors, Loop would set a program record for longest field goal at 62 yards against the University of Houston. 

Loop also made 6-8 field goals from 50 plus yards out, the most of his career. Despite the small errors made in the extra points, Loop continued to show his consistency and strong leg for the Wildcats.

Looking ahead:

Arizona football has an unsteady future ahead of them with several possible draft picks potentially departing the program, the highest being McMillan. McMillan is a projected top-10 pick in the upcoming NFL draft. It will be interesting to see an Arizona offense without the McMillan-Fifita duo on offense.

Coaching wise, Brennan has an interesting offseason that may see shake ups throughout the program’s assistant coaches. With the struggle the offense has seen this year, there is certainly a possibility Brennan will look away from Dino Babers. This was already seen when play calling was shifted to pass game coordinator and tight ends Coach Matt Adkins. 

Recruiting will be another interesting field; after a season with lofty hopes, will Arizona capitalize on recruits and transfers to hopefully build back a team that will suffer some possible offseason losses? It will be interesting to see how Brennan and his staff are able to turn this team around and hopefully back into the possibility of reaching a bowl game next season.

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