Arizona Wildcats Clawing for Bowl Game in Showdown With UCF Knights
It's safe to say this first year under Arizona Wildcats head coach Brent Brennan has not gone according to plan. In fact, it's not even close.
Thanks to a myriad of injuries on defense and an offense that isn't nearly as potent as it was expected, the Wildcats enter Saturday’s long road trip to UCF clinging to the hope that they can play their way into a bowl game.
It's a long way from being the AP preseason Top 25 team the Wildcats (3-5, 1-4 in Big 12) were at the start of the season, Much was expected after they finished with 10 wins last season, including seven wins to end the season.
Arizona needs to win three of its final four games to reach a bowl game. The Knights (3-5, 1-4) are in the same boat, as they’re already playing for next season as they’ve made a quarterback change and have seen a raft of players opt to use their redshirts and prepare to transfer out.
Brennan may need to bar the door soon, too.
Here is a preview of the Wildcats and the Knights.
Arizona at UCF
FBC Mortgage Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
Time: 12:30 p.m. MT
TV: FS1
Radio: KCUB 1290-AM (Flagship), KHYT 107.5-FM (sister station)
Coaches: Arizona — Brent Brennan (3-5 at Arizona, 37-53 career as head coach); UCF — Gus Malzahn (27-21 at UCF, 104-59 overall).
Records: Arizona — 3-5 (1-4 in Big 12); UCF — 3-5 (1-4).
Fun fact: Both coaches got their start in the high school ranks. Brennan did a year with Woodside (Calif.) as an assistant while Malzahn worked his way to win state championships as the head coach at both Shiloh Christian (Ark.) and Springdale (Ark.) High School.
All-Times Series: First meeting.
Last meeting: First meeting.
Series notes: This is the second week in a row that Arizona will play a team that it has never played before. Last week's meeting with West Virginia was the Wildcats’ first with the Mountaineers.
Last week: Arizona lost to West Virginia, 31-26; UCF lost to BYU, 37-24.
About UCF: The Knights were a trendy pick to crash the Big 12 Championship game entering the season, thanks in part to the transfer of Arkansas quarterback K.J. Jefferson. But in truth, nothing has really gone right for the Knights.
They enter this contest having lost five straight games and the natives that were so welcoming to Malzahn when he took over after the departure of Josh Heupel to Tennessee are starting to get quite restless.
It isn't just the losing, either. The Knights have lost several good players, including starters, to redshirts. But they're not redshirting due to injuries. They're redshirting because they're preparing to go into the transfer portal after the season.
Something isn't quite working in Orlando right now, and Malzahn is at a loss to figure it out. And now that Jefferson hasn't worked out at quarterback, the long-time coach is trying to figure out who will be the program’s top signal-caller next season.
About Arizona: Clearly, the pundits were wrong. Even with quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan staying behind after the departure of head coach Jedd Fisch to Washington, the Wildcats have not been the Big 12 contenders many thought they might be.
It's not all on them, however. The defense is dealing with a myriad of injuries, as two of its top defenders are out for the season. Several other quality contributors are dealing with injuries, too. Fifita clearly has some growing to do as a quarterback, and no consistent second option has emerged alongside McMillan.
Now that the Wildcats have lost four straight games and are out of the Big 12 race, it's time to see if Brennan can rally this banged-up team and win three of its final four games to reach a bowl game. For a program clearly going through a bit of a reset, those extra 15 practices would be a great head start for next season.
Next Up: Arizona is off until it hosts Houston on Nov. 15. UCF travels to Arizona State on Nov. 9.
