Arizona Wildcats Desperate for Bounce Back Victory vs. West Virginia
Arizona Wildcats coach Brent Brennan said he’s in “rare air” right now, and he wasn’t talking about the team’s nosedive in October.
The Wildcats are preparing to host the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday, the last game in a stretch in which the Wildcats (3-4, 1-3 in Big 12) got to play three of four games at home.
Nothing has really worked out, and that “rare air” Brennan mentioned was about the team’s incredible injury situation.
Having already lost several key players, including cornerback Treydan Stukes, for the season or for long periods of time, he and the Wildcats lost three more during Saturday’s loss to Colorado.
Arizona defensive lineman Isaiah Johnson suffered an injury in pre-game warmups. Linebacker Jacob Manu left the game with an injury. So did offensive lineman Rhino Tapa'atoutai. Their status bears watching throughout the week.
West Virginia coach Neal Brown might be willing to trade places. The sixth-year WVU coach is sitting on a red-hot seat in Morgantown and the Mountaineers (3-4, 2-2) lost two straight. He’s dealing with his own injury issues. But at least Brennan has some rope, as this is his first season. The natives are restless and want Brown out.
Here is a preview of the Wildcats and the Buffs.
West Virginia at Arizona
Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz.
Time: 3 p.m. MT
TV: FS1
Radio: KCUB 1290-AM (Flagship), KHYT 107.5-FM (sister station)
Coaches: Arizona — Brent Brennan (3-4 at Arizona, 37-52 career as head coach); West Virginia — Neal Brown (34-33 at West Virginia, 69-49 overall).
Records: Arizona — 3-4 (1-3 in Big 12); West Virginia — 3-4 (2-2).
Fun fact: Rich Rodriguez has been the head coach at both schools.
All-Times Series: First meeting.
Last meeting: First meeting.
Series notes: Incredibly, this is just West Virginia's third trip to Arizona for a Division I football game. They played Arizona State in Tempe in 1979 and played the Sun Devils again in 2015 in a bowl game in Phoenix.
Last week: Arizona lost to Colorado, 34-7. West Virginia lost to Kansas State, 45-18.
About West Virginia: Brown could start a club with Baylor’s Dave Aranda and have a long discussion about which Big 12 coach is on the hotter seat. At least Aranda can hang his hat on a huge win over Texas Tech on Saturday.
Brown is coming off an awful loss to Kansas State, which was preceded by a disconcerting loss against Iowa State. In between, the fan base mocked him for a quote about him saying he hoped they enjoyed the weather for the ISU game. There’s a majority of the WVU fan base that wants Brown out and sees this as his swan song.
Incredibly, the Mountaineers went 9-4 last year and won a bowl game, but all that bought Brown was a one-year extension and a slight reduction in pay. His starting quarterback Garrett Greene, along with two other key players, were banged up on Saturday. West Virginia is sliding out of the Big 12 race. Brown may be sliding to a new job.
About Arizona: Brennan isn't on the hot seat like Brown but there are serious questions about the direction of this year's team.
The Wildcats are now under .500 for the first time this season. The team had a wealth of top players return from last year's team, which won seven games to end the season. Many of them chose not to follow their former head coach, Jedd Fisch, to Washington. Arizona is now at a point where it's not about trying to get back into the Big 12 race — it's about trying to just get to a bowl game.
But is there enough gas left in the tank to do it? This part of their schedule was supposed to be an opportunity for the Wildcats to snag a couple of wins. Now they're just desperate, and they're facing a team that is just as desperate as they are.
Next Up: Arizona travels to UCF on Nov. 2. West Virginia has a bye.
