Arizona Wildcats Fail to Impress AP Voters with Latest Victory
It’s safe to say few were impressed with the Arizona Wildcats’ 22-10 win over Northern Arizona on Saturday night.
Not Arizona’s players. Not Arizona’s coaches. And certainly not Associated Press Top 25 voters.
They didn’t drop the Wildcats (2-0) in the rankings, but they didn’t give them a boost, either. Arizona will remain at No. 20 entering Friday’s game with the Kansas State Wildcats.
The upcoming matchup will mark a run of 10 straight against Big 12 teams, though the Kansas State game, to be played on the road, is a non-conference affair as it was scheduled before the Wildcats joined the league in August.
The Big 12 race is taking shape and its looking like a good one.
Arizona is one of five teams in the conference who are ranked, including Utah (No. 12), Oklahoma State (No. 13), Kansas State (No. 14) and Iowa State (No. 21).
But, Arizona has work to do before their showdown with K-State.
The Wildcats struggled mightily against the Lumberjacks, a team they beat 38-3 last year. The offense sputtered. Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who had one of the biggest receiving games in FBS history last week, had just two receptions in the game.
Quarterback Noah Fifita missed receivers he normally connects with. The defense failed to capitalize on opportunities to stop Northern Arizona (1-1), especially in the first half.
It was not the blowout anyone expected, especially after the Wildcats hung 61 points on New Mexico the Saturday before.
The Lumberjacks, an FCS school that plays in the Big Sky Conference out of Flagstaff, Ariz., played well, but still only finished with 198 total yards.
Fifita had 173 yards passing and one touchdown. He also threw an interception. Running back Quali Conley led the Wildcats with 112 yards rushing. Conley also caught five passes to lead the Wildcats.
If there is good news from the past two weeks it’s that Conley has emerged as a primary option in a crowded backfield that had as many as four potential starters on the Week 1 depth chart.
Kansas State is coming off a 34-27 win over Tulane on the road, a win that propelled the Wildcats to a 2-0 start. It was a hard-fought win and a bit of revenge game since Tulane defeated Kansas State in Manhattan two years ago when the Green Wave ended up winning the American Athletic Conference and beating USC in the Cotton Bowl.
Arizona has a good history against Kansas State, as it has a 5-1-1 record all-time. The two schools have not played since 1978 and Arizona won that matchup, 31-0, in Tucson.
MATT POSTINS