Arizona Wildcats Fall In Latest College Football Power Rankings After Week Six Loss
The Arizona Wildcats stock has fallen after a heartbreaking 28-22 loss at home to the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
In what could only be considered a hangover game after their upset victory over the Utah Utes in week five, it was a poor first half that the Wildcats could not overcome despite leading in total yards, passing yards, rushing yards, first downs, and time of possession.
The defense has been an issue for Arizona under first-year head coach Brent Brennan, and it now sees them fall to 3-2 on the year with seven games left to play.
It also sees them fall in the weekly college football power rankings, with Chris Vannini of The Athletic dropping them to 38th after sitting at 33rd in last week's rankings.
The loss this past Saturday drops the Wildcats five spots while raising the Red Raiders seven spots from 36th to 29th.
Quarterback Noah Fifita has had turnover trouble this year, throwing six interceptions through the first five games, with two coming in the loss Saturday.
Despite the interceptions, he has accrued nice passing yardage with 1,361 yards, but only seven touchdowns.
These totals through five games have the Fifita on pace for 3,266 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions across 12 games, but an interception total that high could see his playing time diminish down the stretch.
Running back Quali Conley leads the ground game for Arizona with 419 yards on a nice 69 carries with five touchdowns and only one fumble, but it was recovered safely.
Conley is currently on pace for 1,006 yards on 167 carries with 12 touchdowns, a very solid season for any college running back.
A big reason for Fifita's interception issue could be his unwillingness to spread the ball to different targets.
The quarterback has targeted Tetairoa McMillan 56 times out of his 179 attempts, with the receiver making 37 catches for 664 yards and four touchdowns.
The next closest receiving option in targets has only 21, that being Conley, who has made 18 catches for 122 yards and no touchdowns.
The Wildcats have a turnover issue that begins with quarterback Noah Fifita, and spreading the ball around on a more consistent basis would go a long way to alleviating the issue.
As it stands, Arizona has another tough game coming against the 14th ranked BYU Cougars.
If things do not turn around quickly, 2024 could be a lost season for Arizona and head coach Brent Brennan.
