Brent Brennan Makes Good On Promise To Deliver Arizona's Statement Win
On Saturday, Arizona was facing the tall task of traveling to Salt Lake City and playing Utah in their home stadium in a late-night matchup.
Historically, the Utes have enjoyed one of the best home field advantages in the entire country, owning a sizzling 92-26 home record before Saturday under head coach Kyle Whittingham since he took over the program in 2005.
Considering how the Wildcats looked in their last two contests before this massive game, there were very few people who thought they could come out of this one with a victory.
But that's exactly what they did.
Arizona's defense was stifling, holding Utah to only 10 total points.
They turned over the Utes twice, intercepting two passes from quarterback Isaac Wilson. They also recorded three sacks and had seven tackles for a loss, creating havoc plays that weren't there before. The run defense that was a major concern coming in, finished with only 84 rushing yards allowed on 26 attempts.
Offensively, the Wildcats put up 366 total yards with quarterback Noah Fifita completing 13 passes to players other than Tetairoa McMillan that also saw tight end Keyan Burnett lead the team in receiving yards with 76 and a touchdown.
Head coach Brent Brennan delivered on his promise coming out of the bye week.
He said things were going to be fixed when Arizona took the field in Week 5, and that's exactly what happened when they upset No. 10 ranked Utah to get themselves right back into the Big 12 championship conversation.
The Wildcats were more disciplined, having their fewest penalties of the season so far.
They were more prepared defensively, giving up their fewest amount of yards against an FBS opponent.
And they were extremely balanced on offense, hitting multiple pass catchers that opened things up for everyone on the perimeter that allowed their running game to put up 169 yards on the ground for 6.5 yards per carry.
Brennan said things were going to look different, and Arizona did not disappoint.
That should inspire confidence about what this group can accomplish throughout the rest of the campaign after they were written off following their eye-opening loss against Kansas State that looked like the program had taken a major step back compared to what they were last season.
Coming into the year, the Wildcats were dark horse darling picks for analysts who thought this high-powered offense could have them in the mix for their first Big 12 title in their inaugural year in the conference.
If Arizona plays the way they did on Saturday night throughout the rest of their schedule, then they have a really good chance of playing in the championship game with only one ranked opponent currently remaining.
