With it's first game ending as a win in the Brent Brennan era, Arizona will face the valley's FCS product NAU at home on Saturday. The two battled last September where the Wildcats were victorious in a 38-3 blowout fashion.
These teams meet again but with different head coaches at their helms with Brennan of course taking over for Arizona and Brian Wright getting hired at NAU. Amid the coaching changes, UA retained most of it's players while the Lumberjacks saw quite the roster turnover only returning just four starters on each side of the ball. Even through all that change Wright's squad piled points on top of each other defeating Lincoln CA 66-6 in week 1.
Although Arizona pulled away against New Mexico to win 61-39, the program came away with lots of issues to patch up and the game vs. NAU will be a ample opportunity to try different looks and scenarios before opening up (sort of) conference play heading to Manhattan to take on No. 17 Kansas State in week 3.
The Wildcats stand as 44.5 point favorites over Northern Arizona and the offense has certainly shown that capability to light up the scoreboard, it's all up to Defensive Coordinator Duane Akina and the defense to show out in a "get right" game.
Here are three players from both teams to watch out for.
Arizona
OT Jonah Savaiinaea - stats vs. NAU: 57 snaps
In the fall when Brent Brennan announced that starting Left Tackle Raymond Pulido would be unavailable for the season, redshirt freshman Rhino Tapa'atoutai filled in with that "next man up" mentality.
Tapa'atoutai had a solid first start to his career when the Wildcats took on New Mexico logging 40 snaps before going down with a knee injury. There is still potential that Tapa'atoutai suits up and is a full go at left tackle for Arizona but his health will remain the priority and the team wont rush him back until he feels 100%. In the event that he does sit this game out, the Wildcats may shuffle some pieces around possibly resulting in a certain potential first round draft pick moving to the blindside.
After Tapa'atoutai was sidelined, true freshman Matthew Lado immediately came in for relief and for as raw as he is in his 6'6 frame, UA continued to move the ball. More shuffling resulted pushing right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea to the left side and Lado to the right side. If the Wildcats decide to play Savaiinaea as the blindside pass protector against NAU it will certainly be something to watch.
When linemen move to the opposite side it can be something of a learning curve as there is different technique, rhythm, and timing and if he proves he's still the same player at that different position, he's that much more of a versatile piece for the Wildcats front and his draft stock will rise as NFL teams are always looking for a left tackle.
TE Keyan Burnett - stats vs. NAU: one catch, 27 receiving yards
Quarterback Noah Fifita and Brent Brennan have each expressed that they want to get the ball into different receivers' hands after Tetairoa McMillan decided he'd start the season off hot and catch 304 yards along with four touchdowns. It's important to note because first the team wants to keep it's superstar and future first round draft pick healthy and in a manageable load and secondly, the Wildcats have a plethora of talented options they can look to especially if their No. 1 receiver is standing across double coverage.
When looking at the other weapons to potentially be more involved in the passing game on Saturday there is room to believe that Keyan Burnett could definitely see more work. Burnett enjoyed a fantastic training camp and his long standing chemistry with Fifita has definitely been visible.
The two connected on a beautiful 27 yard pass and athletic catch from Burnett and if Fifita keeps looking his way against NAU he could be in for a big game.
CB Tacario Davis - stats vs. NAU: seven tackles
In 2023 Tacario Davis led Arizona with 15 passes defended and tied for fourth most in the entire nation, he was a huge return for a Wildcats team with lots of uncertainty after former head coach Jedd Fisch left for Washington.
Davis entered the year with high expectations and a rising draft stock for a 6'4 CB with a tremendous knack for getting his hands on the ball. To open the season, generally all of UA's defensive backs looked a little lost in the first half before getting settled down in the final two quarters and Davis was included in that sentiment.
In the fourth quarter Davis was called for his second personal foul of the game leading to his ejection. This week of practice Coach Brennan preached cleaning up penalties and says the team has been hard at work in putting emotions aside throughout the entirety of a game.
Fans can surely expect a bounce back effort from one of Arizona's most talented corners and against NAU favors as a good matchup to get right in going head to head with a team that ran a balanced offensive attack so far.
NAU
QB Ty Pennington - stats vs. Lincoln CA: 114 passing yards, one passing touchdown, 78% completion percentage, 34 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown
Following Brian Wright from Pittsburg State, Quarterback Ty Pennington is only a sophomore but has earned the starting role being in the system longer than the other options at the Lumberjacks disposal. He accumulated 447 passing yards with six touchdowns passing to only one interception in his first collegiate year.
Being that NAU got off to an early and often lead against Lincoln CA, Pennington ended his efficient day quickly scoring one touchdown through the air and another on the ground. Gearing up to face a Wildcats defense, albeit one that was more break then bend on Saturday, will certainly be the biggest challenge yet in his young career and seeing how he performs against a roster covered with talent will be interesting to see.
He doesn't appear as mobile as New Mexico's quarterback Devon Dampier that gave Arizona some issues defensively a week ago but he absolutely has an ability to take off when needed racking up 359 rushing yards and four touchdowns a year ago at Pittsburg State and UA will need to monitor that ahead of the upcoming matchup as he ran for 34 yards and a score against Lincoln CA.
S Alex McLaughlin - stats vs. Lincoln CA: seven tackles
The FCS Freshman All-American Alex McLaughlin, opened his season strong a year ago against Arizona with 10 tackles and two pass-breakups. He would then finish his season with 71 tackles, six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four interceptions and six pass-breakups.
A stellar first season brings a lot of potential to build on it in his second year and it can be expected that the Lumberjacks wont go down easy as they look to win anytime they play the Wildcats. Even though NAU's players are sure to bring a strong mentality onto the field this Saturday, Arizona boasts a phenomenal passing attack throwing for 422 yards to begin the season which is good for sixth in the nation.
This will be NAU's biggest test of the season going against the No. 20 ranked school in the country and players like McLaughlin will need to be playing to their highest ceiling to give the team a chance.
RB Seth Cromwell - stats vs. Lincoln CA: 43 rushing yards, 4.8 yards per carry, two rushing touchdowns
Moreso due to the Lobos' mobile quarterback, Arizona gave up 210 yards on the ground to New Mexico and if NAU is looking to replicate that kind of attack at all the ball may go through Seth Cromwell.
Cromwell was the Lumberjacks lead back to open the year and joined the program after playing at D-II Missouri Western in 2023 where he racked up 758 rushing yards (5.5 YPC) and a monster 18 rushing touchdowns. As he acclimates to the FBS level at Northern Arizona he had an efficient day against Lincoln CA running for 43 yards and two touchdowns before the game got out of touch and Wright brought in backups.
If there's anyone offensively for the Lumberjacks to count on to have a nice day it could definitely be Cromwell going up against a Wildcats rushing defense that struggled to set edges and penetrate in week 1.
