After traveling to Rice-Eccles Stadium and knocking off a top-10 team in their own home that happens so rarely, the Wildcats flopped at home the proceeding week against the now 5-1 Red Raiders. In a game most saw Arizona stacking a win after an impressive road win against Utah, the Wildcats are now in reset mode once more in hopes of fixing their mistakes and putting a more complete product on the field in another hostile ranked road environment facing No. 14 BYU in Provo on Saturday.
It wasn't all bad though as head coach Brent Brennan mentioned the team played well in spurts vs. Texas Tech and there is a lot of good muddled in the bad. For starters the defense is playing fantastic right now and that's a testament to defensive coordinator Duane Akina's ability to get the defense to rally after starting poorly in the beginning. Turnovers and stops are being forced from the Cats defense and that's giving the offense more opportunities to make something happen.
Although there was a scoring issue against Texas Tech, the offense was able to move the football and was in plus territory numerous times and if that scoring consistency can be cleaned up then Arizona will be fine based on the way all three phases are playing at the moment.
As of Friday, No. 14 BYU are -3 point favorites and that margin is quite low looking at the matchup on paper. The Wildcats are competitive and are talented enough to make this one close or even come out with the upset but it's all about what version of the team shows up.
Each team has something to prove on Saturday as Arizona tries to bounce back and get back in the division race, while BYU continues to try and remain atop the conference and here are three players to watch on both sides that will help their respective team achieve such.
Arizona
DB Genesis Smith - stats vs. Texas Tech: four tackles, two pass breakups
With the news surfacing that defensive back Treydan Stukes will end up missing the rest of 2024, there's no one better suited on the team to replace the role and production Stukes played with than defensive back Genesis Smith.
Smith has already seen plenty of time on defense this year as a rotational piece but also a guy who got more reps as players in the secondary went down.
There is no one on the roster more uniquely designed to play multiple different positions yet stay productive and playing well at them as Smith has showcased a playmaking ability on defense that is second to none.
On the year he has three pass breakups and two interceptions showing he can get his hands on the ball and force big turnovers or make a stop when Arizona needs it the most and that means good things for an offense that ants as many opportunities it can to bounce back.
QB Noah Fifita - stats vs. Texas Tech: 301 passing yards, 57% comp. percentage, two interceptions
Disappointing best describes a Wildcats offense that came into the season with such high expectations to be explosive and high-octane all year long.
Sometimes a coaching change just does that, and the philosophies and scheme don't carry over either making the transition take longer than usual or not at all.
Arizona had plenty of opportunities to go and close out the game on Saturday and put away the Red Raiders but unfortunately scored once on seven redzone tries, meaning that quarterback Noah Fifita simply has to play better.
He played probably the roughest game of his Arizona career maybe tied with the Kansas State performance where at least Fifita was able to move the ball against tech, it was just the turnovers being two interceptions that killed drives.
Both coach Brennan and play caller Matt Adkins mentioned that they've been working on consistency all week with Fifita and that one of those keys they've detailed is progressions and distribution.
Look for star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan to get his fair share, but also for the other receivers along with tight ends and running backs to get more involved smoothly.
RB Quali Conley - stats vs. Texas Tech: 14 carries, 97 rushing yards, 6.9 yards per carry, seven receptions, 39 receiving yards
For the Arizona offense, it's been death, taxes and running back Quali Conley as possibly the most dependable player on a unit that's struggled as of late.
Of every skill player Conley leads with the most touchdowns on the season having five and is the only player to score in three different games.
He appears to be the glue of the offense and that's something the coaching staff might predicate their gameplan around this Saturday as the group looks to find more consistency, and a great player to get involved while trying to achieve that might as well just be the most consistent playmaker so far in the 2024 season.
Not only is Conley having a great year on the ground running for 419 yards so far with 6.1 yards per carry, he is incredibly active in the receiving game as he is currently second in receptions for the Wildcats with 18 just behind McMillan and fourth on the team in receiving yards with 122 yards.
Catching dump off routes from Fifita worked really well in sustaining drives against Texas Tech and made life a lot easier for the down quarterback and if Arizona wants to get some rhythm going early and often, these style of plays might be seen more often against BYU.
BYU
QB Jake Retzlaff - stats vs. Baylor: 218 passing yards, 56% comp. percentage, three passing touchdowns, two interceptions, 53 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown
Arizona goes up against it's early season kryptonite again this week in a quarterback that has tremendous ability with his legs while also having the arm to sling it.
Jake Retzlaff funny enough is BYU's leading rusher with 156 yards on the ground this year and he's been prolific through the air throwing 1,208 yards and 12 touchdowns to five interceptions.
The Cougars are typically a team that plays well off of it's defense and in 2024 that is exactly what the No. 14 team in the country is doing holding the 17th ranked defense in total scoring allowing 15.8 points per game.
In the first four games BYU allowed no more than 15 points a contest and that was against teams like SMU and Kansas State it saw that much success, it did however finally allow 28 in the most recent game with Baylor but still impressive.
That's the kind of defense a quarterback dreams of because even if mistakes are made, knowing you have a defense to back you up gives you confidence to go out there and make another play and that'll be important as Retzlaff has in fact shown to be loose with the ball at times.
LB Jack Kelly- stats vs. Baylor: two tackles, one pass break up
There are a plethora of playmakers on BYU's defense that are worth mentioning as players to watch but these two are ones poised for impact against Arizona.
Linebacker Jack Kelly is a do-it-all style of linebacker that can tackle, rush the passer, and drop back and make plays on the ball.
Of eight players to record sacks for the Cougars, Kelly is the only one with multiple and in fact he leads the team with three quarterback sacks and that's been a continuing piece of his career as he totaled 16.5 sacks in two years at Weber St. before transferring to BYU this season.
That kind of ability to affect the passer is sure to make a difference against an Arizona offense that isn't playing well especially at the quarterback position, and if Fifita isn't playing lights out like we all know he can than Kelly might be due for a big day.
S Crew Wakley - stats vs. Baylor: four tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, one interception
Another do-it-all player for BYU this time at the safety position, Crew Wakley has been seriously productive for the Cougars this year and enjoyed a little bit of a breakout game against Baylor.
On the season Wakley leads the defense in solo tackles all the way from the safety position with 14 and is the only defensive back to record a sack.
Exiting the bye week he is a player that is surely itching to build off of his electric performance recording essentially every good defensive statistic in his last outing and that is surely that'll impact Arizona's offense that tries to get back on track.
The Wildcats have thrown an interception in every game of the season so far and just got off a game where they threw two, so if Wakley is comes to play on Saturday he might be taking a ball back for his offense to capitalize.
portal.rivals.com
