Arizona cornerback Tacario Davis is one of 15 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award that goes to the top defensive back in college football. The award group announced its semifinalists Tuesday, and Davis is one of just two players from the Big 12 on the list alongside Colorado's Travis Hunter. Davis is tied with Emmanuel Karnley for the team lead with five pass breakups this season, all of which came in the Utah game. He also has 29 tackles to lead the cornerback unit in that category plus a tackle for loss.

The three finalists for the award will be revealed on Nov. 26.

Here's the rest of the group:

Jahdae Barron, Texas, Sr.
Jalen Catalon, UNLV , Sr.
Caleb Downs, Ohio State, So.
Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina, Jr.
Travis Hunter, Colorado, Jr.
Will Johnson, Michigan, Jr.
Rayuan Lane III, Navy, Sr.
Jermod McCoy, Tennessee, So.
Jabbar Muhammad, Oregon, Sr.
Xavier Scott, Illinois, Jr.
Terrence Spence, James Madison, Sr.
Malaki Starks, Georgia, Jr.
Xavier Watts, Notre Dame, Gr. Sr.
Nohl Williams, California, Sr.

Arizona is looking to get back to a .500 record with a win over West Virginia today.

According to reports, West Virginia starting quarterback Garrett Greene is considered doubtful so it will likely be backup Nicco Marchiol at quarterback for the Mountaineers. Left tackle Wyatt Milum is also considered doubtful, so both teams enter this game quite banged up.

This feels like a game Arizona has to win if if wants to earn a trip to a bowl game or else the Wildcats will have to win three of their final four games. We'll have coverage on the game as it approaches and kicks off under this thread, so be sure to join the conversation!

GAME INFO

Who: Arizona (3-4, 1-3) vs. West Virginia (3-4, 2-2)

Kickoff: 4 p.m. (MST)

Where: Arizona Stadium | Tucson, AZ

TV: FS1

Radio: 1290 AM | XM: 199, 390

All-time series: First matchup

Odds: Arizona (5), O/U (51)

Hey guys, I'll be updating you throughout the Wildcats' game against the Sea Lions and share my thoughts on the team and players as they go through the final exhibition game of the season.

Arizona's starting five:

G: Jaden Bradley
G: Caleb Love
F: KJ Lewis
F: Trey Townsend
C: Tobe Awaka

It has been reported that Arizona will face Duke in a non-conference match up in Las Vegas in 2027 with the game being played in Allegiant Stadium with Kansas facing Indiana.

The games are to get Las Vegas ready to host the 2027 Final Four.


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As Notre Dame, UCF and others give chase, speedy Fla. WR Isaiah Mizell will be back at Arizona this weekend. He has acknowledged the other programs, visited each and admitted it's been nice to be courted all over again, but he hasn't slowed down in his solidity to the Wildcats.

"They continue to let me know that I’m their guy in this class."

Mizell will also see Arizona at UCF next weekend. As of this writing, these are the last two planned trips he is going to take.

Another game, another lackluster Arizona offensive display. This time against the Buffaloes where the Cats put up a goose egg that was good for 245 total yards with seven points as UA falls embarrassingly 34-7 to Colorado.

Whenever an offense can't sustain drives, can't score, and is unable to avoid penalties the blame gets put towards the coaching staff and play calling has been nothing short of disappointing.

It's been a time of self-reflection for Arizona along with passing game coordinator and acting offensive play caller Matt Adkins as the current scheme and gameplan simply isn't working.

Luckily for the Cats, they now enter the lighter stretch of their schedule with plenty of winnable games left on the schedule as West Virginia comes to town, and Arizona is favored by -4.5 points with an O/U of 51.5 points.

Currently injuries are hampering both teams and each will try to shift pieces around to find something good enough to propel them to a "get right" victory.

It's a must-win for West Virginia and Arizona as each still sneak around the Big 12 and here are three difference makers for both teams to assist their program to a big win.

Arizona

DB Dalton Johnson - stats vs. Colorado: 11 tackles

The injuries Arizona has suffered are those that neither the coaches or players have ever been in a situation like as they've mentioned multiple times after and before games.

One of the bigger blows to the team was when star linebacker Jacob Manu went out with a season-ending lower leg injury against Colorado and as the tackle leader with 47 tackles, so now it's time for the next man up to fulfill a crucial role for Duane Akina's defense.

Defensive back Dalton Johnson is the next highest tackler for Arizona having 44 so far, and he'll be forced to play a bigger role as well with Gunner Maldonado and Treydan Stukes also hurt in the secondary.

Johnson has also a forced fumble on the season and that playmaking that he showcased during last year's campaign and at times this year will need to elevated.

During the postgame press conference of the Colorado game, Johnson noted that it's tough to see all of his guys drop around him but it just means that the next man is up.

TE Keyan Burnett - stats vs. Colorado: Inactive

Just prior to the Colorado game it was found out that tight end Keyan Burnett would be unavailable for the contest and his presence was absolutely missed.

Arizona had less than 150 passing yards for the first time in 2024 and that can be attributed to many different things such as the play calling, offensive line play, and really the lack of executing as a collective.

There aren't any pass catchers even close to star WR Tetairoa McMillan in terms of stats who has accumulated 780 receiving yards and four touchdowns, but it's Burnett who comes in second with 205 receiving yards and a touchdown.

He's a player who has stepped up recently when Arizona has looked for another true option outside of T-Mac and had an electric 35-yard touchdown even to help the Wildcats beat then-No. 10 Utah a few weeks back.

With the emphasis in getting the ball out quicker and moving the ball consistently, Burnett if available, has the chance to become a chain-mover and safety net as the tight end lines up close to the quarterback while having the size and athleticism to make plays for a struggling Arizona offense.

QB Noah Fifita - stats vs Colorado: 138 passing yards, one passing touchdown, one interception, 71 rushing yards gained

It feels like it's becoming now or never for quarterback Noah Fifita to get Arizona's offense clicking, and the season is catching up at an alarming rate.

Having more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (nine) isn't like the quarterback that was seen leading the Wildcats to an Alamo Bowl victory in 2023, and the offense is feeling the effects of it.

He's struggling with confidence as of late and getting back on track is something not only the player needs, but the human too.

Injuries along the offensive line to key starters will also make things tough this weekend to move the offense progressively in a non-ideal situation.

Both head coach Brent Brennan and play-caller Adkins have expressed the desire to keep Fifita upright in the pocket while getting the quick game going to not only get the offense in a rhythm early but to hopefully allow the team to play the style they've wanted to since the season's inception.

Like the aforementioned Burnett, look for running back Quali Conley to get decent looks to open up the pass for Fifita but to also catch quick passes as Conley has shown to be productive in that area as well.

There is certainly an urgency for Arizona to finally come together and put a good product onto the field and if it's successful Fifita should be a reason why.

West Virginia

Running Game - stats vs. Kansas State: 43 carries, 152 rushing yards, 3.5 yards per carry

West Virginia carries the 24th ranked rushing offense with 202.1 rushing yards per game and statistically speaking, is coming off of it's worst game of the season.

It's worth noting that against Kansas State, the Mountaineers held their largest deficit of the season which takes away the run game to an extent but this was the first game of the season where WVU had no rushing scores and the second time it ran for less than four yards per carry.

Coming to Arizona who has a severely banged up defense at the moment, it's safe to say that the Mountaineers will try get back on track themselves in the best aspect of their offense where they've yet to have less than 30 rushing attempts in a game.

It's a three-headed monster manning the run game for West Virginia with QB Garrett Greene leading the way with 471 rushing yards and three touchdowns with running backs Jaheim White running for 416 yards and CJ Donaldson Jr. running for 412 yards. The backs have five touchdowns a piece.

There's potential that Greene, who left the Kansas State game at halftime with injury, may be unavailable for the Arizona game. If that's the case then insert Nicco Marchiol as the next quarterback who has showcased some running ability as well with 63 yards and a touchdown in limited action.

If Marchiol starts, expect even more run game than usual but there is a good shot that Greene toughs it out and plays Saturday.

DL TJ Jackson - stats vs. Kansas State: four tackles, one tackle for loss

A five year senior, defensive linemen TJ Jackson has been a really good player for West Virginia in his first year with the program.

On the year he leads the Mountaineers in sacks with 3.5 along with 11 tackles for loss and has been a force in the trenches.

Arizona has mightily struggled in pass protection and is urgently trying to get their passing game and really offense back on track in general.

If Jackson comes to play as the disrupter he has shown to be, the West Virginia defensive line can give Arizona fits all game long.

However, the Wildcats really want to stress the quick game on Saturday to open things up offensively and if the ball is out of Fifita's hands fast enough it has the potential to eliminate defensive pressure,

Though the Cats did just allow a season-high seven sacks to the Buffaloes, so it's really up to Adkins and company to scheme around this.

LB Josiah Trotter - stats vs. Kansas State: eight tackles, one tackle for loss

Talk about football royalty here as West Virginia linebacker Josiah Trotter is the son of former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and brother to current Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. who was a fifth-round draft pick in 2024.

Josiah is on track for similar trajectory as he is having a rather solid freshman season as a Mountaineer recording 53 tackles with an interception and a 0.5 sack.

He'll need a good day against the Wildcats and may actually be poised for one as Arizona is struggling on offense to move the ball, to score, and keeping the ball safe.

Like mentioned earlier, there will be an expectation this Saturday that UA will run the ball and pass it quicker than usual this season in an effort to help out with offensive line deficiencies and the non-sustaining of drives.

Still, Fifita has struggled in the passing game and if an ill-advised pass or a loosely handled ball is out there than Trotter may be able to make a play for West Virginia.

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Hey guys, I was planning on going to the men's exhibition game. However, I woke up very sick this morning and will be doing stuff from home. I wanted to open this thread so that we can discuss the game as Arizona faces off against Eastern New Mexico in the Wildcats' first exhibition game of the season. UA's official start to the season is Nov. 4, against Canisius at 8 p.m. (MST) on ESPN+.

Arizona will be without Jacob Manu and Rhino Tapa'atoutai for the remainder of the season. With the loss of these two players, The Wildcats are now down Treydan Stukes, Manu, Tapa'atoutai with five games remaining on the schedule.

Arizona has also dealt injuries from Chubba Ma'ae, Gunner Maldonado, Isaiah Johnson, Leviticus Su'a and Marquis Groves-Killebrew.

Plus, the situations with Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who has been waiting since the second games of the season to find out if he has any eligibility left, or if his college career is over.

Arizona has West Virginia, UCF, Houston, TCU and ASU remaining on the schedule.

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Caleb Love has been picked as a preseason Associated Press First Team All-American today. The Arizona star and Pac-12 Player of the Year finished tied with Duke freshman Cooper Flagg in the voting making it a six-man team. Hunter Dickinson (Kansas), Mark Sears (Alabama), RJ Davis (North Carolina) and Johni Broome (Auburn) round out the group.

The Wildcats return to the floor tonight at 7 p.m. to take on Eastern New Mexico in the first of two exhibitions for the Wildcats. I have a preview of the matchup below.

Keeping Brennan is shortsighted. Raising $10 million now to replace him is far better than letting the program suffer through a slow burn over the next three years. The cost of keeping him and enduring underperformance is far greater than the immediate investment, especially when factoring in the time value of money. Ripping the band-aid off now will position us to avoid long-term losses that will exceed the short-term expense. Hope the admin reads this board!

Get Rid of Brennan!

While college football Saturday is still two days away, it's never too early to talk about one of Arizona's most anticipated games remaining on the schedule!

The Wildcats welcome an exciting Colorado team to a packed house on Saturday during Homecoming weekend and it's sure to be an exhilarating atmosphere. At the mid way point of the season, Arizona sits at a 3-3 record, a far cry from what the expectations were heading into the season but the Cats had the same record a year ago and still were able to embark on the run they did.

In Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders' second year with the program he has brought an attention unfamiliar with many teams in the league so it's a big deal nationally whenever Colorado plays, making Saturday's matchup a big one for Arizona.

As the game reaches closer and closer, check out our five takeaways from Arizona head coach Brent Brennan's final press conference of the week.


Other than that be sure to join the discussion with other Arizona fans as well as our staff writers!

GAME INFO

Who: Arizona (3-3, 1-2) vs. Colorado (4-2, 2-1)

Kickoff: Oct. 19 | 1 p.m. (MST)

Where: Arizona Stadium | Tucson, Arizona

TV and channels: FOX

Radio: 1290 AM | XM: 198, 384

All-time series: Colorado leads the all-time series at 16-10

Odds: Arizona (-2.5), O/U (58)

It’s Saturday morning and that means it’s football time! Here is the game thread for all things Arizona vs. No. 14 BYU kicking off later this evening.

The Wildcats are tasked with facing another ranked opponent in another Utah school’s stadium for the second time in the last three weeks. Arizona has stumbled through it’s schedule so far with electric wins and mind boggling losses so this game will be very important for the state of the Big 12 as BYU is one of two remaining undefeated teams.

GAME INFO

Who: Arizona (3-2, 1-1) vs. No. 14 BYU (5-0, 2-0)

Kickoff: 1 p.m. (MST)

Where: LaVell Edwards Stadium | Provo, Utah

TV and channels: FOX

Radio: 1290 AM | XM: 198, 384

All-time series: Both teams are tied 12-12-2

Odds: BYU (-3), O/U (48)

The Wildcats opened 2024 with many expectations following a year they put up a 10-win season and won impressively over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl. All the hype seemed warranted as Arizona put up an offensive explosion racking up 61 points and 600 yards of offense on New Mexico. Since, the offense looks nothing like that shown in week 1 and instead has fallen flat the last two weeks giving Arizona three losses in the last four games played.

Turnovers are the key factor hurting UA's offense as of today and offensive play caller Matt Adkins along with the players have been trying all week to find ways to make things easier on QB Noah Fifita, who's been taking too many hits and not seeing the field as well as he usually does.

Luckily for the Wildcats, there is clear proof that the stars of the team underperforming didn't forget how to play football and instead it may’ve been undervalued how difficult a coaching change can be.

As the coaching staff continues to pry at these issues, a talented Colorado team comes to town for kickoff on Saturday where the Cats are favored by a slim -2.5 points with an O/U of 58 points.

This is a game that could go either way as Arizona matches the star power of Colorado and is arguably more well rounded than the Buffs, it just depends which team comes in coached better and more prepared.

Both teams are in similar situations standings wise and will need the win in what'll be a sold out and packed Arizona Stadium, and here are three key difference makers in Arizona vs. Colorado that can help their teams over the hump.

Arizona

QB Noah Fifita - stats vs. BYU: 275 passing yards, 50% comp. percentage, one passing touchdown, three interceptions, one fumble

Two weeks in a row the Arizona offense has faltered due to the turnover bug and there's not much worse that could have been on display than what the offense looked like against BYU.

Moving the ball isn't so much the issue like punching in touchdowns has been because it's the plus territory area that has eluded the Wildcats in terms of scoring consistent points as since the massive 61-point bomb the offense put on New Mexico, they haven't scored more than 23 points in all five following games.

It's not easy to score when the offense is turning over the ball so frequently and that's been what is aching QB Fifita at the moment as he's given his first games with multiple turnovers in his career the last two weeks against Texas Tech and BYU.

Fifita turned the ball over four times in against a relentless Cougars defense where case could be made that none of the interceptions were a really on him as he was hit on one of the throws, tipped and picked on another throw, and than the last one in garbage time trying to make something happen.

Regardless of how they looked, it is incredibly difficult to win in college football or really any level at all when the ball is turned over that frequently but good news for Fifita is getting the chance to face a middle of the pack defense that allows 386.8 yards per game along with the pressure to really get things turned around fast.

There's no one feeling the mistakes more than Fifita who takes the accountability every press conference he attends post game or during the week and he is poised for a bounce back.

LB Jacob Manu - stats vs. BYU: two tackles, ejected in the first quarter

A rather stellar defensive unit led by coordinator Duane Akina has overperformed in recent weeks but really broke in the bend but don't break sentiment last Saturday.

Although a pick-six accounted for one of the Cougars touchdowns, 41 points is a season high allowed which can be attributed to the amount of times the defense was on the field from the offensive mistakes as a group simply can't be asked to be on the field that often.

Injuries in the unit have also contributed to the inefficiencies but mostly, the defense missed it's man in the middle in Jacob Manu.

Manu is the leader of the defense and his early absence for getting ejected off of a targeting call truly showed his impact on that side of the ball as the group looked lost at times and let multiple big plays happen in both the run and passing games.

It's not so much an inditement on linebackers Taye Brown and Kamuela Ka'aihue as much as it is Manu not being expendable as he is counted on so heavily.

Another thing that's noteworthy is the new helmet communication introduced to college football this season where Manu was the primary communicator where Gunner Maldonado, who was injured for the game, would back him up. Being out your top two communicators is also something that probably didn't show in the gameplan.

Arizona will return it's tackle leader with 43 on Saturday and his presence on the field will be needed against Colorado's high-octane passing offense.

RB Quali Conley - stats vs BYU: 13 carries, 39 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, four receptions, 29 receiving yards

The most consistent player for Arizona so far this year offensively apart from WR Tetairoa McMillan has been RB Quali Conley who's brought a steadiness when needed the most.

In every game of 2024 so far Conley has played a pivotal role in how the offense works even in the games Arizona played themselves out of in the Kansas State and BYU contests where he scored a touchdown in each.

Apart from those two he's ran the ball for 70-plus yards with five-plus yards a carry in really efficient showings that demonstrate the balance Arizona has strived to play with.

As of late the Wildcats have found themselves in negative game script a few times and have been forced to throw the ball significantly more than running it, but as Fifita rallies past some rough performances a way to benefit and support that development would to run the football.

Coach Brent Brennan spoke during the week of preparation that ideally the offense would love to have more equal numbers in pass attempts to rushing attempts but that the offense will do what it needs to do to win the game.

Every game the Cats have been competitive in so far, Conley was involved heavily throughout the game and getting back to that balance while taking some of the load off of the young quarterback may be something Coach Adkins and company strive towards going forward.

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The cactus logo is back! Arizona will debut their new helmets, which feature the ever-popular cactus logo, this weekend for the game against Colorado.

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It is shaping up to be a fun one in Tucson this weekend as Deion Sanders and Colorado come to the desert to square off with Arizona. The Wildcats need a win to avoid falling below .500, and both teams have some things working against them on the injury front. Troy and I discussed the matchup with the Buffs plus looked back on last week's loss to BYU in our latest podcast episode.

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2025 cornerback Allen Gant has backed off his commitment to Arizona this evening. The 6-foot prospect from Lubbock (Texas) Coronado had been committed to UA since June.

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The Big 12 has announced its player representatives for next week's Big 12 Media Days in Kansas City. The Wildcats will be represented by Breya Cunningham, Skylar Jones and Jada Williams on the women's side while Jaden Bradley, KJ Lewis and Caleb Love will represent the men in the two-day event. The women will have their chance to speak with the media Tuesday while the men's event will take place Wednesday. All of it will be streamed by ESPN+ with some coverage by ESPNU as well.

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Arizona has landed its first five-star recruit since the 2019 cycle and its first five-star prospect of the Tommy Lloyd era with No. 11-ranked wing Dwayne Aristode committing to the Wildcats this morning. The 6-foot-7 prospect from The Netherlands picked UA over a final group that included Duke, Michigan State and USC plus the option to play in Australia as a pro.

It's a huge recruiting victory for the Wildcats.

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Arizona will open the fourth season under Tommy Lloyd as the preseason No. 10 team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The preseason rankings were released Monday, and the Wildcats are one of five teams from the Big 12 to begin the season in the top 10. Kansas earned 30 first-place votes and will open the season at No. 1 with Houston (No. 4), Iowa State (No. 5) and Baylor (No. 8) rounding out the group along with UA.

The Wildcats' first game against a preseason top-25 team will be Nov. 22 when No. 7 Duke makes the trip to McKale Center. Wisconsin, Arizona's Nov. 15 opponent, received votes in the preseason poll.

No. 6 Gonzaga and No. 17 Indiana are two potential opponents in the Paradise Jam event in late November.

No. 22 UCLA will travel to Phoenix to play the Wildcats in a neutral court game at Footprint Center on Dec. 14 marking the last nonconference game against a preseason top-25 team for UA.

In all, the Big 12 has six teams ranked inside the AP Top 25 to begin the season with No. 20 Cincinnati rounding out the group. The Wildcats will play the Bearcats in the first full week of conference play as the two teams will meet up in. Cincinnati on Jan. 4 as part of Arizona's first road trip in its new conference.

Lloyd and the Wildcats return a ton of experience to this year's roster following a trip to the Sweet 16 in Year 3. The UA head coach enters the season 88-20 record while leading the Wildcats, but the team now steps into arguably the best conference in basketball following realignment. Only the SEC has more teams (9) in the preseason poll but only No. 2 Alabama sits inside the top 10.

The Wildcats were recently picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 preseason poll by the coaches in the conference. UA received one first-place vote and finished just six points behind Baylor for the fourth spot. 2023-24 Pac-12 Player of the Year Caleb Love was selected as a preseason All-Big 12 First Team member.

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Check out our latest podcast episode as Troy and I discuss last week's loss to Texas Tech and this week's matchup against No. 14 BYU.

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.

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The NCAA DI Council is meeting this week, and there are some new rules and decisions being made that will impact programs around the country. Yesterday, the council approved the shortening of the transfer windows from 45 days to 30 for football and men's and women's basketball. Instead of a 30-day window in the winter and a 15-day window in the spring for football, there will now be a 20-day window in the winter (Dec. 9-28) and a 10-day window in the spring (April 15-25).

The 30-day basketball transfer window will run from the day after the end of the second round of the NCAA tournaments.

The 30-day window in those sports will remain should a head coach leave a school regardless of whether or not that falls within one of the predetermined transfer windows.

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Additionally, today the council approved the transition away from National Letters of Intent for high school and junior college recruits. There will be a new process for schools to sign prospects beginning this winter. Financial aid agreements will take the place of the NLI though many of the rules that had been in place with the NLI program will remain as the transition is made to the new model.

Last season, Caleb Love was the "do-it-all" guard Arizona needed. He was the guy with the ball in his hands and averaged a team-high 3.4 assists per game. Plus, when the team needed it the most, Love had the ball in his hands and averaged 18 points per game while winning Pac-12 Player of the Year.

But, all this was with the ball hin his hands and at times, Love shot the team out of games when the offense wasn't clicking.

I would argue that the team needed him to be that ball dominant in order to succeed with the struggles of Kylan Boswell and the lack of a second scoring option.

However now, the Wildcats welcome back Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis with both expected to play major roles in the offense and start this season.

Bradley will be taking over the point guard role and to get ready for the season, Tommy Lloyd and his staff have challenged Love to get strong at playing without the ball.

During his press conference, Love said that they've been working on the details of becoming a strong offensive player without the ball in his hands and how to score off passes, screens and cuts.

In order to improve at this area, Love has been watching film of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who have been two of the best scorers without the ball in their hands in the NBA over the last 10-plus years.

I think this will make Love that much more dangerous of an offensive weapon and expand his game. What do you guys think?