NFL
By: Brock Vierra
Back in early September, I wrote an article about how the Arizona Wildcats were on the rise and that the nation needed to pay attention. Here we are, nearly 12 weeks later and Arizona is on the doorstep of the Pac-12 Title game. Arizona sits at 8-3 with two losses to ranked teams. They have four ranked wins including last week’s win against two-time defending Pac-12 champion Utah Utes. With a dominant offense, an underrated defense, and a coaching staff that has inspired the Wildcats to play at a championship level, Arizona might be on the verge of entering the national championship conversation.
Arizona Wildcats have a great foundation
When Jedd Fisch flipped Tetairoa McMillian from Oregon to Arizona, he secured Arizona’s first-ever five-star recruit. McMillian played at Servite High School and Fisch was able to pluck another talent from McMillan’s high school team. Noah Fifita took over for Jayden De Laura midway through the year and he has not looked back.
Fifita has been on fire. Almost 2000 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and only 4 interceptions. Since being named the starter, Arizona’s offense has averaged 34.1 points per game while the Wildcats have won 5 straight. They have a bunch of pieces that are returning in 2024 while several players will be leaving for the NFL.
They have an underrated defense
Defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen has his players playing hard until the final whistle. Despite the game being done and dusted against Utah, the Wildcats continued to give the Utes offense problems. The Arizona Wildcats defense has allowed about 21 points per game which is good, especially in the Pac-12.
It gets even more impressive when you consider the fact that Arizona played in two overtime games this year, including a triple-overtime game against Heisman winner Caleb Williams and USC. They’ve given Michael Penix Jr, Shedeur Sanders, and Cam Ward problems, all QBs that have gained NFL hype. The defense is legit.
Attitude is Everything
When he talked about the Desert Swarm defense of the Dick Tomey era, Tedy Bruschi attributed his team’s dominant performance to their attitude. Bruschi said “They played angry” and since Jedd Fisch was hired, that’s exactly what the Arizona Wildcats have done.
It does help that Bruschi was hired as “senior advisor to the head coach” by Fisch and it’s clear that Bruschi’s sentiments have rubbed off on the current Wildcats. They have expressed an “any time, any place” attitude that has propelled them to major victories in 2023. As they go for their second straight Territorial Cup, I expect that attitude to get transported to Tempe.
What Jedd Fisch has done in three short years is nothing short of incredible. Now I have always had an eye on Arizona but outside of randomly beating Oregon and that one year under Rich Rodriguez, the Wildcats have not experienced success. They’ve changed that narrative in 2023.
The question for them now is how will they manage the rest of the season. They have an outside shot of making the final Pac-12 title game but it could lead to a rematch against Washington, a team they lost to by seven before catching fire in the second half of the season.
The bigger question is how will the Arizona Wildcats manage the 2024 offseason as they transition into the Big 12. They’ll have to deal with the departures of Jacob Cowing and Jordan Morgan among others, of course, they’ll have to adjust to the play and travel of their new conference home and the other schools attempting to pluck Jedd Fisch for their program.
However, the future looks bright, and for a team that couldn’t even beat Northern Arizona two years ago, their turnaround is near miraculous. I am all in with the Wildcats and don’t be surprised when they’re competing for a national title in 2024.
Catch up with all things college football with Team NBS media’s weekly recap show, The Last Word. New episodes every Sunday morning.
