Post Game Remarks from Coach Brennan and Players After Tough Loss to Texas Tech

Arizona suffered a tough loss at home versus Texas Tech. Arizona found themselves in a tough position at halftime trailing Texas 18-3, but Arizona managed to take a short lead in the fourth quarter. However, the Wildcats could not capitalize on offense, and a fumble as well as a missed field goal late in the 4th quarter gave Texas Tech the opportunity to put the game away. 

The speed and tempo of Texas Tech’s number one ranked offense was just as difficult to defend as Arizona expected, but the Wildcats defense answered with a great performance. The Arizona defense battled throughout the game, coming up big in the second half with two forced fumbles by Dalton Johnson and Stanley Ta’ufo’ou. Cornerback Genesis Smith nearly picked off a pass by Behren Morton in the second half as well. Johnson responded regarding the defensive performance in the second half by saying “It creates that momentum, it creates that spark, and it was an emphasis from coach B this week.”

The main problem for the Wildcats came from a poor offensive performance. Noah Fifita threw for 301 yards against the Texas defense, as well as two interceptions that drastically shifted the momentum of the game for Arizona. Arizona’s running back Quali Conley stepped up big for the offense, running for 97 yards and 1 TD. Arizona’s wide receiver Tetairoa Macmillan displayed his continued ability to make plays with 8 catches for 161 yards. Despite Arizona’s depth and ability on offense, the Wildcats struggled to score touchdowns. Arizona was forced to rely on kicker Tyler Loop as he went 4 for 5 on field goal attempts, as well as keeping Arizona in contention through the entirety of the game. 

 It was clear that Arizona needed to be better against Texas when converting on 3rd and 4th downs. However, the offense led by Fifita went only 3 for 12 on third downs in the game. Noah Fifita made a number of uncharacteristic throws in the red zone that forced Arizona to kick. Brent Brennan was asked about the performance of his QB regarding what went wrong in the pass game and he stated that he had no idea. “No one works harder, or studies more film, or is more prepared for the game than Noah Fifita,” says coach Brennan. The Arizona squad will need to analyze their issues on offense if they have a shot at beating BYU on the road next week.