When Arizona played a Friday night game at Kansas State last month it got an early taste of what life was going to be like on the road in the Big 12. Both on the field and in the stands all around them, as K-State drew a sold out crowd of more than 51,000.
Same thing last week at Utah, where the Wildcats’ Big 12 opener was attended by the Utes’ 86th consecutive sellout.
Now comes the UA’s chance to put on a big show in front of a big crowd, as it will host Texas Tech on Saturday night in the first Big 12 Conference game at Arizona Stadium.
“I’m really excited to see the city of Tucson show out for this football game,” UA coach Brent Brennan said Thursday. “I think that’s one of the things that we’ve gotten a taste of in our last two opponents, of what it’s like to play at Kansas State and play at Utah. And next week we go to BYU, but this week we get to play at home. And the special thing about playing at home is you share that with your fans and your friends and family. I know Zona Zoo sold out in less than a day. I’m excited for our student section to be rocking and for the Big 12 to get the experience of what it’s like coming to play in Arizona Stadium.”
Arizona’s announces crowds for the first two home games have been 44,748 and 47,746, while the Oct. 19 Homecoming contest against Colorado has already sold out.
Here’s what to look out for when the Wildcats (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) face off against the Red Raiders (4-1, 2-0):
Avoiding a letdown
Arizona’s 23-10 win at Utah on Saturday night was the 21st in school history against a team ranked in the Associated Press Top 10. Those are the kinds of victories that can springboard a program to another level if it can sustain that momentum, which the Wildcats have struggled to do.
The UA has lost the last five games immediately after a Top 10 win, most recently in 2022 when it followed up the upset at No. 9 UCLA with a 31-20 home loss to Washington State. The last time the Wildcats won right after beating a Top 10 team was in 2010 when they followed up a 27-24 victory over No. 9 Iowa with a 10-9 win over Cal … only to lose at home the next game to an Oregon State team that would go 5-7.
Adding to Arizona’s difficulty in this area is the newness of the Big 12. While Utah was a familiar opponent, and atmosphere, the school had never played at K-State before while the last meeting with Texas Tech was in 2019.
“For the people that are have been in the Big 12 Conference, they know all these teams, they know all these coaching staffs, they know all these venues,” Brennan said. “It’s all new for us. It’s something that we actually have to totally get used to. Texas Tech has not been on our schedule since these kids have been playing here, so it’s a totally new opponent.”
Pace vs. patience
Arizona is averaging only 58.5 offensive plays per game, taking nearly 28 seconds per snap. That’s in stark contrast to Texas Tech, which is averaging 76 plays (one per 24.2 seconds) and ran 83 in a 30-22 win over ASU two weeks ago.
The UA goes from facing a methodical opponent like Utah to one that is “going on to be on the ball every snap” without much if any huddling. And the Red Raiders are balanced out of their up-tempo attack, running the ball more than 30 times per game while dropping back more than 45 times.
Texas Tech is also among the most explosive teams in the country, with 94 plays of 10 or more yards and 34 of 20-plus in five games. Arizona has 59 and 23, respectively.
Efficiency will be key, regardless of the tempo, and Arizona has struggled with that. It was only 4 of 13 on third down at Utah and for the season is converting less than 35 percent of the time, while Texas Tech is 10th in FBS at 53.2 percent 3rd-down efficiency.
“The important part of that is hopefully being more efficient on first and second down so we’re not in those third down situations,” Brennan said.
Arizona made four 4th down stops at Utah including two in the red zone, which bodes well for the matchup with Texas Tech. The Red Raiders have already been inside the opponent’s 20-yard line 26 times this year, compared to eight for the Wildcats, but have only scored a TD 61.5 percent of the time.
The UA has allowed nine TDs on 16 opponent red zone trips.
Workhorse vs. committee
Among the many ways Arizona and Texas Tech differ is in their approach to running the ball, specifically who and how often. While the Wildcats have a primary rusher in Quali Conley he’s averaging less than 14 carries per game and has yet to have more than 22 touches in a game including receptions.
Tech goes the complete opposite route, with senior Tahj Brooks the guy in the backfield. He’s run it 103 times in the four games he’s played, including 32 last week against Cincinnati and 27 in the Big 12 opener against ASU. He has more than 700 career carries and is second among active FBS players with nearly 3,600 yards.
“The guy’s a total stud,” Brennan said of 5-foot-10, 230-pound Brooks. “He’s big-bodied, he runs hard. They give it to him a lot. They do a great job of utilizing him and giving them options.”
Brooks is the kind of running back offensive coordinator Dino Babers said he would prefer to have, reminding him of his previous stint at Arizona when he handed it off to Trung Candidate 253 times in 12 games in 1999. But that can only work if the back is going to be able to do it every week.
“I prefer to have a guy that can go 20 or 30 carries, but you have to be a special guy to take that pounding on your body and be able to come back,” Babers said. “Yeah, we’ll give it to you 30 times if we’re going to give it to you 12 times during the year like that. If we’re going to give it to you 30 times and you have to sit out two weeks because of the pounding that we gave you … that doesn’t work for us. We’re more in a situation now where we split our reps to keep our guys healthy, so we keep everybody with us throughout the season.”
Arizona’s running back corps has shrunk since the season started, first with senior Jacory Croskey-Merritt being held out the last three games over possible eligibility concerns and now with junior Rayshon ‘Speedy’ Luke opting to redshirt after being part of the rotation the first four games.
“This is a decision that he and his family made, and we respect that,” Brennan said of Luke. “He’s gonna be a great teammate and a great scout team player, and he’s gonna help us prepare every week. He’s a great kid.”
Speedy’s decision may open the door for another Luke, freshman fullback Kayden Luke, to get more touches. He had his first career carry at Utah and ran for more than 2,300 yards as a high school senior in leading Canyon del Oro to a state title.
“I think this gives a chance for maybe Big Red to do some stuff, or even Brandon Johnson,” Brennan said. “I still feel really good about that room. Obviously, we’ve been hit by some surprises this year, but it’s next man up. It’s an opportunity for someone else to get a chance to play and show us what they can do.”
