Arizona Vs UCF 🏈 Game Preview/Discussion Thread 11/2/24 1230pm FS1

[WILD]

Arizona Vs UCF 🏈 Game Preview/Discussion Thread 11/2/24 1230pm FS1

The Arizona Wildcats are on the road as they make the trip to face off with the UCF Knights on Saturday afternoon. Arizona was downed 31-26 by West Virginia at home last Saturday, losing outright as a 5.5-point favorite in the process. UCF was dropped 37-24 at home by #11 BYU last Saturday, losing outright as a three-point favorite, in their previous game. This marks the first ever meeting between the two teams.

Arizona Trying to Reverse Struggles as Calendar Flips to November
Arizona lost their fourth straight game as they were beaten at home by West Virginia last week. The Wildcats enter this game 3-5 overall and stand just 1-4 in the Big 12 as they hope to turn things around as November gets underway. Against West Virginia, Arizona never led in the contest as they trailed 10-0 after the opening quarter. The Wildcats trailed 17-7 at the half, 24-13 after three quarters and 31-13 in the opening 90 seconds of the final quarter. Arizona rallied to score twice late to get within five with 4:35 to play but never got the ball again. The Wildcats were outgained 405-386 in total offense, lost the turnover battle 35:04 to 24:56 and committed the game's only turnover. Those numbers far overshadowed the fact that they had an 18-16 advantage in first downs in the contest.
On the year, the Wildcats are 40th in the nation in passing offense with 260.3 yards per contest while they are 97th in rushing offense with 128.8 yards per game this season. Arizona is 100th in the FBS in scoring offense as they muster an average of 23.4 points per game while they are 91st in scoring defense by allowing 28 points per contest. Noah Fifita is 173 of 289 passing for 2,068 yards with 11 touchdowns against 10 interceptions while adding 60 yards and a score on the ground. Quali Conley leads the team on the ground with 109 carries for 572 yards and seven scores on the year. Kedrick Reescano (45 carries, 245 yards, TD) and Jacory Croskett-Merritt (13 carries, 106 yards, TD) are next in line for the run game. Tetairoa McMillan leads the team in the passing game with 57 catches for 982 yards and five scores on the season. Keyan Burnett (18 receptions, 217 yards, TD), Conley (27 grabs, 177 yards), Montana Lemonious-Craig (17 catches, 172 yards, TD) and Jeremiah Patterson (14 receptions, 124 yards, two scores) are solid secondary options. Tyler Loop is 17 of 18 on extra point attempts and 14 of 18 on field goal attempts with a long of 54 this season.

Knights Hoping to Rebound at Home
UCF started the year 3-0 but suffered their fifth straight loss as they were dumped by #11 BYU at home last Saturday. The Knights dropped to 3-5 overall on the year and are just 1-4 in Big 12 action on the year as they hope to snap their slide. Against BYU, UCF trailed 7-0 after the opening quarter and 17-0 midway through the second quarter. The Knights got within 17-10 only to give up the next 17 points to trail 34-10 after three quarters. They couldn't get closer than the final margin the rest of the way. UCF was hammered 480-379 in total offense, gave up 29 first downs while picking up 18, turned the ball over twice while forcing just one takeaway and was dominated 40:28 to 19:32 in time of possession in the contest.

The Knights are 106th in the FBS in passing offense as they average 186.9 yards per game through the air. UCF is 3rd in the nation in rushing offense with 267.9 yards per contest. The Knights are 51st of the 134 teams in the FBS to take the field this season in scoring offense as they put up 30.4 points per game. UCF is 86th in scoring defense as they give up 27.1 points a contest. KJ Jefferson is 64 of 108 passing for 1,012 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions while adding 193 yards plus two scores on the ground. Jacurri Brown (34 of 66, 387 yards, TD, four INT, 339 rush yards, two TD) and Dylan Rizk (seven of 11, 102 yards, TD, 34 rush yards) are next on the depth chart. In the run game, RJ Harvey leads the team with 149 carries for 1,017 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year. Peny Boone (34 carries, 208 yards, two TDs) and Myles Montgomery (25 carries, 156 yards, two TDs) are involved in the run game as well. Kobe Hudson leads the team in the passing game with 27 receptions for 509 yards and three scores. Harvey (11 catches, 205 yards, two TD), tight end Randy Pittman Jr. (16 catches, 186 yards) and Jacoby Jones (eight grabs, 145 yards, TD) are the only other players with at least 100 receiving yards on the season. Colton Boomer is 19 of 20 on extra points and three of six on field goals with a long of 50 this season. Grant Reddick is eight of eight on extra point attempts and five of five on field goals with a long of 38.

UCF is favored at 6 and the Over/Under is 56 points

Let's talk about the Wildcats Vs Knights!

BEARDOWN!!!

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[CactusCat]

A win vs. UCF is a nothing burger. Still below.500 and an only outside chance at a meaningless bowl. The only game that matters is vs. ASU imo.

[CatInFL]

Looks like rain at game time.

[arxpert]

I agree with TD on the Hail Mary, even with the shove back the ball broke the plane barely and call stands is automatic in my book, but:

Why is it that a guy can get shoved backwards in-bounds before feet touching the ground, but be awarded the most forward advancement possible from the moment the ball was considered "caught", even though the feet never touched the ground to confirm it was a real catch anyway... that is a huge assumption in terms of the yard marker.

BUT then, if the same play happened on the sidelines or back of the endzone, the same player in the same situation is not afforded any of those equal protections.

So the Rules assume that a catch is made if it is in the field of play even if the feet aren't down as long as the ball isn't moving/being juggled, but the rules make the Sideline and back of the Endzone into a Defensive Ally and won't allow/afford the same protections to assume the player would have came down in bounds had he not been shoved at all.

Makes a whole lot of sense right?

[CatInFL]

Now I know how it felt to be a visiting fan in The Mad House on Main in the 90's.

[arxpert]

From my understanding, Brennan has packed it in.

He can try to save some face and go all in to beat ASU, but Arizona Football had a new standard. Winning the Duel in the Desert is not meaningless, but it's not the same as it was 20-30 years ago.

We were supposed to contend for a CFP spot. This is the absolute opposite of all expectations. I really do put it on Brennan. I don't think he was ever cut out for this position. I truly feel some coaches are capped in their potential. He may have had some success at SJSU, but that's not anything to write home about.

He is not Young.
He is not Old.

So what you see is what you get. We can't ignore it as a fanbase. He is too young to be completely set in his ways. He is too old to be thinking at the New Era analytical level of building schemes and team identity.

The Branch Servites are the Identity. The Tribal Chief Necklace is about to come and go from the program with a win over Oklahoma's backups to show for it at the end of the day.

It was fun while it lasted. I seriously don't know if Noah is capable of getting a better offer elsewhere unless Jedd just wants to bring him over to Washington, but I really don't think he will succeed there if he is having this much difficulty in the Big12. It is far weaker than the Big Ten in Football terms. There is nothing "tough nosed" about the Big12. We should be winning, but if we must lose.. we should be losing 45-38 type games. Not getting thorough whoopings week in week out.

And how about Houston. KC Cat swore that was a walkover, yet they just took out K-State without issue. Sure it came down to a hail mary at the end, but Houston had the game in control by large throughout. I really don't think we will be bowl eligible.

This has to be the biggest fall from grace I've seen in College Football History per the hype and talent in place. EA Sports should downgrade us to a 2 Star school and no one should be rated over 80 except McMillan who is playing like an 84 OVR at best not a 94. I am concerned he is no longer a 1st round pick at this point. He may have to test the waters and return.

[FOOS]

From my understanding, Brennan has packed it in.

He can try to save some face and go all in to beat ASU, but Arizona Football had a new standard. Winning the Duel in the Desert is not meaningless, but it's not the same as it was 20-30 years ago.

We were supposed to contend for a CFP spot. This is the absolute opposite of all expectations. I really do put it on Brennan. I don't think he was ever cut out for this position. I truly feel some coaches are capped in their potential. He may have had some success at SJSU, but that's not anything to write home about.

He is not Young.
He is not Old.

So what you see is what you get. We can't ignore it as a fanbase. He is too young to be completely set in his ways. He is too old to be thinking at the New Era analytical level of building schemes and team identity.

The Branch Servites are the Identity. The Tribal Chief Necklace is about to come and go from the program with a win over Oklahoma's backups to show for it at the end of the day.

It was fun while it lasted. I seriously don't know if Noah is capable of getting a better offer elsewhere unless Jedd just wants to bring him over to Washington, but I really don't think he will succeed there if he is having this much difficulty in the Big12. It is far weaker than the Big Ten in Football terms. There is nothing "tough nosed" about the Big12. We should be winning, but if we must lose.. we should be losing 45-38 type games. Not getting thorough whoopings week in week out.

And how about Houston. KC Cat swore that was a walkover, yet they just took out K-State without issue. Sure it came down to a hail mary at the end, but Houston had the game in control by large throughout. I really don't think we will be bowl eligible.

This has to be the biggest fall from grace I've seen in College Football History per the hype and talent in place. EA Sports should downgrade us to a 2 Star school and no one should be rated over 80 except McMillan who is playing like an 84 OVR at best not a 94. I am concerned he is no longer a 1st round pick at this point. He may have to test the waters and return.

Can't argue with any of this - especially that last paragraph.  A fall to disgrace.....

[CatInFL]

From my understanding, Brennan has packed it in.

He can try to save some face and go all in to beat ASU, but Arizona Football had a new standard. Winning the Duel in the Desert is not meaningless, but it's not the same as it was 20-30 years ago.

We were supposed to contend for a CFP spot. This is the absolute opposite of all expectations. I really do put it on Brennan. I don't think he was ever cut out for this position. I truly feel some coaches are capped in their potential. He may have had some success at SJSU, but that's not anything to write home about.

He is not Young.
He is not Old.

So what you see is what you get. We can't ignore it as a fanbase. He is too young to be completely set in his ways. He is too old to be thinking at the New Era analytical level of building schemes and team identity.

The Branch Servites are the Identity. The Tribal Chief Necklace is about to come and go from the program with a win over Oklahoma's backups to show for it at the end of the day.

It was fun while it lasted. I seriously don't know if Noah is capable of getting a better offer elsewhere unless Jedd just wants to bring him over to Washington, but I really don't think he will succeed there if he is having this much difficulty in the Big12. It is far weaker than the Big Ten in Football terms. There is nothing "tough nosed" about the Big12. We should be winning, but if we must lose.. we should be losing 45-38 type games. Not getting thorough whoopings week in week out.

And how about Houston. KC Cat swore that was a walkover, yet they just took out K-State without issue. Sure it came down to a hail mary at the end, but Houston had the game in control by large throughout. I really don't think we will be bowl eligible.

This has to be the biggest fall from grace I've seen in College Football History per the hype and talent in place. EA Sports should downgrade us to a 2 Star school and no one should be rated over 80 except McMillan who is playing like an 84 OVR at best not a 94. I am concerned he is no longer a 1st round pick at this point. He may have to test the waters and return.

You certainly make a good case, but I'm not sure I agree. I'll also stop short of saying you're wrong.  Two months ago I was a big fan of Brennan, mostly because of his Tomey connection and the fact that he really seems to want to be here. Results, though, speak loudly. I still really want to be a fan of his, for the reasons mentioned above and because I want to see the Cats win.  Brennan certainly hasn't proven he can win here yet, but he hasn't proven he can't either.

The O-line has been out matched since the 2nd game and hasn't given the offense a chance to excel (or even to be good very often).  That's either coaching or physical ability. I don't know which it is, but it's been so consistent that I suspect it's ability. 

Has Noah back slid? If he has that could be coaching.   It sure looks like he has, but he's been under pressure on nearly every play, I don't recall that happening last year.

The defense waa starting to get going, but has gotten so depleted that they can't stop anyone.  That certainly doesn't seem to be coaching either. 

I sat next to and spoke with one of the players dads on Saturday.  I asked him how his son had responded to fish leaving.  He told me that his son really liked playing for fish, because the whole program from practice, to watching film,to game day was run like an NFL team. He said, he didn't follow to Washington because fish lost all credibility with how he handled his departure. One of the things I concluded from this is just how different the program is this year. Not necessarily better or worse, but for some players it probably fits them better, for others it's worse.  For all of them it's different, and I don't think that speaks to Brennan's ability.

We all came into the year on a high and it seems we expected too much. Now we're on a low.  Though, if the defense had stayed healthy, we'd likely have 2 or 3 more wins and be looking at finishing strong.

Arizona football isn't likely to ever be a consistent national championship contender, but we should almost always be in the top 25, and we should frequently flirt with the top ten.  In those rare really great years, we should get to the top 5 and contend for a national championship.  Brennan might not be the guy to lead us there, but he also might be. We just don't know yet.


It took me about 2 1/2 years to gain trust and get on the fish wagon, and about 3 seconds to jump off once my initial mistrust was proven correct.  I got on the Brennan wagon qickly and I'm hoping he'll be like fish in that he proves my initial feelings correct.

[arxpert]

From my understanding, Brennan has packed it in.

He can try to save some face and go all in to beat ASU, but Arizona Football had a new standard. Winning the Duel in the Desert is not meaningless, but it's not the same as it was 20-30 years ago.

We were supposed to contend for a CFP spot. This is the absolute opposite of all expectations. I really do put it on Brennan. I don't think he was ever cut out for this position. I truly feel some coaches are capped in their potential. He may have had some success at SJSU, but that's not anything to write home about.

He is not Young.
He is not Old.

So what you see is what you get. We can't ignore it as a fanbase. He is too young to be completely set in his ways. He is too old to be thinking at the New Era analytical level of building schemes and team identity.

The Branch Servites are the Identity. The Tribal Chief Necklace is about to come and go from the program with a win over Oklahoma's backups to show for it at the end of the day.

It was fun while it lasted. I seriously don't know if Noah is capable of getting a better offer elsewhere unless Jedd just wants to bring him over to Washington, but I really don't think he will succeed there if he is having this much difficulty in the Big12. It is far weaker than the Big Ten in Football terms. There is nothing "tough nosed" about the Big12. We should be winning, but if we must lose.. we should be losing 45-38 type games. Not getting thorough whoopings week in week out.

And how about Houston. KC Cat swore that was a walkover, yet they just took out K-State without issue. Sure it came down to a hail mary at the end, but Houston had the game in control by large throughout. I really don't think we will be bowl eligible.

This has to be the biggest fall from grace I've seen in College Football History per the hype and talent in place. EA Sports should downgrade us to a 2 Star school and no one should be rated over 80 except McMillan who is playing like an 84 OVR at best not a 94. I am concerned he is no longer a 1st round pick at this point. He may have to test the waters and return.

You certainly make a good case, but I'm not sure I agree. I'll also stop short of saying you're wrong.  Two months ago I was a big fan of Brennan, mostly because of his Tomey connection and the fact that he really seems to want to be here. Results, though, speak loudly. I still really want to be a fan of his, for the reasons mentioned above and because I want to see the Cats win.  Brennan certainly hasn't proven he can win here yet, but he hasn't proven he can't either.

The O-line has been out matched since the 2nd game and hasn't given the offense a chance to excel (or even to be good very often).  That's either coaching or physical ability. I don't know which it is, but it's been so consistent that I suspect it's ability. 

Has Noah back slid? If he has that could be coaching.   It sure looks like he has, but he's been under pressure on nearly every play, I don't recall that happening last year.

The defense waa starting to get going, but has gotten so depleted that they can't stop anyone.  That certainly doesn't seem to be coaching either. 

I sat next to and spoke with one of the players dads on Saturday.  I asked him how his son had responded to fish leaving.  He told me that his son really liked playing for fish, because the whole program from practice, to watching film,to game day was run like an NFL team. He said, he didn't follow to Washington because fish lost all credibility with how he handled his departure. One of the things I concluded from this is just how different the program is this year. Not necessarily better or worse, but for some players it probably fits them better, for others it's worse.  For all of them it's different, and I don't think that speaks to Brennan's ability.

We all came into the year on a high and it seems we expected too much. Now we're on a low.  Though, if the defense had stayed healthy, we'd likely have 2 or 3 more wins and be looking at finishing strong.

Arizona football isn't likely to ever be a consistent national championship contender, but we should almost always be in the top 25, and we should frequently flirt with the top ten.  In those rare really great years, we should get to the top 5 and contend for a national championship.  Brennan might not be the guy to lead us there, but he also might be. We just don't know yet.


It took me about 2 1/2 years to gain trust and get on the fish wagon, and about 3 seconds to jump off once my initial mistrust was proven correct.  I got on the Brennan wagon qickly and I'm hoping he'll be like fish in that he proves my initial feelings correct.

I won't say that your assessment is wrong. It is more optimistic than mine. Jedd was always a grifter. I was hoodwinked by the end, but the results spoke for themselves. The NFL style is a major selling point. I think if we want to compete in this new landscape of amateur-professionalism (oxymoronical right?) then we must embrace the NFL style again.

Being a "Tomey boy" seems to be my biggest problem with Brennan. You mentioned a player's parent. The way that came off to me was that the parents and athlete was fine collecting his check and not bothering to go to Washington to get beat up on by Big Ten level competition which is a lot stiffer. I can be totally wrong, but there are definitely players on this team that are not up for that challenge and it is showing right now.

As for the Offensive Line theory - The Line is not as bad as people think. Something I have come to learn about Top Tier coaches is that they will find Assistants and teach specific schemes that cater to the strengths of the players and move away from the weaknesses.

There is always more than 1 way to skin a cat.

I have been calling for it all season. RUN THE BALL. Use the STABLE OF RUNNING BACKS. Not just 1. Not 6 carries from a 2nd. Use the OL to Noah's advantage. Run the Ball. Call 1-3 step drops, use WR screens. Don't expect Noah to just dance around like he is Lamar Jackson out there and make it happen. All year it has been T-Mac or bust. Noah has multiple TE's on this team. We don't use the 22 personnel package nearly enough. It doesn't need to present as a Wing-T. It can be motioning TE's/RBs/FBs around in a Spread Offense in order to get the same results.

We should be running the ball, calling inventive and intelligent screens and forcing teams to stop it.

Noah "under fire" is a product of Noah regressing. The coaching is a problem, but the coaching doesn't teach nor force him to make bad decisions. He can be mature and take a sack or get out of the pocket and throw the ball away. He doesn't need to force anything. We have far less bull rush/blindside strip sacks happening than people think. The decision making in the moment is on Noah. I won't absolve him of that. It is just regression under a new leader.

I don't think we will be Bowl Eligible, but it would be nice to limp in even if it is the Toilet.net Shit Bowl.

I stand by my comments and I think T-Mac may have lost some of his draft status. I am left wondering if Noah will stay here. Either way, this season has been a disaster and it stands to get worse before better from what I am seeing. Hopefully we can accelerate the process and be back on track by 2026 or 2027.

Basketball around the corner is going to be interesting too as the Big12 is going to present big challenges. Hopefully we can just finish the season respectably and beat a Mountain West team in a bowl game or something.

[CatInFL]

You mentioned a player's parent. The way that came off to me was that the parents and athlete was fine collecting his check and not bothering to go to Washington to get beat up on by Big Ten level competition which is a lot stiffer.

It could be, I didn't get that feeling though.

Something I have come to learn about Top Tier coaches is that they will find Assistants and teach specific schemes that cater to the strengths of the players and move away from the weaknesses.

I've been wondering for years were these coaches have gone. The attitude now seems to be, "This is what I believe is right, and you better fit." It's what Sumlin did with Tate. It's what Miller did with defense (no zone). I believe that what made Olsen great was his ability to adapt his style to his players.

I stand by my comments and I think T-Mac may have lost some of his draft status.

I would think so too, the parent I was talking to does not.  He said "McMillan will be fine, it's a weak draft class." Shortly thereafter he ditched me to sit with the McMillans. Obviously, that was an upgrade for him.