Arizona Dominates Hawaii 40-6 in Season Opener

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Wildcats Unleash Desert Storm on Aloha Invaders

The Arizona Wildcats Dominate Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in Season Opener  The Wildcats started their 2025 season with a decisive 40-6 victory over the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on August 30 at Arizona Stadium  The Zona defense was outstanding, forcing five turnovers that led to 23 points and recording five sacks, the most since their 2023 game against Stanford. Offensively, quarterback Noah Fifita completed 13 of 23 passes for 161 yards and one touchdown, while also rushing for a score. The running game was a key factor, with the team accumulating 183 rushing yards on the ground. Arizona outgained Hawaii 344-179 in total yards and won the time of possession battle 35:21 to 24:39. This win marks the fourth consecutive season-opening victory for the Wildcats, the longest streak since 2008-2015.

Head coach Brent Brennan commented after the game, "Our defense set the tone early, and the offense capitalized on those opportunities. It's a great way to start the year."Running back Quincy Craig had a standout performance in his debut for Arizona, rushing for 125 yards on just seven carries, including a 54-yard touchdown run that extended the lead to 14-3 in the second quarter. Fellow running backs Kedrick Reescano and Ismail Mahdi also contributed with touchdown runs of their own, showcasing the depth in the backfield. For Hawaii, quarterback Micah Alejado struggled, completing passes for only 109 yards with two interceptions, as the team managed just two field goals in the first half. The Rainbow Warriors, coming off a 23-20 win over Stanford in Week Zero, fell to 1-1 and now face challenges on the road, where they are 0-4 in nonconference games under coach Timmy Chang. Hawaii's Alejado said postgame, "We made too many mistakes, especially with the turnovers. Credit to Arizona's defense—they were tough out there." Arizona looks ahead to their next home game against Weber State, building momentum in the Big 12.

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https://x.com/ArizonaFBall/status/1962046694914486777?t=nOPwGQ0yaghlHHPhynwpjw&s=19

[Little George]

Over and over this season please.


Is anyone else feeling more confident after last night's win? Performance?

[TucsonTruckStop]

Over and over this season please.


Is anyone else feeling more confident after last night's win? Performance?

Not yet. The team is weak in the trenches, and I think that will be an issue in Conference play. This offence should have never been slowed by a team like Hawaii; yet too many times we went 3 and out or got pushed around. I am also not sold on Noah. He looked a lot like last year's Noah and the swiss-cheese line wont help.

[KansasCityCats]

I was actually surprised by the gaps, created by the O-line in our running game. They need need work in pass protection.

The DL was going up against a lot of size. Hawaii's line was big but we found ways to get to their beat up QB.

Hopefully that continues when conference play begins...

Our running game and DB'a will be solid this year. Hoping we make a bowl game. That would be enough improvement to show future recruits that this team has future potential.

[arxpert]

I was actually surprised by the gaps, created by the O-line in our running game. They need need work in pass protection. 

I am not surprised by the Run Game. I am not surprised by Noah's lack of dominance.

But here is the thing I was talking about on my Predictor -->

We have a Turnover Generating Mindset on Defense - Maybe not the biggest or toughest, but we will be feisty and get some turnovers
We have a "stable" of RBs.
We have a Good Run Blocking OL
We "should" be leaning on that, which is Big 10 Style technically
We are not bound by T-Mac anymore
We see Noah able to complete 13 passes all night, but spread it around to 8 different players catching.

8 players for 13 completions.

That is a sticking point to consider.

We may not have "ALL DAY" in the pocket to throw, but when you have at least 5 guys (let alone that are willing to do their parts and become useful, that makes it "possible" to adapt IN-GAME to whatever Defense is being thrown at us.

This concept falls on Brennan and his Coordinators.

Noah should not be running 8 times a game ineffectively, even if most of them were running for his life or scrambles... but even 5 Planned QB runs per game increases our RB Stable to 4 Effectively.

Yes, I understand that some of this was garbage time, but Hawaii's Defense is still better than people think it is.

Inspiring win? Not really. Should we parlay it into a 2nd Win vs Weber? Obviously. When we see Kansas State, will we be ready? Jury is out.

Focus on the Run Game and the Pass Game will open itself up. Noah is not the best, but we have certainly had much much MUCH worse.

Score one for the Good Guys.

ONWARD AND UP
BEARDOWN