Arizona denied Colorado its last real chance at victory in Deion Sanders’ first season in Boulder.
In the Buffaloes’ final home game of the year, they never trailed in the entire 60-minute game — except on the final scoreboard.
CU led for much of the afternoon, including by a touchdown at the end of each quarter. But the Buffs failed to score in the final 15 minutes after putting together an impressive offensive display in the first three quarters and a field goal as time expired sank their hopes of winning on Senior Day and any shot at making a bowl game.
Coach Prime’s team will have a shot to get revenge this fall as CU makes the trip to Tucson in October, a second straight game that will tell us a lot about who could be the favorites in the Big 12 after the Buffs host Kansas State the week before.
Here’s what to expect from the Wildcats in the desert a week after CU faces the Wildcats from the plains:
Offseason storylines
There’s a good chance Arizona is the preseason favorite in the Big 12 if Nick Saban didn’t retire at the end of last season.
If you follow the breadcrumbs from Saban being replaced at Alabama with Washington’s Kalen DeBoer to Jedd Fisch leaving Arizona to replace DeBoer, you can easily see how arguably the greatest coach in college football history caused a wild offseason in not just Tuscaloosa, but in Seattle and Tucson.
The Wildcats landed on San Jose State's Brent Brennan as their new head coach and a handful of players wound up leaving the program, many of whom followed Fisch to Washington like leading rusher Jonah Coleman. But Brennan’s first offseason in Tucson can be described as a success because of the players he managed to keep around.
Star quarterback Noah Fifita and star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan are the headliners. Fifita’s emergence as one of the top young quarterbacks in the country was arguably the biggest reason Arizona became a top-15 team in the country with a seven-game win streak to end the season.
While Fifita won Pac-12 offensive freshman of the year, it’s his former high school teammate McMillan who is the biggest star.
The junior from Waimanalo, Hawaii, might be the best receiver in college football and is a likely first-round pick in next year’s NFL draft. He racked up 1,402 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns last season and could be in for an even bigger campaign now that his team is in the offense-friendly Big 12.
On offense
Speaking of the Big 12 and its style of play, Brennan brought in the perfect person to run the offense in the Wildcats’ first year in the new-look conference.
Veteran coach Dino Babers was fired from his role as the head coach at Syracuse before the end of last season after eight years with the Orange. He was previously the head coach at Bowling Green and Eastern Illinois, where he mentored former CU offensive coordinator Sean Lewis, but he developed his offensive philosophy under Art Briles at Baylor.
As the Buffs did under Lewis last season, expect a lot of up-tempo, no-huddle offense from Babers at Arizona that relies on speedy receivers spread out wide and plenty of RPOs (run-pass options).
With Fifita and McMillan, he’s got the stars to run any system and also has a solid offensive line, led by standout right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea, to pave the way for a pair of potentially impact transfer running backs in Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Quali Conley.
On defense
It wasn’t just the offensive side of the ball where the Wildcats retained some serious talent.
In linebacker Jacob Manu and cornerback Tacario Davis, Arizona has two preseason all-Big 12 players and two potential candidates for the conference’s defensive player of the year award.
Manu led the Pac-12 in tackles last season and will be the captain of a unit that will have its work cut out for it each week in a conference full of offensive firepower.
The Wildcats had to replace their entire defensive line and brought in a handful of transfers from various conferences, so time will tell if getting to the quarterback is a strength or weakness of this team. It could be the area that makes of breaks Arizona as it pushes for a potential Big 12 title and spot in the College Football Playoff.
The Arizona Wildcats file
Head coach: Brent Brennan (1st season)
Offensive coordinator: Dino Babers (1st season)
Defensive coordinator: Duane Akina (1st season)
2023 record: 10-3 (7-2 Pac-12)
Key returners: QB Noah Fifita, WR Tetairoa McMillan, OT Jonah Savaiinaea, LB Jacob Manu, CB Tacario Davis
Key newcomers: RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt, DL Stanley Ta'ufo'ou, DL Chubba Ma'ae
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