<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1H9aTS_0viOVbWq00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1H9aTS_0viOVbWq00" width="1210" height="806" ></figure>When Arizona’s offense is clicking it’s among the best in the country. That was very evident in the season-opening win over New Mexico when the Wildcats scored 61 points and gained more than 600 yards.An uneven performance followed against NAU, but then on the opening drive of the UA’s first road game at Kansas State the offense looked surgical in going 73 yards in 14 plays for a touchdown. That would be its only score.“The last last game we felt we opened up the game extremely efficient, and then it went downhill from there,” offensive coordinator Dino Babers said Tuesday, describing the overall performance so far as “good, bad and in the middle.” It was the fewest points scored by Arizona in 34 games, the first time in more than two seasons it failed to get at least 20. Not what anyone would have expected from an offense that returned one of the best quarterback-receiver duos in the country as well as most of its starting linemen and added experience and talent at other positions.It’s all fixable, said QB Noah Fifita, who suffered his first loss as a starter since a triple-overtime defeat at USC last October. “I’ll take the blame for the offensive struggles the last two weeks,” Fifita said. “The bye week was really good for us to focus on ourselves. Still prepare for Utah, but really focus on ourselves.”Fifita has thrown for 863 yards and five touchdowns in the first three games, but he’s only completing 63.6 percent of his throws (compared to a school-record 72.4 percent in 2023) and has thrown an interception in each contest. The pick he had at Kansas State may have been the turning point, as Arizona looked like it was going to tie the game at 14 early in the second quarter only to see a K-State defender seemingly come out of nowhere to jump in front of Malachi Riley in the end zone. “I think I was just late, I take full responsibility for that one,” Fifita said. “Mal kind of got past the second level in a hurry and I should have hit him right behind the third-level safety. I took an extra hitch. I think I just stayed in the play fake too long.”Always one to give credit to teammates when things go well, Fifita even did that when it was noted he’s holding onto the ball almost 25 percent longer than a year ago. His average time to throw (ATT) of 3.16 is third-most among FBS QBs with at least 100 dropbacks. “You gotta give credit to the O-line for protecting,” he said. “I just gotta make better decisions.”Though Fifita spoke after Babers on Tuesday, it’s likely the coach won’t be surprised that his QB is putting everything on his shoulders. So it goes with leaders, he said. “I think the biggest thing with guys that spend so much time, and they’re so laser-focused as he is, I like to use the term ‘try less hard,’” Babers said. “Just relax. Come off the tee, I’m sure the ball is going to go long and straight.”Asked if he would have preferred playing another game right after the K-State loss, Babers said the bye was very needed in order to get the team healthy. He said a lot of players have been dealing with “owies” that they’ve had to play through, but that overall the Wildcats are healthier now than going into the last game.One of those walking wounded is tight end Keyan Burnett, who has played all three games and been on the field for more than two-thirds of the offensive snaps but that’s resulted in only three catches for 49 yards. Burnett had been expected to be one of the breakout stars on offense after his play in spring and early in preseason camp but that’s yet to happen.“The offense is based on timing, so just being able to know, whether its play action or dropback, where I need to be,” Burnett said. “Just focusing on making sure I’m in the right spot, doing what I need to do to create more separation.”At 6-foot-6 and 248 pounds, Burnett is always going to have a size advantage on his defender, and because of this getting away from who is guarding him isn’t as important.“With bigger bodies you don’t have to separate horizontally because you can separate vertically,” Babers said. </div></body>

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Noah Fifita takes blame for Arizona’s offensive struggles

When Arizona’s offense is clicking it’s among the best in the country. That was very evident in the season-opening win over New Mexico when the Wildcats scored 61 points and gained more than 600 yards. An uneven performance followed against NAU, but then on the opening drive of...