Improving the rushing attack ‘an absolute priority’ for Arizona

Those points are winning the turnover battle, tackling, special teams and penalty avoidance.

As Brennan put it, “avoiding those sins that hurt your chance to win in a tough environment on the road.”

“This is all about this week,” Brennan said. “That’s where our hearts and minds are at. We’re excited to get going.”

Another priority this week for Arizona: running the ball effectively.

Arizona enters this week last in the Big 12 in rushing — and by a considerable margin. Arizona is averaging 123.3 rushing yards per game, while the second-to-last Baylor Bears are averaging 162.3 rushing yards — a nearly 40-yard difference in the 15th- and 16th-best rushing teams in the Big 12. The Wildcats are also last in the Big 12 in rushing attempts (92) and are the only team in the conference with fewer than 100 rushes.

In the last six quarters going back to the loss to BYU in Provo, Arizona has 82 net rushing yards — minus-2 yards at BYU and 84 yards against Northern Illinois, a rushing defense that’s in the bottom half of the Mountain West.

At this point of the season last year, Arizona had 567 total rushing yards. This season, the Wildcats have 370 through three games.

Arizona has given the lion’s share of rush attempts to veterans Kedrick Reescano and Quincy Craig, with the former getting triple the amount of carries as the latter. Reescano has 33 rush attempts for 127 yards and two touchdowns, while Craig has 11 carries for 53 yards.

Craig leads Arizona’s running backs in receiving with six catches for 46 yards. Twenty-one of his 23 rushing yards against NIU were after contact, according to Pro Football Focus. Craig averaged 7 yards per carry after contact.

Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita is second on the team in rushing this season with 66 yards. Excluding the sacks, Fifita has gained 122 rushing yards this season, including a 30-yard touchdown run in the Wildcats’ win over NIU. Remove Fifita’s run, and Arizona would’ve had 25 carries for 54 yards against NIU, an average of 2.2 yards per attempt.

“When we talk about redline, I felt like some of that execution wasn’t where it needed to be in terms of the run game,” Brennan said. “Some of that was just missed assignments. Cleaning that up is an absolute priority for us this week. That’s something we have done a good job of. The week before, we ran the ball against a really good BYU team. That’s something we’re aggressively attacking right now.”

The Wildcats recently added leading rusher Ismail Mahdi back into the rotation after joining the team this summer as a five-for-five player. Mahdi and linebacker Max Harris, among other student-athletes at other schools, successfully filed a temporary restraining order against the NCAA to have eligibility this season. Their scheduled hearing with the NCAA on Monday was pushed a week to Monday, Sept. 28, leaving Mahdi and Harris eligible to play this week.

Mahdi missed the first game of the season against Northern Arizona, because it was prior to the TRO and he didn’t play in the BYU game, even though he was active.

Arizona’s coaches felt like the physical nature of an opponent like BYU, coupled with Reescano and Craig’s ability to pass block in the pocket for Fifita, the Wildcats’ Big 12 opener was more suitable for the aforementioned running backs.

Mahdi had two carries for 9 yards on Saturday. Marshall transfer Antwan Roberts, who scored a touchdown on his first carry as a Wildcat against NAU, had three carries for 5 yards against NIU.

Brennan said last week, “I know we’re going to need all those guys. I know the physicality and the nature of that position, the amount of hits those guys take. … We’re going to need all those guys to play.”

Arizona will have a chance to get its mojo back running the ball against a Washington State defense that’s giving up an average of 181 rushing yards per game, which is second-to-last in the Pac-12. The Cougars gave up 295 rushing yards in a road loss to Kansas State.

Boss moves up to starter on Week 4 depth chart

Arizona made a slight change to its depth chart this week. Wyoming transfer cornerback Tyrese Boss is now starting ahead of Dwight Bootle II, who started the first two games, opposite Jay’Vion Cole.

Bootle missed the NIU game with an undisclosed injury.

“Bootle was banged up last week and Tyrese played well,” Brennan said of the change on the depth chart.

Boss broke down in coverage and surrendered a 52-yard touchdown to NIU in the first quarter. Boss had four tackles and had Arizona’s second-best tackling grade (80.6).

Boss is expected to start alongside Cole, slot cornerback Malcolm Hartzog and safeties Lee Molette III and Quinn Olson in the defensive secondary on Saturday.

DB Daylen Austin out for season

Arizona senior defensive back Daylen Austin will miss the remainder of the season with a leg injury he suffered against NIU.

Away from the ball, Austin took a cheap shot from NIU offensive lineman Chevy Trask, who body-slammed himself into Austin, who was lying on his back. Austin’s leg was pushed into his body and helmet, likely injuring his hamstring.

Austin transferred from Oregon after three seasons with the Ducks and was expected to have a key role in Arizona’s secondary this season as a strong safety and slot cornerback. He played 33 defensive snaps this season before his injury.

Austin missed the entire spring after undergoing shoulder surgery and was limited throughout training camp. Just as Austin overcame months of rehab for shoulder surgery, he suffered a leg injury that’s going to sideline him for the rest of the season, “which is really unfortunate,” Brennan said.

“He’s a great, he’s going to be a great player, but he’s got a little bit of a mountain to climb,” Brennan added. “We’re supporting him on that journey right now.”

Big 12 announces kickoff time, TV coverage for UA-Cincy

Big 12 after dark, anyone?

Arizona’s Big 12 home opener against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, Oct. 3 will kick off at 8 p.m. at Casino Del Sol Stadium on Fox. It’s the latest kickoff time for the Wildcats since the Houston game in 2024, which kicked off at 8:15 p.m.

Arizona upset Cincinnati on the road last season, which was also the same game Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita set the program's career passing touchdowns record.

When Arizona faces Cincinnati next week, it’ll be the Bearcats’ first-ever trip to Tucson.

Cincinnati is 3-0 this season after wins over Boston College, Western Carolina and Miami (Ohio). The Bearcats open Big 12 play against Kansas State at Nippert Stadium on Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.

Extra points

— Brennan didn’t have an injury update on Arizona tight end Cole Rusk, who limped off the field on Saturday. The Wildcats are hopeful to return defensive lineman Mays Pese and linebacker Chase Kennedy, who both suited up against NIU and didn’t play due to injury, this week.

— Brennan, on Washington State having three players — running backs Kirby Vorhees and Maxwell Woods and quarterback Caden Pinnick — with 100-plus rushing yards this season: “They’re all a little bit different and they do a good job of mixing up the personnel packages, which is something that I think is really challenging, just making sure you’re matching personnel when they bring in heavier sets or big tight ends or they back to 11 personnel, so I think that’s something that our defense has to be on point with. … It’s one of those things where we’re going to have to be ready for a lot of stuff.”

— The CBS broadcasters for the Arizona-Washington State game are Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Adam Breneman (analyst), Brian Kelly (analyst) and Jordan Giorgio (reporter). Kelly is in his first season at CBS after previously serving as head coach of Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and LSU.