Arizona-BYU showdown ‘is going to be a great football game’

The Wildcats want revenge for what happened last year.

They want revenge for BYU overcoming a 10-point deficit to beat the Wildcats in double overtime, which was the only home loss of the season for Arizona.

They want revenge for the Cougars rushing for 258 yards and three touchdowns as a team, including 89 yards and two touchdowns from quarterback Bear Bachmeier, whose 6-2, 230-pound frame and 47 jersey number make him look like a linebacker playing quarterback. Bachmeier’s fumble inside the Arizona 5-yard line nearly prevented BYU from winning, but the Cougars recovered and scored shortly afterwards to put the game into overtime. The rest is history.

“It still gets to a lot of us. Losing that game last year was one of the hardest things we went through as a team, I think,” Reescano said. “Being able to get another opportunity at them, a lot of us have been preparing for this moment.”

In July, Gonzales said, “the BYU game plan is done” and “Bear Bachmeier had his day last year against us and I can't wait for September 12.”

“That’s Danny speaking for Danny,” Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said during his weekly news conference on Monday. “Our team last week was worried about NAU. BYU was not a part of the conversation a week ago, because we weren’t playing them. Now we’re playing them. The game last year, to lose in double overtime here, the way we did, it was heartbreaking. But that was last year. In terms of getting ready for this one now, that’s where our hearts and mind are at.”

Added Brennan: “Last year’s game is last year’s game. We have 50 new players and I’m sure they also have a bunch of new players, so we’re really not focused on that one as much as you might think. That one is in the past and I don’t have a time machine. We’re focused on right now.”

Well, the current rendition of BYU could potentially be the Wildcats’ biggest test of the season — and it’s Week 2 of a regular season that won’t end for another two-plus months. BYU is the highest-ranked team in the Big 12 behind Texas Tech and the Cougars are coming off a 56-point win over Utah Tech.

BYU ran the ball 46 times for 308 rushing yards (the 17th-most rushing yards by an FBS team last week), while passing only 22 times. Bachmeier was 16 of 20 passing for 198 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Five BYU players had five or more rush attempts against Utah Tech.

In the last two-plus seasons, BYU is 24-4 and has wins at the Alamo Bowl and Pop-Tarts Bowl. The Cougars made it to the Big 12 championship last season, but fell to Texas Tech.

“This has been one of the best teams in the conference for the last few years,” Brennan said. “They have outstanding players at lots of different positions. They’re very well-coached. This is a big-time football game. This is going to be a great football game. We get to go on the road and play in front of a tough environment and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Brennan discussed a number of topics at his weekly press conference, including BYU’s environment at LaVell Edwards Stadium, Arizona’s run game and improving from Week 1 to Week 2. Here are other interesting items of conversation from Brennan’s last media session before the Wildcats trek to Provo.

Last week, Arizona running back Ismail Mahdi and linebacker Max Harris filed for a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, which would allow them to play this season. Have you heard anything about their timeline to return? Could they return as soon as this week or next week?

A: “I haven’t really heard much. We’re just focused on BYU right now. I don’t get to weigh in on that. That’s not part of my process. They tell me how it goes. We love those kids and we want it to work out for them, but we gotta get ready to play a big-time football game on Saturday.”

You and longtime BYU head coach Kalani Sitake coached at Oregon State together in 2015. Do you have any cool stories from your time as assistants?

A: “Kalani has been one of my favorite people in this profession. I have a lot of respect for him. When he came over to the staff in Corvallis, I was one of the only guys that was a holdover coach, because I was retained by Coach (Gary) Andersen. He asked me where to live, so he moved into our neighborhood. They lived, I don’t know, five houses away.

“Our kids ran around the neighborhood together, which was so fun. All of our kids have grown up now. In 10 years, a lot changes. It was a really fun time, spending time with his incredible family. His wife, Timberly, is amazing.

“Our kids would run into the house at midnight and eat all the ice cream out of our fridge. Then they would run over to Kalani’s (house) and find out what kind of junk food they had on their shelf. We just had a lot of fun together. I think fondly of those times and it’s been fun to compete against him the last few years.”

What’s your assessment of Arizona’s rushing attack, which had over 200 yards against NAU?

A: “I thought there were a lot of good moments in the run game Saturday night. You saw multiple running backs getting downhill and do some good stuff running the football and do it with some physicality. It’s funny, when you look back on that game, the frustrating part was the turnovers.

“When you look back at it, we had 500-plus yards of offense, pretty balanced attack, 300 (yards) throwing, over 200 yards rushing, there’s a lot of good. Something that’s going to be crticial this week when you’re on the road playing against a really good opponent, you have to be able to effectively run the football.”

BYU running back L.J. Martin, who is the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, has 257 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns against the Wildcats over the last two seasons. How do you slow him down?

A: “When you play these guys, you know it’s going to be a physical game and their running back is a total stud. He’s powerful, he can finish runs, he’s hard to bring down and we gotta get population to the football. One guy is not going to get him down. You gotta get him on the ground. He’s a really impressive player.”

Were you surprised by any of the newcomers’ performances against NAU?

A: “I don’t know if I was surprised; otherwise, they wouldn’t be here. We believed they can play and that’s why we went out and either got them in the portal or recruited. I thought (Georgetown transfer linebacker Cooper Blomstrom) showed up in a great way the other night, with high effort and physicality. I thought that was encouraging.

“I thought (freshman defensive lineman Prince Williams) did some really good stuff. Offensively, a couple of those receivers caught some passes, so that was fun. I thought (Marshall transfer running back Antwan Roberts) had some nice runs. I think there’s a lot of stuff to be excited about. It’s Game 1. It’s a long season and we have a ton of work to do.”

Pro Football Focus logged 10 tackles from Arizona’s defense against NAU. Is that simply from not live tackling during practices?

A: “I think we felt good about how we tackled overall. First game, there’s going to be some of those missed tackles. That’s not something we’re OK with or something that we accept. I think Coach Gonzales and our defensive staff do a great job of teaching and working on tackling. It’s different playing live football versus practice.

“You try to get the practice environment as close as you can to a game in terms of the intensity, the reps, the physicality. But it’s hard to duplicate. The missed tackles early, the good thing about it is we had people chase the football like their lfie depended on it and that was able to cancel some of that stuff out.”

When you lost to BYU in 2024, what did you think of the raucous environment and what’s your message to the team as to how to go about handling it?

A: “I don’t feel like the crowd was a problem in ‘24. I felt like we didn’t play very well. We turned the ball over too many times. That’s a very separate issue. They have a great crowd, though. That part of it I respect — and we know that going in there. If you let that be an excuse, it will be. We’re there to go play good football. We’re there to attack the opportunity that’s in front us — against a top-15 team on the road. And we can’t wait to do it.”

Coaches always talk about the improvement from Week 1 to Week 2. Why is that a common phrase with football coaches?

A: “It’s funny, you hear that so much — and I said it the other night. I do think it’s the first three games; if you look at the whole picture of it, that’s when you find out a lot about your team. It’s so hard to simulate the speed, the physicality, the pressure of a game in the practice environment.

“That’s challenging to do, and that’s something that everybody is fighting to do in America. Everybody is trying to increase those phases of football in the practice environment, but it’s hard to simulate it. You get your first opportunity to play last Saturday night and what you learned from that game – how quickly can you apply those lessons through your process of practice and meetings and film – do you get those things fixed? Do you elevate parts of your game that weren’t where you wanted them to be?

“That part of it, that’s where the jump happens, because you get a live picture of you playing live football. I think that’s why a lot of people say that big jump happens in that first or second game or between the first (three) games.”

Extra points

— Arizona received an 84.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus for its 35-7 win over NAU. Arizona’s 85.7 run-blocking grade is tied for the third-best in college football for Week 1. Arizona left guard Rhino Tapa’atoutai had a team-best 82.6 offensive grade and an 85.9 run-blocking grade. Arizona also had an 88.7 pass-blocking grade. Blomstrom’s 80.4 overall defensive grade was a game-high for the Wildcats.

— The first Big 12 weekly awards were announced on Monday. Arizona State quarterback Cutter Boley and West Virginia running back Cam Cook were named the Big 12 Offensive Players of the Week. Colorado defensive lineman Lamont Lester Jr. and Iowa State defensive end Isaac Terrell were the Big 12 Defensive Players of the Week. Big 12 Special Teams Players of the Week were Colorado returner Boo Carter and BYU’s Cannon DeVries.

— BYU wide receiver Legend Glasker was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week for scoring three touchdowns on five touches, totaling 81 yards, in the 63-7 win over Utah Tech last week.

— Brennan’s weekly radio show on 1290-AM has been relocated from “Union Public House” to the newly opened “Block A Sports Bar and Grill” in downtown Tucson. Block A Sports Bar and Grill, which opened last month, is located at 345 E. Congress St., the former location of “HiFi Kitchen and Cocktails.” The Brent Brennan Radio Show airs live every Monday at 6 p.m.

— The Fox broadcasting crew for the Arizona-BYU game on Saturday is Connor Onion (play-by-play), Robert Griffin III (analyst) and Alexa Landestoy (sideline reporter).