On Arizona bringing the juice vs. NIU and other Week 3 thoughts | Michael Lev

Money matters. No one disputes this.

It’s no coincidence that the top 14 teams in The Athletic’s recently released roster-budget report are ranked in the AP Top 25. Nine are ranked in the top 10.

But money isn’t everything when it comes to building a football program. Those “Any Given Saturday” moments are still possible.

Just ask Northern Illinois, Arizona’s opponent Saturday night. The Huskies pulled off one of the most shocking results of the decade, maybe the century, when they upset No. 5 Notre Dame 16-14 on Sept. 7, 2024.

In a story the following August about NIU’s approach without much in the way of resources, then-Huskies coach Thomas Hammock framed the budgetary gap between Notre Dame and NIU like this: “The discrepancy in money is like the New York Yankees and a single-A club.”

Yet NIU won anyway.

Just last week, Oklahoma State — with an estimated roster budget of $15 million to $19 million, per The Athletic — upset then-No. 6 Oregon. The Ducks’ estimated roster budget is $48 million to $54 million — second most in the country behind Ohio State.

Keep in mind, too, that Oklahoma State lost to Tulsa for the second year in a row the previous week. The Athletic only reported on roster budgets for Power Four conference teams plus Notre Dame, so Tulsa wasn’t part of it. But it doesn’t take an IRS audit to figure out that the Cowboys spend significantly more than the Golden Hurricanes.

So how are these outcomes possible? How does OSU lose to Tulsa one week and beat Oregon the next? Why are Arizona’s coaches on guard this week for a game in which the Wildcats are favored by nearly five touchdowns?

Because the games are still played by people. In the case of college athletics, young people. And young people can be volatile. Any of us can, really.

That’s why UA coach Brent Brennan preaches his “redline” mantra. Effort is controllable. It can serve as a constant amid the vagaries of college football.

“I do think energy matters,” Brennan said. “Energy matters in the practice environment. It matters in the meeting room.

“I do think you have a choice that way, how you show up. I think as a coaching staff, that is a huge part of our responsibility to make sure our energy is in a good place, that our enthusiasm, that our juice is in the right place.”

Brennan is no energy vampire. Expect his Wildcats to bring the juice Saturday night in a matchup that’s otherwise lacking it.

Take that for data!

Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita needs 320 passing yards to surpass Nick Foles and become the Wildcats’ career leader in that category.

But as much as we’d like 320 to happen in the 520, the odds are against it Saturday night.

First of all, Fifita has passed for as many as 320 yards only six times in 36 career starts. Second, if the game goes the way it’s supposed to, Fifita will be cheering on Sawyer Anderson from the sideline by the middle of the third quarter. Third, Brennan flat-out said he won’t keep Fifita in the game just to break the record.

“Noah Fifita is always about what is best for the program,” Brennan said, “and what's best for the program is for him to be our quarterback for every game of this entire football season.”

It’s too bad because it would be way cooler for Fifita to break the record here — where he could be properly honored — than next week at Washington State.

Fifita did make his first career start in Pullman. But there’s no place like home.

(Rincon) Market report

Going up: Running quarterbacks

Entering Friday’s Top 25 matchup between Texas Tech and Houston, four Big 12 quarterbacks had more than 100 rushing yards — and none of them was named Devon Dampier (80 yards) or Bear Bachmeier (67). West Virginia’s Michael Hawkins Jr. led the way with 199 yards — and had more rushing attempts (26) than passing attempts (21). No one in Tucson should be surprised about this. The QB run game has been a staple of Rich Rodriguez’s offense since he was the head coach at Glenville State in the mid-1990s.

Going down: DJ Lagway stock

The junior quarterback sought a career relaunch when he transferred from Florida to Baylor, his father’s alma mater. And that still might happen. But the issue that dogged Lagway in Gainesville continues to plague him in Waco. It took all of one game for Lagway to get injured. He limped through the end of the opener against Auburn because of a sprained ankle, sat out last week’s win over Prairie View A&M and is expected to be out again Saturday vs. Louisiana Tech. It’s hard to fulfill your five-star potential from the sideline.

A question from my X

“All offseason we heard the coaching staff talk about the BYU game. Did they end up putting too much pressure on themselves the way some decisions were made in the fourth quarter?” — @BearDownSteven via X

Interesting theory. The decisions being referred to here presumably are Brennan’s fourth-down calls. He elected to punt from the 36-yard line late in the third quarter before going for it — again within field-goal range — in the fourth.

Neither decision proved successful. While I didn’t agree with Brennan’s first fourth-down call, the second was consistent with his mentality last season. Arizona went for it 32 times in 13 games compared to 18 in 12 the previous year.

As such, I don’t think it had anything to do with BYU specifically. With the score 21-17, Brennan wanted to take the lead. He trusted Fifita and the offense to get it done.

I do agree with the premise that a lot was poured into the BYU game. The Wildcats can’t let that disappointment linger. Any hint of a hangover would be troubling.

Threads

Red-out game for the fans, sweet red jerseys for the Wildcats. But that’s not all. Their white helmets will feature the famed “cactus sunset” logo. Two additional elements bring it all together: (1) red facemasks; and (2) white pants to complement the white helmets and numbers. I know “Arizona Blue” (aka navy) is the UA’s traditional base color, and the “Block A” has become its No. 1 branding image. But you won’t find a better uniform combination than this one.

What he said ...

“On paper, we're better than Northern Illinois. That means absolutely nothing until that ball is kicked off at 7:30.” — UA defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales.

What he meant ...

“We’re better than Northern Illinois, and we better play like it. We competed our tails off for 3½ quarters at BYU, but it wasn’t good enough. If we’re really a contender in the Big 12 — which I believe we are — this should be a wipeout.”

The other side

“I’m not OK. We compete for a reason. We compete to win. In no way do we prepare on ‘Bloody Tuesday’ — which means physical and getting after it and being aggressive — in no way are we preparing to not win.” — NIU interim coach Rob Harley, whose team is 0-2.

Pick to click (aka #fadelev)

Like the Huskies, we’re off to a winless start. Perhaps a change of venue will help. I like Arizona State (minus-5.5) to win comfortably over Kansas in the Union Jack Classic in London. ASU went toe-to-toe with Texas A&M for three quarters last week before imploding in the fourth. The Sun Devils actually outgained the Aggies by 114 yards. I also like the fact that the Sun Devils left the U.S. several days before the Jayhawks. Acclimation is everything. See 49ers 27, Rams 7. (season record: 0-2)

One last thing

Did Brennan forgo those field goals because he doesn’t have faith in kicker Michael Salgado-Medina? Some fans have posited as much.

I don’t think that was a factor. Just look back to last year.

Start with the Cincinnati game. With Arizona clinging to a late three-point lead, Brennan sent Salgado-Medina out to attempt a 51-yard field goal — even though he’d missed two earlier in the game. Salgado-Medina made it, and Arizona won 30-24.

Fast-forward to the Territorial Cup. With Arizona up 10-7 late in the third quarter, Brennan trusted Salgado-Medina to make a 49-yard field goal — even though he’d missed three earlier in the game. Again, he made it and the Wildcats won.

Salgado-Medina had a great offseason. Working with a new snapper and holder from spring practice onward, he barely missed any kicks in practice.

Those decisions at BYU were about (1) trying to play the field-position game and (2) trying to take the lead.

Remember: Brennan’s the one who nicknamed Salgado-Medina “Money Mike.”

The coach knows he can bank on his kicker.