5 takeaways from Arizona football’s 39-3 victory over Iowa State | Michael Lev

Most everything in between? Pretty routine for the Arizona Wildcats. Some might even say boring.

But with chaos continuing its rampage through the ranks of the ranked, that was perfectly OK.

There’s something to be said for methodically taking care of business. No. 25 Arizona did just that via a 39-3 trouncing of Iowa State on Saturday at Casino Del Sol Stadium. For the Wildcats, the game was delightfully dull and devoid of drama.

Elsewhere, upsets again were the order of the day. No. 8 Texas Tech went down. So did No. 2 BYU.

All of which leaves Arizona in an enviable position: surging to 6-1, rising up the rankings and harboring legitimate hopes of making the Big 12 Championship Game.

Here are my top five takeaways from the bowl-eligible Wildcats’ fifth consecutive victory:

1. Portal playmakers

Aside from retaining players it wanted to keep, Arizona’s biggest offseason personnel project was rebuilding the secondary. The Wildcats lost all five starters. Four of them were drafted, and the other made an opening-day roster.

Most of the new starters came from the transfer portal. The coaching staff and front office did a bang-up job of finding the right pieces.

Malcolm Hartzog (Nebraska) and Cam Chapa (Northern Colorado) were among the standouts who helped limit Iowa State to three points, 221 total yards and a 21.4% third-down conversion rate. Tyrese Boss and Dwight Bootle II held it down at cornerback while Jay’Vion Cole — a holdover and Arizona’s best overall defensive player, in my estimation — missed the entire second half because of injury.

“I think it's a combination of our staff doing a great job evaluating players that we think can help us and then doing a really good job of developing them when they get here,” UA coach Brent Brennan said. “That's also part of it. You can't just go out and get a good player. It's not that seamless. I think Coach (Brett) Arce and Coach (Chip) Viney do an incredible job teaching those players.”

Hartzog had a hugely impactful sequence in the first quarter. An undersized but feisty nickel corner, Hartzog fought through a block to limit Cameron Pettaway to a 1-yard gain on a jet sweep from the Arizona 13-yard line. On the next play, Hartzog blitzed from the slot and combined with Dominic Lolesio for a sack. The Cyclones had to settle for a field goal.

Early in the fourth quarter, Hartzog showed his versatility by coming across the field to break up a deep pass intended for Jamal Polite.

Boss was responsible for three incomplete passes — one a traditional breakup, two via corner blitzes. Both times he hit the quarterback, leading to errant throws.

Chapa singlehandedly stopped a fourth-down attempt in the second quarter. On fourth-and-3 from the UA 22, the Wildcats blitzed. Jaylen Raynor completed a pass to receiver Ty Claiborne in the right flat. Chapa wrestled him down just short of the line to gain.

2. Mixing it up

Besides the head coach, the offensive coordinator is the easiest target for football fans. Everyone thinks they can call a better game.

I thought UA offensive coordinator Seth Doege did a great job of mixing things up and keeping Iowa State on its heels.

One way he did it was with tempo. After a 4-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, the offense hurried to the line in an empty-backfield formation. Fifita saw Isaiah Mizell isolated on the right side against Cyclones cornerback Keyon Washington. Mizell separated from Washington, and Fifita hit him in stride. Seventy-one yards later, Arizona had the lead.

It felt like Doege used tempo more in this game than most. He considers Arizona to be a “tempo team” but acknowledged that the Wildcats don’t always play that way. Entering Saturday, they were tied for 63rd in the country with an average of 66.8 offensive plays per game.

Doege also put Fifita under center a handful of times. It’s something you wouldn’t see in a traditional “Air Raid” offense. But Arizona implemented several under-center plays during the offseason.

Two of the Wildcats’ touchdowns were scored using under-center formations. The first was Kedrick Reescano’s 5-yard TD run in the second quarter. The other was Fifita’s 40-yard TD pass to freshman tight end Henry Gabalis in the fourth.

Fifita used a play-action on that play. When under center, the quarterback can turn his back to the defense when making that fake — making the fake more effective. Fifita had multiple open receivers on that play.

Doege also sprinkled in some RPOs — including one that Fifita turned into a true run-pass option. It happened late in the third quarter. Fifita faked a handoff, and it appeared he would keep the ball and run to the right side. Instead, Fifita pulled up and threw a pass to Mizell near the sideline for a 14-yard gain.

3. Total control

You can do a lot on offense when you have a veteran quarterback. Fifita made his 41st consecutive start Saturday. He has seen just about everything.

Fifita is so in control on the field that he makes the extraordinary look routine. Fifita went 27 of 34 for 308 yards and two touchdowns, and it felt like he barely broke a sweat.

Fifita’s awareness is just so exceptional at this point in his career. He knows where everyone is on the field, including pass rushers. He knows where all of his outlets are.

I counted six “checkdown” passes by Fifita. Some view that as a last resort. It’s actually a veteran move that more often than not helps keep the offense chugging.

Fifita made two passes that conceivably could have been intercepted, but the best quarterbacks take a handful of chances every game. He also has the arm strength to make it work. How many times did Fifita zip line drives from the hash marks to the opposite sideline against the Cyclones?

Regarding the Wildcats’ pace of play, Brennan credited Fifita’s composure and experience.

“Noah is the guy in charge,” Brennan said. “He's steering the whole ship. His poise, his confidence, his knowledge, the reps that he's gotten over time, that makes that easier to do. ...

“It's something that we do a lot of. We do it every day. Our players are comfortable in it. And because we have Noah running the show, we have a chance to have some success. Tonight was an example of that.”

It also helped that Fifita didn’t face a ton of pressure against Iowa State. He has destroyed defenses when given a clean pocket. It’ll be more muddied against Texas Tech on Halloween. More on that matchup in item No. 5.

4. Fab freshmen

Besides defensive lineman Mays Pese, freshmen didn’t have a major impact on last season’s Wildcats.

They’re playing a much meatier role this year.

Injuries have thrust Caleb Smith and R.J. Mosley into the receiver rotation. Three freshmen have helped make the defensive line deeper. Gabalis has become a special-teams demon. And Fifita’s brother, Dash, seems to make plays every time he steps on the field.

Doege had multiple gadget plays in the game plan for Smith on Saturday. They didn’t all work, and Smith was fortunate that a fumble squirted out of bounds. But those plays added yet another wrinkle to the offense.

Mosley caught only one pass, but it went for 30 yards. Gabalis’ first career reception was the aforementioned 40-yard TD. He also threw a two-point conversion pass to fellow tight end Tyler Powell after Arizona’s first touchdown.

Fifita played 16 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus’ initial charting. The undersized linebacker had a team-leading six tackles, including 2.5 for losses (two of which were sacks).

Every freshman was aided by the bye that preceded the Iowa State game. More practice reps means more opportunities to learn and grow.

“The coaches emphasized all week: ‘We're not going to take a bye week to just rest and sit around.’ So we got after it,” Fifita said. “It was definitely beneficial for us to get in there, get those meaningful and valuable reps. I think it showed ... for a lot of the young guys who got in there and got their number called. “

Brennan has preached patience when it comes to the freshmen — especially the pass catchers. Mizell wasn’t ready to play his first year; he has posted back-to-back 100-yard games as a more seasoned sophomore.

“You guys were asking about all three of those guys (Mosley, Smith and Gabalis) early on in the season,” Brennan said. “ ‘When are we going to see so-and-so?’

“But there is a process to development. There is a process for those players. They're all just 18 years old. Half of them were at the prom six months ago. That takes time.”

Their time has arrived.

5. Reassessing the Red Raiders?

No one will say so publicly, but UA coaches and players definitely would have preferred that Texas Tech didn’t get upset earlier Saturday.

Now the Wildcats are assured of getting the Red Raiders’ best. And a little bit of luster comes off a matchup that most thought would pit a 6-1 team against an unbeaten, top-10 foe.

“College GameDay” in Lubbock? Not happening.

An opportunity to knock off an undefeated team on the road? No longer a possibility.

But something positive came out of Texas Tech’s 37-24 loss at Cincinnati. It provided further proof that the Red Raiders aren’t what they were a year ago.

Despite a 6-0 record entering Saturday, Texas Tech ranked in the bottom half of the Big 12 in total offense and defense. The Red Raiders have relied heavily on turnovers. They got yet another pick-six Saturday — their fifth of the season — but it wasn’t enough to overcome poor third-down and red-zone efficiency and an otherwise leaky defense.

Texas Tech still has a talented defensive line that will cause problems for Arizona’s offensive line. But there’s no debating that the Red Raiders are vulnerable — and beatable.

It’s hard to see a path to the Big 12 title game for the Wildcats if they don’t win in Lubbock. They’d have two conference losses — and would lose head-to-head tiebreakers with BYU and Texas Tech.

A win would put the Cats a game up on the Red Raiders and would give Arizona the head-to-head edge. That also would lead to the Wildcats rooting for Utah in the Holy War on Nov. 7 — one week before the Utes come to Tucson. Arizona needs to leapfrog BYU, and Utah provides the best chance.

Remarkably, there are only three unbeaten teams left in FBS: Miami, UCLA and Utah.

If the Utes and Wildcats keep rolling, could “GameDay” roll into Tucson on Nov. 14?

In this season of chaos, anything seems possible.