On Arizona needing to flip the script vs. Cincinnati, other Week 5 thoughts | Michael Lev

We know Cincinnati will try to run the ball Saturday night at Casino Del Sol Stadium.

For the unbeaten Bearcats, running the rock isn’t the side-dish accompaniment to the Queen City’s famed Skyline Chili. It’s the main course.

What about the other Cats when they have the ball?

Arizona finally got its ground game going in the fourth quarter last week.

I sincerely hope that one quarter wasn’t a one-off.

The Wildcats rushed for 93 yards in the final period at Washington State, just about matching their average (90.5) from the previous two games — the entirety of those games, just to be clear.

It felt like a breakthrough.

“Defenses get tired,” UA offensive coordinator Seth Doege said. “We're a tempo team. We're not always playing with tempo, but we practice fast. We practice like that consistently every single day, so our guys don't really get tired in the fourth. I thought we wore them down a little bit so we could push them around.”

The WSU game certainly didn’t start out that way. It began, ominously, with quarterback Noah Fifita getting sacked. If that seemed familiar, well, it’s exactly the same way the Northern Illinois game started for the UA offense.

How unusual is that — sacks on the first play from scrimmage in consecutive games?

Highly. It happened only once to Arizona last season, at Houston.

I can think of a way to guarantee it doesn’t happen Saturday night.

Run the football.

The first play of a game is not necessarily indicative of a game plan. But it’s interesting to note that the Wildcats have called a designed run on the first play in only five of 17 games since Doege became the OC.

This season, Arizona has passed the ball (or tried to) on the first play in every game. So maybe it’s time to flip the script and give Cincinnati something unexpected to adjust to.

UA coach Brent Brennan wouldn’t reveal any element of the Wildcats’ plan, of course. But he agreed that running the ball more — and better — is unquestionably a good thing. And that, perhaps, the end of the WSU game was the start of something.

“We saw a lot of positive momentum that way,” Brennan said. “We've been talking about it all week, drilling it hard. I think we have a good plan, but we're also playing a really good team. So that’s going to dictate the decisions we make.

“The week before ... our quarterback completed 91% of his passes and was the (Big 12) Player of the Week. So again, what is the defense giving us?

“Our standards are high here. We want to run the ball well. We want to throw the ball well. We want to make big plays. We want to be an explosive offense. And that comes from both your run game and your pass game.”

Take that for data!

On the other side of the ball, Arizona’s main defensive objective is to stifle the run game on early downs and force Cincinnati into uncomfortable, third-and-long situations.

But what if James Charles French IV is a passing savant who’s immune to down and distance?

So far this season, it doesn’t seem to matter what the circumstances are for Cincinnati’s quarterback, better known as JC French IV.

On third downs of any kind, French is 14 of 19 (73.7%) for 196 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, per CFBStats.com.

On third-and-7-plus, he’s 5 of 7 (71.4%) for 91 yards.

Is this just a small-sample-size blip? Maybe not.

Last year at Georgia Southern, French wasn’t as efficient on third-and-7-plus, going 25 of 46 (54.3%). But he didn’t throw an interception (and hasn’t thrown one on any down this season). And, on third-and-10-plus, he was 20 of 30 (66.7%) for 270 yards.

Incroyable!

Despite those numbers, the game plan on defense remains the same. No offense wants to face third-and-long.

But if it doesn’t work, you can blame James Charles French IV.

(Rincon) Market report

Going up: Big 12 backs

Cincinnati’s Gi’Bran Payne and Cole Tabb aren’t the only running backs in the Big 12 who are piling up yards. Entering Thursday night, West Virginia’s Cam Cook ranked fifth in the nation in rushing yards (510) and average yards per game (127.5). BYU’s LJ Martin ranked ninth in the latter (109.3). Nine Big 12 tailbacks had 300-plus yards entering Saturday, with Martin having done it in three games. The Bearcats are the only team in the conference with two running backs over 300 yards.

Going down: Sonny’s security

Is Sonny Dykes in trouble at TCU? Citing “industry sources,” Matt Zenitz of CBSSports.com/247Sports.com reported that the Horned Frogs’ head coach “is on increasingly shaky footing.” Dykes led TCU to the national championship game in his first season, 2022. Since then, the Horned Frogs are 25-17. They’re 2-2 this year, scoring just 23 combined points in losses to North Carolina and UCF, and host No. 10 BYU on Saturday. Dykes, who was Arizona’s OC from 2007-09, signed a multiyear extension in April. But even the most onerous contracts seldom stop schools from moving on from a coach if the fan base sours on him.

A question from my X

“How concerned should (we) be with the O-Line and DBs against Cincy? DBs may be sucked up for run support, but how good is Cincy's front seven vs. the AZ O-Line?” — @ElGatoRojoAzul via X

The offensive line and secondary come up a lot among UA ball-knowers. Let’s address each piece.

The line has been shaky at times and just about crumbled against BYU — the only other Big 12 opponent Arizona has faced. I don’t think Cincinnati’s front is on that level. Also, the game is at home, which helps the line immensely.

The Bearcats rank 14th in the 16-team Big 12 in average allowed per rush (4.06), so, as mentioned, that might be a vulnerability the Wildcats can exploit.

Cincinnati has only eight sacks in four games — but Arizona has allowed 12, most in the conference. The Wildcats have to be aware of do-it-all outside linebacker Antwan Peek Jr., who’s tied for first in the league with three forced fumbles and tied for third with 30 tackles.

The UA secondary isn’t as sticky as last year’s elite unit, but it’s improving as Danny Gonzales and his staff figure out the right personnel combinations. Ascending safety Cam Chapa could be a factor against Cincinnati’s run game with his ability to hit and play downhill.

I expect Gonzales to play a lot of man coverage, even “cover zero” (no deep safeties) at times, in an effort to stop the run. It’ll be sink-or-swim on the back end. Hopefully more of the latter.

Threads

Houston is wearing its “Houston Blue” jerseys Saturday. They’re basically the Cougars’ version of the old Houston Oilers’ classic “Luv Ya Blue” duds. I’m a huge fan. But there was a plot twist this week. UCF coach Scott Frost said Houston wanted his team to wear black for a planned “white-out” at TDECU Stadium. Frost politely declined, saying: “I don’t want to wear black jerseys at 11 a.m. on the road in Houston, Texas,” where the forecast calls for a high of 86 degrees with 98% humidity. So the Knights are wearing white. And Houston is encouraging its fans to wear light blue.

What he said ...

“ ‘You go end this game for us.’ That's my inner dialogue ... (If) your son's playing Little League and he's going up to bat and you're like, ‘Hey, go hit a home run,’ it's so unfair.” — Brennan on how he handles kicker Michael Salgado-Medina during a game.

What he meant ...

“If only they knew my actual inner dialogue anytime a kicker lines up for a field goal: ‘Pleeeaaase make it. Please, please, please make it. I don’t ask for much, God, but can you help guide the ball through the goalposts this one time?’ ”

The other side

“In both games we went into halftime saying that's not the brand of football that we want to be playing, and we need to come out and be better. The biggest focus was on being faster, being more violent and playing with better effort, and we went out there and did that.” — Cincinnati safety Jasper Beeler on the Bearcats overcoming double-digit deficits the past two weeks

Pick to click (aka #fadelev)

Only one team has come through for us thus far, so we’re going back to that well, no matter how icky it feels. Arizona State, coming off a bye, is giving just 3.5 points at home to a Baylor squad that’s 3-1 but hasn’t looked great doing it. As colleague Jordan Hamm of Sports360AZ.com noted on this week’s “Wildcast” podcast, Kenny Dillingham has a strong record after byes. Baylor quarterback DJ Lagway returned from injury last week, but he completed just 19 of 39 passes against a Colorado defense that isn’t as good as ASU’s. Forks Up. (season record: 1-3)

One last thing

The Arizona Board of Regents approved a three-year contract extension for UA athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois on Thursday.

That’s an outcome many did not see coming.

Reed-Francois’ apparently strained relationship with men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd — who no longer reports directly to her — led to speculation that Reed-Francois would seek a job elsewhere. Instead, the UA and the AD have prolonged their partnership.

Which is good news for Brennan and the UA football program.

As Brennan noted, Arizona changed athletic directors and presidents shortly after his return to Tucson in January 2024. Since then, the UA has enjoyed stability in positions of power. Reed-Francois’ extension is another step in that direction.

“That's critical,” Brennan said. “You need consistency of leadership.

“It's hard for someone's vision for a football program, a university athletic department, to ever ... come to fruition or be fulfilled if there's no time to ... allow it to develop and be built. I think what we're building here right now is really special.”

While the Wildcats are near the bottom among Power Four programs in roster budget, Reed-Francois has invested significant funds into football, including contract extensions for coaches and stadium upgrades.