Category: Arizona Wildcats

Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura enters the transfer portal

Another quarterback has put his name in the transfer portal.

The Arizona Wildcats will take on the Oklahoma Sooners on Dec. 28 in San Antonio, Texas, in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Ahead of the matchup, current Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura announced that he would enter the transfer portal.

Since Sept. 23 against Stanford, de Laura has thrown just three passes while Noah Fifita took over the starting job due to injury. He never relinquished the job, leading the Wildcats to a 6-2 record in his stead. Now the former starter is looking to make a change, while staying with the Wildcats through the bowl game.

Jayden de Laura started his career with the Washington State Cougars for two seasons before joining Arizona prior to last season. In four seasons, de Laura has amassed 8,484 yards with 63 touchdowns to 31 interceptions

de Laura posted this message on X (formerly Twitter):

Jayden de Laura is another experienced gunslinger that can help elevate a team that is a quarterback away from competing for the College Football Playoffs.

Tommy Lloyd and Arizona make a statement with early-season win at Duke

Arizona looks the part. USC has a tough task ahead.

We asked our Pac-12 basketball panelists who is the favorite for Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

Matt Zemek and Zachary Neel identified Tommy Lloyd of Arizona. That choice looks good one week into the season. Arizona went into Cameron Indoor Stadium and beat Duke, 78-73, in a battle of brand-name college basketball powers. Arizona’s Caleb Love, who transferred from North Carolina, came back to a familiar building and made Tar Heel fans happy by beating UNC’s archrival. Love said after the game he is “a Tar Heel for life.” Beating Duke reinforces that, but it’s Arizona who gets an enormous resume win in the first week of the season.

Tommy Lloyd developing Love into an improved player makes Arizona the Pac-12 favorite.

Other members of our Pac-12 basketball panel wondered if other Pac-12 coaches could make a run at 2024 coach of the year.

Matt Wadleigh wrote, “Give me Mark Madsen as a sleeper choice. The Golden Bears won three games, I think they finish around .500, and that’s a huge step in the right direction. But, that might be a bit difficult given the way the votes work, so I think the consensus goes with Andy Enfield.”

Don Smalley went with Dana Altman of Oregon. The Ducks look solid two games in. However, Tommy Lloyd is probably the front-runner. Winning at Duke will do that.

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Arizona could be forced to cut athletic programs after financial miscalculation

The University of Arizona president implied cutting sports teams would be on the table after a $240 million budget miscalculation.

The University of Arizona revealed it miscalculated its university budget by $240 million dollars during a faculty senate meeting on Tuesday. A report from the Arizona Daily Star’s Ellie Wolfe quoted university president Robert Robbins as saying the situation would require “draconian cuts” across the university.

The university projected to have 156 days’ worth of cash on hand for the fiscal year, but a new model said the reality was about 97.

Robbins said the university would institute a 2% budget cut at a meeting with the Arizona Board of Regents earlier in the week, but athletics did not escape the microscope of the financial crisis. Robbins said the school athletic department was draining financial resources. The university president pointed out Arizona has 23 sports teams and that the average in the Big 12, the conference the Wildcats join next year, is just 17, indicating some programs could be shut down.

“Everything is on the table in terms of dealing with athletics,” he said. “This is an issue that is going to require a lot of tough decisions.”

A professor on hand for the meeting proposed selling the school athletic department to a third party. Robbins also showed interest in the idea of leasing land, something in-state rival Arizona State does.

Arizona’s Jedd Fisch should be a top candidate for Coach of the Year

The Wildcats went 1-16 across the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Now, they’re bowling for the first time since 2017 after three straight ranked wins.

20 months ago, Arizona was a broken program.

The Wildcats went bowling eight times in 10 seasons from 2008-2017, including a 10-win season in 2014 that saw them reach the top 10 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

They hired Kevin Sumlin to be the new head coach ahead of the 2018 season, and the slow decay began. They went 5-7 in 2018, then 4-8 in 2019, the first time the program missed back-to-back bowl games since 2006-07.

Rock bottom came afterward. Arizona was winless in five games during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the last with Sumlin at the helm. They brought in current coach Jedd Fisch, but he could only manage a 1-11 record in 2021. From Oct. 5, 2019, to Sept. 3, 2022, the Arizona Wildcats lost 23 of their 24 games.

The Wildcats looked to be headed toward disaster again in 2022, starting the season 3-6. On Nov. 12, however, they stunned a top-10 UCLA team on the road with a 34-28 victory.

They didn’t win out to become bowl-eligible that season, but the victory over the Bruins indicated a changing tide. It turned into a tsunami in 2023.

Through nine games this season, Arizona is 6-3, already having qualified for a bowl game for the first time since 2017. The Wildcats won three of their first four games before they lost to playoff contender Washington by 7 points and reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams and USC by 2 points. Since the two heartbreaking losses, Arizona has rattled off three consecutive victories over ranked teams for the first time in program history. They knocked off Washington State on the road before playing spoiler against Oregon State and UCLA again in front of their home crowd.

Since that fateful UCLA game a season ago, Fisch’s squad has played six ranked opponents in 12 games. They’re 4-2 against top-25 teams. A program that won a single game over a 35-month period now has a winning record against ranked teams in the past year.

Arizona also reached six wins in early November without their preseason starting quarterback. Junior Jayden de Laura, who threw for 3,685 yards and 25 touchdowns a season ago, was lost to an ankle injury after just four games.

In stepped Noah Fifita, who has been excellent. The freshman has made the job his own, with 1,521 yards, 14 touchdowns, and four interceptions in his five starts. His QBR of 82.4 is the 11th-best mark in the country.

Even beyond Fifita, the Wildcats are within the top 50 in the FBS in both scoring offense and defense. Arizona is one of just 14 Power 5 programs averaging 30 points per game or more on offense while allowing fewer than 20 points per game on defense.

The hardest job in college football is turning around a desolate program. Jedd Fisch took from 1-11 to No. 21 in the CFP rankings in just two years. If that’s not one of the three best coaching jobs in college football this season, I don’t know what is.

Arizona’s foremost key to victory against UCLA

The Wildcats and Bruins play a big game, and it’s not on a basketball court.

Arizona versus UCLA is the Pac-12’s top basketball rivalry. This weekend, however — just before the college basketball season begins — the Wildcats and Bruins will play an important football game.

Usually, Arizona-UCLA football games are afterthoughts. They don’t usually carry much meaning or significance. This season’s game is an exception to that larger pattern. Both teams have a chance to win nine or more games this season. That’s not a typical backdrop for a U of A-UCLA game.

We asked our Pac-12 football panel for Arizona’s main key to victory versus UCLA.

Matt Zemek: No blown coverages or massive defensive mistakes. If Arizona avoids 15-yard penalties or coverage busts or anything like that, and it makes the game hard for a mediocre UCLA offense, the Wildcats should have more than enough to win on Saturday.

Zachary Neel: More Noah Fifita and a potent offense. I think Arizona’s defense should be good enough to keep things tight and turn the Bruins over a few times. As long as Fifita can find success against UCLA’s defense, the Wildcats have a real shot.

Matt Wadleigh: Flip the script. Roll with Noah Fifta, he’s a superstar in the making.

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USC’s narrow win over Arizona remains the best win of the Trojans’ season

Arizona continues to look like a very good team, which makes this USC’s (unexpected) top win in 2023.

If USC’s loss to Utah keeps getting worse, the triple-overtime victory over Arizon continues to look better and better as the season moves along.

Arizona continues to show it is for real. The Wildcats have become a different team ever since Noah Fifita replaced Jayden de Laura as the team’s starting quarterback. Arizona is on the outside looking in as far as the Pac-12 title chase is concerned, but one can make the argument that the Cats have played like the third-best team in the conference since Fifita came aboard.

We asked our Pac-12 football panel: “How surprised were you by Arizona beating Oregon State?”

Matt Zemek: Not at all. Arizona was for real when it won by 38 on the road in Pullman against Washington State. This team is the truth.

Zachary Neel: I wasn’t surprised that Arizona beat Oregon State, but I was surprised that the reason was largely because of a terrible coaching call from Jonathan Smith, who I think is one of the best coaches in the Pac-12. The Beavers are good, and the Wildcats are good. Arizona had the better coach on Saturday, which was surprising.

Matt Wadleigh: Not too surprised. Arizona has done well, and Oregon State’s Cinderella story is coming to an end.

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Pac-12 strength test: Arizona vs Notre Dame on a neutral field — Who wins?

This would be a hard matchup to call. Things are changing in Tucson.

Seeing Arizona become better, tougher and stronger has been a notable plot twist in recent weeks. We wanted to get creative with the questions we are sending to our Pac-12 football panel. We asked this question: Arizona and Noah Fifita versus Notre Dame on a neutral field. Who wins?

Matt Zemek: Arizona. Notre Dame played great defense against USC, but its offense remains below-average and Caleb Williams was uniquely awful. Noah Fifita doesn’t make many mistakes. If he avoids mistakes against Notre Dame, how are the Irish going to score enough points to win? Fifita is the real deal, and the U of A’s 38-point win in Pullman is something Notre Dame couldn’t dream of doing.

Key added note: When I say “neutral field,” I mean a place where Notre Dame fans won’t dominate the crowd. Chicago would not be a neutral site, for instance. Let’s say Denver or Arlington.

Zachary Neel: Imagine pitching this matchup a month ago? What a world. Give me Notre Dame. They know how to play under a spotlight.

Matt Wadleigh: Give me Notre Dame, and it’s not even a question.

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Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame after the Irish beat USC.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

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Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs against Utah and into November.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Utah.

Arizona game at Washington State contains surprisingly ample intrigue

Is Arizona for real? We might get an answer versus Washington State.

The Arizona-Washington State game is not a headliner in Week 7, but it’s a very important game in terms of telling us just how good the Wildcats are. That question reflects on USC’s overall status, given that the Trojans just escaped Arizona last week.

We talked to our Pac-12 panel and asked this question:
Arizona just played Washington and USC within one score. Are the Wildcats a lot better than we expected, or will that level of play not be sustained?

Matt Zemek:  This is one of the most interesting questions right now in Pac-12 football. It somewhat feels like a sugar rush, in the sense that Arizona had these Washington and USC games circled in red ink before the season began. Because the games were early in the season, Arizona was not physically or mentally exhausted. However, as the season goes along, the Wildcats might run on empty. They might have found their long-term quarterback in Noah Fifita, but if their line play — which was so good against Washington and USC — is truly strong, why didn’t Arizona beat Stanford by a much larger margin? Why didn’t the U of A beat Mississippi State? MSU isn’t very good. I will say this: Arizona really needs to beat Colorado later this season. That will show me if these recent improvements are real, at least to some extent. If U of A can’t beat the Buffs — an average team — that will tell me the past two weeks were simply a case of a team getting up for its biggest games but then regressing to the mean.

Matt Wadleigh: I expected the Wildcats to be a middle-of-the-pack team, but after that one-point win over Stanford, maybe it was a wake up call. I don’t see that being sustained, but I do see them winning a few more games and potentially earning a bowl bid.

Zachary Neel: I think Arizona is a really solid team this year. Their defense has gotten a lot better, and overall they’re much better than I expected them to be. I don’t think that means they are a top-6 team in the Pac-12, but they can definitely make a bowl game.

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Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame as the Irish prepare to face USC.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football leading into the big game against Washington on October 14.

Prominent Pac-12 sports journalist thinks USC is likely to fire Alex Grinch before season’s end.

USC and Lincoln Riley need to have a plan in place if Alex Grinch coaches poorly and loses to Notre Dame.

Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator might actually be worse than Alex Grinch, a fascinating plot point heading into the October 14 renewal of Irish-Trojans.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Notre Dame and Utah.

Will Arizona QB Noah Fifita transform the Wildcats this season?

Noah Fifita could reshape the way we think about USC’s narrow escape against Arizona.

If Arizona — which just played close games against Washington and USC — plays well for the rest of the season, that narrow escape for the Trojans might look different in late November.

We asked our Pac-12 football panel the following question: Arizona is better with Noah Fifita than Jayden de Laura at QB — yes or no, or is this a “let’s wait and see” situation?

Matt Zemek: I say yes. Fifita is clearly more consistent than de Laura. He is young and will therefore make some mistakes, but he doesn’t have the “fall off a cliff” identity de Laura has, in which the bad plays are backbreakers and often pour forth in large quantities. Arizona clearly has a better, more consistent offense with Fifita, and Jedd Fisch should keep Fifita in the saddle for the long run in Tucson. Arizona has a chance to be really good.

Matt Wadleigh: Let’s wait and see. Anybody can perform well against an Alex Grinch defense.

Zachary Neel: Fifita has looked great, for certain. I’m not ready to say that he’s better than de Laura, but it’s pretty clear that de Laura should have a short leash now because the freshman behind him is very capable.

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Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame as the Irish prepare to face USC.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football leading into the big game against Washington on October 14.

Prominent Pac-12 sports journalist thinks USC is likely to fire Alex Grinch before season’s end.

USC and Lincoln Riley need to have a plan in place if Alex Grinch coaches poorly and loses to Notre Dame.

Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator might actually be worse than Alex Grinch, a fascinating plot point heading into the October 14 renewal of Irish-Trojans.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Notre Dame and Utah.

Trojans Wire previews Arizona game with Arizona Desert Swarm

We talked to @AZDesertSwarm about Trojans-Wildcats this coming Saturday in the Los Angeles Coliseum.

We talked to Arizona Wildcat sports website AZ Desert Swarm this week. We discussed this Saturday’s game between USC and Arizona in the Los Angeles Coliseum. We touched on several different points of interest heading into the game against the Wildcats.

One point of note is that Caleb Williams has thrown some ill-advised passes in recent weeks:

“You would know—having watched the ASU-USC game—that Caleb threw two passes in that game which should have been picked. He threw an interception against Colorado. He still gets a little reckless and careless at times.

“He is better than a year ago. We haven’t seen a true clunker from him the way we did at Oregon State in 2022. We don’t expect USC to score fewer than 30 points in any game it plays this year. USC scored only 17 versus Oregon State last season. It’s all about capitalizing on those occasional moments of recklessness. Arizona has to catch an interception if Caleb puts the ball on a plate.”

USC needs Caleb to not put the ball on a plate against Arizona.

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Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football leading into the big game against Washington on October 14.

USC win over Colorado feels hollow because Alex Grinch isn’t doing his job.

Experts think Alex Grinch will prevent USC from making the Pac-12 Championship Game.

The coach who ripped Jordan Addison for transferring to USC is now staring at a humiliating season in Pittsburgh.