National website named Brent Brennan Co-Big XII Coach of the Week

After Arizona played by far its best game of the season, Brent Brennan was named Co-Big XII Coach of the Week with Deion Sanders of Colorado. Arizona controlled most of the game in a 23-10 win in Salt Lake City. Colorado won 48-21 at Central Florida in another surprising Big XII outcome this weekend.

Arizona improved to 3-1 this season and 1-0 in the Big XII following the win over Utah. Arizona was exceptional defensively and the offense made enough big plays to pull the upset over number 10 Utah. The Utes were 6-15 on third down, 0-4 on fourth down and had only a field goal and a touchdown in four red zone trips.

Defensive coordinator Duane Akina and offensive coordinator Dino Babers called their best games of the season. Arizona shutdown the Utah run. Utah averaged 2.9 yards per carry. Arizona finished with seven tackle for loss and three sacks. Utah had 40 pass attempts and 29 rushing attempts.

The Utes entered the game running on over 57 percent of their plays. After stopping Utah deep in the red zone on the first two drives of the game, Arizona was able to force Utah to pass more often than they usually do. Utah had 20 pass attempts in each half, but 18 rushing attempts in the first half and 11 in the second half.

Arizona was 26th and 28th in the weekly polls, just missing out on the top 25. The Wildcats moved up 18 spots to 44th in the ESPN Football Power Index. Arizona is one of only six teams in the Big XII without a conference loss. All but four Big XII teams including Arizona have played two conference games this season.

The win was significant for Brennan and Arizona after a shaky 2-1 start. Arizona played complementry football offensively and defensively to win at Utah. Being able to continue to develop and sustain their team performance at Utah will be key for Arizona during the remainder of the 2024 season.