Arizona (6-2, 3-2 Big 12) is coming off its second loss of the season to Texas Tech. The 34-26 heartbreaker to the Red Raiders has to be washed away as a Friday night matchup against TCU is quickly approaching.
Three of the final four games of the season will be played in Tucson, and that is a point of emphasis for head coach Brent Brennan. Being able to “Pack the Sol” starts with giving out another 1,000 tickets this week.
“Investing in our community here, a place that we love, a place that is so tied to the institution, I think it’s critical that we find a way to give back and give people access to opportunities like this,” said Brennan.
Here is what Brennan had to say to open TCU week:
Brennan on the matchup with TCU: “Obviously, this is a huge week for us. There’s so much going on Friday night. You just heard from TUSD, and I think what an awesome partnership that is. I really appreciate VP Wong Davis and Superintendent Trujillo for their engagement of such a great idea, and I think it’s just going to be an incredible night. Big picture, I think we’re still in the pack the sol moment. We have a really exciting, fun football team to watch. This is going to be an incredible game. We got a big-time opponent coming to town, and it’s one of those situations where, Friday night game, Tucson we need you. Students, ZonaZoo, we need you. It’s wear white and just rock this place and make it a really challenging place for TCU to play. So I’m just heavy in the pack the sol, but I am excited about the TUSD takeover. I think that’s going to be a really cool moment for us. We know we’re playing a good football team. We know they’re extremely well coached. Coach Dykes has done a fantastic job there. We’re playing the best defense in the Big 12. I’ve known Andy for a long time. He does an incredible job, and we also know they’re incredibly explosive on offense. So this is a hell of a challenge for our football team, and it’s a short week, so we are on to TCU. We are locked in on our process right now, and we are attacking every moment of our day.”
On if the TUSD Takeover is something that can be done with other Southern Arizona school districts: “That’d be fantastic. I would absolutely love that. One of the guys that’s not getting credit in this thing that has done a lot of work on that is Ben Thienes. He’s done a ton of work with the superintendent, with our enrollment services here, with our campus, putting this all together and making this really take off, and we’re excited because it’s the first time we’ve done it, right? So it is a little bit of a new idea, but I do think it’s progressive, and I think it’s an awesome opportunity for the young people in TUSD to have an opportunity to be here to feel the excitement and the energy of college campus and the excitement of a college football game.”
On donating 1,000 tickets for each of the final three home games: “I’ve said it multiple times, some of the stuff I’ve learned over my time as a head coach is, if you want people to show up for you, you got to show up for them. Investing in our community here, a place that we love, a place that is so tied to the institution, I think it’s critical that we find a way to give back and give people access to opportunities like this. TUSD takeover, and then how can I provide just a little bit of help to hopefully get some people an opportunity? When Superintendent Trujillo was talking about his hope for this thing being a family walking into the game with a father and son, like those are my memories with me and my dad growing up. Right, like he was nuts. There were games, there were days where we went to an afternoon game at Stanford, and then parlayed that to a night game at San Jose State. I just have such incredible memories of that. I want people in our community to have those same kinds of memories with their wives and kids.”
On if it is easier to block out noise on the loss to Texas Tech given that it is a shorter week: “I certainly hope so. What choice do you have, right? The situation is we can’t go back in time. We have to look forward and we have to attack what is happening right now. That is an opportunity with an excellent football team coming in here. So, how prepared can we be? How dialed into that process can we be on the short week, which is really what our focus is.”
On if the injury to RJ Mosley affected Noah Fifita’s ability to refocus: “I think you would have to ask Noah. I think that injury, because it was significant and because it was ugly. I think that of course that’s going to have an impact on a team. This team’s incredibly close. They all care about each other. They love each other. So there’s naturally going to be some thought about concern for their brother that just got injured.”
On what went into the playcalling on first downs against Texas Tech: “We’re trying to find a way to attack what we’re being presented with, right? The hard thing about football is it’s such a team game. So ten guys do it right, and one guy misses the block. It can be a negative play. We’re playing a good team, playing a very good defense, right? And they made plays too. So that’s one of those things where we’re just trying to find ways to continue to have some balance, attack them in the run game and the pass game.”
On if he thinks clock management should’ve been handled differently at the end of the Texas Tech game: “Either way, we had to score twice. So, however you look at that, you have to choose, and time is the enemy at that point, right? Time is the enemy that you’re facing. Working with the analytics, working with the book, having AK so well versed and all that stuff. Those are the conversations we’re having, the challenging thing about analytics is it’s just numbers, right? You’re in an isolated moment, a momentum game, who you’re playing, how it’s working? The numbers are the numbers, but then there’s a feel to how the game is moving and so we’re going back and forth, those are the things we’re talking about.”
On if the run game needs to be effective moving forward: “I think we all think that. I mean that’s obvious. The good thing is that I have a lot of faith in our offensive line and Coach Oglesby and our staff, and then also in our running backs, like those guys were all good football players. We know last weekend was disappointing, but again, learn from it and then attack our process of improving so that we can have better results on Friday night.”
On when the connection between Fifita and Isaiah Mizell started: “I think it’s accelerated because Mizell was pushed into a more prominent role, but Isaiah’s been making plays for us and getting more playing time. When he came back after the bowl game, he just chose to be different in terms of his approach. He really leveled up. There were a lot of plays like that. I think they’re made in the off season. There is chemistry, there is trust between quarterbacks and receivers, and that’s built over time. That’s built over the time when there’s no coaches around, and they’re out here on this afternoon in the summer or an afternoon in the winter in the indoor, whatever it is. That so much of it was built then, but it’s been great to see that develop.”
On how it felt to have both Mizell and Giovanni Richardson on the field at the same time: “I think as many you know the receiver position, as many guys you can have on the field that can really have a significant impact on the defense. You’re trying to do that every every snap, right? So, having both of them available I think it’s awesome for us. They’re both tough playmakers, super detailed. They both have a really good combination of speed and quickness. So, yeah, we’re excited about it.”
On what makes TCU’s defense so stifling: “They’re doing a great job of not letting people score on them. They’re the best defense in our conference. I think they do an awesome job of mixing up their coverages or pressures, they do a very good job of defending what you put on tape. Andy’s been calling plays for a long time. He’s really good at it, and they match that. They combine that with really good personnel, right? So it’s been showing up as a really effective defense against everyone they played.”
On one defender that stands out for TCU: “Jamel Johnson is outstanding. Their safety. He’s just a total stud. Just incredible instincts. He’s a great tackler. He can play in space. They can move him around. He’s got range. He’s a really good player.”
On how much time he thinks about roster retention during the season: “I think you have to spend time having those conversations, right? You have to allot time each day. You’ve got to game plan and try to get ready for the next game. You got big picture stuff, team program stuff, and then you have roster management. I think that’s one of those things that we’re in constant conversations about, where we’re at and how we’re moving. I think everyone’s going to have some version of how they’re doing it, and it’s probably going to be specific to the alignment and the structure of their organization.”
On how overall program visions and conversations have changed due to NIL, transfer portal, and the new era of college football: “You wouldn’t even talk about it. It would never be a question from the media. 10 years ago, that was never a question, right? The only players transferring them were graduate players. Lots of times, because those players had been in the program for four years or three years or whatever, like they were so connected and their roots were deep at that institution, and they were probably going to stay anyway. So it’s definitely much different than it was, but it’s also an exciting kind of puzzle to put the pieces together.”
