Iowa State and Arizona haven’t played each other in over half a century, so it seemed like a good idea to check in with our friends over at Arizona Desert Swarm and see how things are going with the Wildcats
this season. Thanks to Brian Pedersen for helping out.
1. Since joining the Big 12, it seems like the university and Arizona fans have really embraced their new home and meshed well into our delightful little conference, unlike a couple of other schools (*cough* Utah and Arizona State *cough*). What makes the Big 12 and Arizona such a good fit?
It starts (and, to most fans) ends with men’s basketball, as Arizona was being held back by the Pac-12 in that sport and needed to make a change. The TV money that comes from football made this possible, but if the school didn’t think it was going to help with hoops it might have pushed harder to try and keep some form of the Pac-12 together.
Fans were hoping a move to the Big 12 would mean better start times for basketball and football, somehow not realizing that Arizona went from being one of the easternmost schools in its league to furthest west and therefore even more likely to be the late game. But that faction will always find something to complain about.
Personally, I think the Big 12 is a better fit because this league seems to just care more about everything than the Pac-12. Better fan bases, better facilities, a better overall vibe, though it is weird not annually having games in California where a big part of the alumni base is.
2. Noah Fifita seems to be more comfortable this season after struggling in 2024 as a sophomore. What do you see as the biggest reason for the bounce back to the form we saw during his outstanding freshman season?
Strangely, not having best friend Tetairoa McMillan available as a safety valve has more or less forced him to spread the ball around and do more himself since he doesn’t have T-Mac to turn to in times of doubt. The scheme installed by Seth Doege, a former Texas Tech QB, is also closer in tempo and explosiveness to what he ran under Jedd Fisch.
3. Texas State transfer Ismail Mahdi has been a breath of fresh air for the Wildcat running game so far in 2025. What has made him so successful in the offense up to this point?
Mahdi was almost nonexistent in Arizona’s first two games, partly because of an injury that slowed him during camp and because Kedrick Reescano and Quincy Craig were doing just fine on their own. But Reescano missed the last two games and Craig had a banged up shoulder against K-State, giving Mahdi his first real workload and he was stellar.
Arizona’s scheme is similar to what he thrived in at Texas State, including in 2023 when he led FBS in all-purpose yardage.
4. After a dismal 2024 campaign, the Wildcat defense seems to have taken a step forward, but the schedule up to this point has been fairly soft in terms of the opponent’s offensive capability (including Kansas State). What are the biggest differences from 2024, and do you think that growth will continue into Big 12 play as they see better offenses than they did in non-conference?
Danny Gonzales, who was LB coach and special teams coordinator in 2024, has overhauled the defensive scheme with an emphasis on aggression across the board. Arizona is hitting and tackling so much more forcefully than last year, and it’s also selling out to stop the run while trusting the secondary to hold up in man to man coverage.
Iowa State’s heavier sets will be a big challenge, but Gonzales will have had an extra week to cook up an alignment. Arizona was mostly 4-2-5 the first two games but against K-State often had four LBs on the field, a testament to the depth being much better than expected.
Something Arizona hasn’t really seen yet is a passing attack that can keep a clean pocket and force the Wildcats into playing zone. If that’s something Iowa State can do it will have success through the air.
5. Now in the second season of the Brent Brennan era, the program looks to be more solidified and finally has everyone on the same page. What differences have you seen this season compared to 2024 in terms of the direction and culture of the program?
More than anything, he’s had time to settle in and figure things out. Brennan was hired in mid-January and spent so much of his first six months just trying to keep the roster from leaving while taking whatever was leftover at the end of the winter portal. His first coordinators were also of the ‘the best available’ variety while for 2025 he was able to seek out the people he wanted, same with the roster. There are 50-plus newcomers on the roster and 15 have already started at least one game.
Brennan’s leash is short, though, especially since the AD that hired him was pushed out two weeks later. Improvement had to be shown this year for him to get to stick around, and the 3-0 start has been a big help to that but getting bowl eligible will be the real benchmark.
6. Over the course of his career, Noah Fifita has never been a particularly ambitious scrambler or runner, but he gashed Kansas State multiple times with his legs for some critical conversions throughout the game a couple of weeks ago. Do you see that as a trend of him becoming a more willing scrambler/runner, or was it simply him taking advantage of what the K-State defense was willing to give him that game?
I don’t think Fifita was previously unwilling to take off, I think it was more a combination of him having tunnel vision with T-Mac and also an unwillingness of the coaching staff for him to do so. Last year’s backup ended up transferring to a Division II school and isn’t playing, while this year’s No. 2 Braedyn Locke started 12 games at Wisconsin and there wouldn’t be a significant drop off.
Because of this, run plays are being called for Fifita. One of his touchdowns against K-State was on a designed QB counter, something that would have never been considered a year ago. He is the first UA passer with multiple rushing TDs in a game since Khalil Tate in 2017.
7. Time for your prediction. What is Arizona’s best gameplan to pull off the upset, and how do you think the game will ultimately turn out?
For Arizona to win this game it has to take the crowd out of it early by getting a lead and avoiding turnovers. Fifita hasn’t thrown an interception yet and the only giveaway on offense was on a trick play. The defense has only allowed on TD that didn’t come on a short field but at some point is going to get beat, but if that happens combined with offensive struggles it could get ugly.
This game is winnable but the Cyclones take it 24-14.
