Arizona's Three Things that Need to Improve

The expectations for Arizona football coming into the 2025 season were high. The team started the year ranked No. 2 in the Preseason AP Poll with a good number of returning players and stars Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan leading the way.

It looked like it was going to be a memorable season for the fan base after losing its head coach Jedd Fisch to Washington during the off season.

But, things didn’t go that way for Arizona and new head coach Brent Brennan as the team struggled on both sides of the ball and couldn’t get any consistent play going throughout the year.

The Wildcats finished 4-8 on the year and ended the season on a two-game losing streak and lost seven of the last eight games.

However, during the off season, Brennan shook things up on the coaching staff and was able to bring in transfers on both sides of the ball to get things back on track.

During spring practice, there seemed to be a different energy on the field compared to the previous off season. There seemed to be a newly found confidence and a drive that wasn’t always there as they got ready for that underwhelming 2024 year.

However, until Arizona hits the field and starts playing games against opponents, we won’t know if the changes worked and if the program is moving in the right direction.

The three major areas the Wildcats need to improve at are depth at receiver, red zone offense and protecting the quarterback.

Last year, outside of McMillan, Arizona was limited in the receiving room and didn’t have a ton of speed to surround the star receiver. This made it easy for defenses to lock in on the No. 1 target and force Fifita to hold on to the ball too long.

Arizona went out and added a handful of receivers from the portal and were able to sign a couple in the WIldcats recruiting class. So, that is something to keep an eye on during training camp and throughout the season.

The red zone was a tough spot for Arizona. First, the team just wasn’t getting the ball down that side of the field enough and when they did, field goals and turnovers were the result of the trip.

Overall, Arizona scored 15 touchdowns in 24 trips to the red zone. That just isn’t good enough to win in college football.

With the new offensive coordinator in Seth Doege, expect to see the team work on the red zone at a high rate throughout training camp as they get ready for the season.

Lastly, it was a down year for Fifita as he struggled to protect the football and missed a high number of open receivers due to pressure from the defense.

Yes, Fifita wasn’t great last year but a lot of that had to deal with the system and the poor protection from the offensive line, which was riddled with injuries.

The depth on the line wasn’t great and it resulted in Fifita running for his life in most games. Overall, he got sacked 28 times compared to just 19 during the 2023 10-win season.

Arizona like it did with the receivers, brought in a handful of transfers and had multiple linemen in its 2025 class.

But, until they start playing against opponents, you won’t be able to get a good judgement if there have been improvements on the line,

These are the three areas where the Wildcats need to show the most growth in order to get the program moving back in the right direction.

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