Breaking Down Brent Brennan's Decisions Against BYU

In overtime, BYU went on to fight its way to an impressive 33-27 double overtime win over Arizona and keep its undefeated streak alive. The Wildcats had an opportunity to pull off the upset but fell flat in the last minutes of regulation, which led to the overtime loss.

Arizona’s defense had been solid against the run for most of the season through the first five games but against BYU, the Wildcats were gashed for 258 yards on the ground.

BYU running back LJ Martin was a nightmare for the Wildcats’ defense as he went off for 162 yards on 25 carries and found the end zone.

On the offensive side of the ball, Arizona was able to total 383 yards while rushing for 164, thanks to Kedrick Reescano, who managed to rack up 90 yards on 13 carries.

However, Arizona was able to get the ball with 19 seconds left and two timeouts and Brennan decided to take a knee to head into overtime.

That decision seemed strange given the situation of the game and the fact that Arizona was at its 25-yard line with a kicker that has made a 60-yard field goal this season.

In the end, Arizona was unable to come up with a stop in the second overtime, where BYU was able to score a rushing touchdown.

On Arizona’s turn in the second overtime, the Wildcats couldn’t find the end zone and that was despite picking up a fourth down to extend the drive.

Fifita, on the last play of the game, barely overthrew receiver Javin Whatley in the left corner of the end zone to seal the win for BYU.

Now that the game has come to an end, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have put together our evaluation of head coach Brent Brennan against BYU.

• Grade: C+

Reason

After seeing the team go 4-8 in the first year of the Brennan era, Wildcats fans became worried about the hiring of the new coach.

However, in the second season, Brennan was able to get his team off on the right foot with a 4-1 record. Still, the Wildcats were in position to capture their fifth win of the year, with the team leading 24-14 with under 11 minutes left in the game.

The Wildcats not only saw the lead slip away with BYU scoring a game-tying touchdown, but at the end of the game, Brennan decided to take a knee and go into overtime despite having two timeouts and 19 seconds on the clock at the 25-yard line.

You have a kicker that hit a 60-yard field goal the previous week and who Brennan calls “Money Mike,” in Michael Salgado-Medina. Yet, with two timeouts and only needing to pick up around 30 to 35 yards, he takes a knee to go into overtime.

Now, do we know if the Wildcats would’ve had a shot for the kick, or even made a long kick?

No, but you need to give your team a shot at going for the win and especially with a defense that seemed to be getting tired later in the night.