Wildcats' HC Brent Brennan Previews Kansas State Matchup

Arizona advanced to 2-0 to begin the season with a 48-3 win over Weber State last Saturday. It marked the second straight week the Wildcats help their opponent out of the end zone.

It is a short week for Arizona in its final non-conference game of the season against Kansas State on Friday night at Arizona Stadium. After also starting 2-0 last year, the Wildcats went into Manhattan and took an early 7-0 lead before eventually falling 31-7.

It has been a rough start to the season for Kansas State. After opening the season with a 24-21 loss against Iowa State in Ireland, they just barely held off North Dakota State in a three point win before falling to Army by three points this past week.

Despite the struggles of Kansas State to start the season, it will still be a big test for Arizona to show where they are at as a team in year two under head coach Brent Brennan.

Opening Statement

"We are definitley excited for Friday night. What an incredible way for our fans and our students to start their weekend. Big time college football at Arizona Stadium... This is a big opportunity for us obviously. This is a big game. We're playing an excellent opponent. They've got great players, they're extremely well-coached and so we know we've got an incredible big time battle coming on Friday night. We need the city of Tucson, our fans and students to fire up. Let's get this thing rockin'... We are calling all Wildcats everywhere. Let's pack the stadium and make this thing rocking on Friday night. It will be an awesome atmosphere. I'm really looking forward to it."

On facing Avery Johnson last year and what challenges he brings

"He is obviously a dynamic dual threat guy. He throws it well and he's got a lot of speed. He's a dangerous runner so anytime you play somebody like that, it really challenges all aspects of your defense. You have to do a great job of tackling. We've got to have population at the football to make sure we get people on the ground and don't let people get out and get loose on us. He is a really good player."

On adjusting the preparation schedule on a short week

"I think the outside world would think it's a big deal. For me, it's not that big of a deal. I'm excited because we get to play sooner. We don't have to wait as long to play. Players were off (on Sunday) and then we're into the week now, so we're into a normal week. We needed to use yesterday as a recovery and we needed to also utilize it for our coaching staff to get a jump on the Kansas State stuff."

On what Tre Spivey (who transferred from Kansas State) has shown

"I think Tre has made a great move. That has really shown up I would say more so in training camp. I think in the spring, he was learning and getting used to everything. I have really been excited about his development. He has proven that he's a super high care factor guy, he's a really hard worker, he wants to take every rep and I think that's exciting. I think today's day in age you do see a lot of receivers be infected by "cool guy" where they don't want to work hard or they want to look sweet when they catch the ball. They don't want to block, but that's not our receiver group, how coach Wade is coaching them and that's not Tre Spivey. He is willing to block... He never wants to come out of the game. That's what I love about them."