Arizona football notebook: Wildcats ready to remove taste of last season’s BYU loss
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The 2026 season officially started for Arizona last weekend but one of the biggest tests arrives on Saturday. The Wildcats (1-0), coming off a 35-7 win over NAU, now head to Provo for a matchup with No. 15 BYU that could have major conference championship implications.
Last season’s matchup is still fresh in the eyes of the UA players. It’s something that they have not forgotten, and it’s now serving as motivation to not let any opportunities that present themselves slip past them on Saturday.
There is no shortage of motivation for Arizona, but it also knows there needs to be an equal level of respect for the Cougars.
Offensive coordinator Seth Doege had a brief interaction with Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier over the offseason. In their conversation, Bachmeier was very complimentary of Arizona’s defense and from BYU’s perspective it felt like it left Tucson last season with an upset.
“He was very complimentary of Danny’s defense and the team we had last year,” said Doege. “They were just as excited to win that game as we were trying to win it as well. I mean they thought they pulled out an upset.”
Getting a bad taste out of their mouths
A lot of people around Tucson remember the heartbreak following the 33-27 loss to BYU last season. Most probably don’t dwell on it because Arizona rattled off five straight to end the season and made an appearance in the Holiday Bowl, but the players in the locker room have not forgotten.
Fifth year linebacker Chase Kennedy is very familiar with BYU, especially with his time at Utah. The way the Utes talk about the Cougars is very similar to how Wildcats talk about Sun Devils.
“It’s called a holy war, but I guess what we talk about it’s not so holy,” said Kennedy on how Utah talks about BYU.
A similar sentiment has followed him to Arizona. Now with the results of the last matchup, it’s time to get a sour taste out of the Wildcats’ mouths.
“I don’t know if it’ll be a rivalry, but I know that we want to get that taste out of our mouths from these past two years,” said Kennedy.
Next play is most important
Arizona nearly went perfect on drives in the first half, but a fumble on the second drive prevented that from happening. While some speculate on whether it was a fumble or not, sophomore receiver Giovanni Richardson still had to take accountability for it.
“Just take accountability for it,” said Richardson. “I fumbled it. It is what it is. Gotta brush it off and go play the game, just have fun and play football.”
Richardson still finished the game with eight catches for 98 yards, so clearly he put that fumble in the rear view mirror. To him, it doesn’t matter if that was his only catch of the game or if his catches finish in the double digits, he has a job to do so there is no time to dwell on what was.
“I just try to play my role in the offense, if I have 10 catches that game, if I have one, I just do my job and the ball will find me,” said Richardson.
Even for Kennedy who had a near perfect performance individually, he knows there are things to work on. Especially with a game like BYU this week, there is always room for improvement.
“It was a good start, but I know there’s still things that I need to do individually and stuff I could have cleaned up out there,” said Kennedy. “Just growing on that would be a good thing. I know there’s still things I can work on outside of that that can make it even more better.”
Efficiency and consistency
Richardson’s fumble against NAU, while on paper is not ideal, still presents an opportunity to see it in a positive light. It cements that the drills that were emphasized in fall camp, like ball security, still apply in season.
“It just kind of affirms the drills that you do every day and why you guys are out there,” said Doege. “That drill, I’m constantly on them, and sometimes they get tired of hearing me, and it’s boring, almost here we go again everyday drill, but it matters. It’s probably the most important drill we do every day.”
Moving forward, Richardson needs to show that he learned from that mistake and that his ball security is more efficient. Doege knows that with great play making comes a dip in ball security emphasis.
Sometimes that’s what it takes for big plays to happen. Sometimes the reward outweighs the risk and he does not want to stop Richardson from making plays.
“I know Gio was hurt when he fumbled,” said Doege. “Gio didn’t go into the game thinking, ‘I’m gonna fumble.’ He went into the game trying to make a play.”
It wasn’t just Richardson who seemed to be doing more than needed and forgetting fundamentals. Some guys took the field and were not as disciplined as they needed to be.
“I thought we had a couple guys wanting to do their own thing instead of being detailed and disciplined in those first couple drives because we were calling plays that we’re very good at. That against our defense, we’re very efficient at it, and we made mistakes that I’ve never seen us make.”
One guy that had a good showing on Saturday was junior offensive lineman Matthew Lado. Doege still thinks Lado’s best showing has yet to come and believes that he can play at a high level on a more consistent basis.
“There were some times on Saturday where he really moved and he moved differently and he played with a different aggression, but it was a little bit inconsistent,” said Doege. “I want to see him do that the entire game because if he does that the entire game, he’s one of those dudes that can make some money playing football.”
For defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales, a starting safety spot is not guaranteed. This is mainly due to a need for consistent performances while also weighing in who Arizona is playing that week.
Saturday saw a rotation of guys in that spot, and will continue to change (more than likely) as the season moves forward. If there is a matchup better suited for a different guy, Gonzales won’t hesitate to switch it up. The rotation right now is between Lee Molette III (who started against NAU), Gavin Hunter, and Daylen Austin.
“Those three I view in my mind as a starter,” said Gonzales. “Depending on the matchup, it could be any of the three that goes in on any play or any series. We have different things that we can do in different situations. So if those guys want to start, they better practice their ass off.”
Whatever combination of players brings the best level of consistency and efficiency will see the field the most. It’s something that the Wildcats know BYU puts out on a week to week basis.
“They got a good discipline unit over there, a lot of older guys,” said Kennedy. “So we just know we gotta be good with all of the details.”
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