Arizona Wildcats football saw its five‑game winning streak end Saturday with a 34‑26 defeat at Texas Tech in Lubbock. Coach Brent Brennan, quarterback Noah Fifita and safety Malcolm Hartzog Jr. shared their thoughts on the game and the road ahead.
Coach Brennan on the performance
“First of all, I want to thank all the Arizona fans and everybody that came here to Lubbock for this game today,” Brennan said. “We knew coming down here it was going to be a big‑time battle, and I’m proud of our team. They fought their ass off for four quarters, and we didn’t get it done, and that’s disappointing. But there were a lot of great moments and a lot of things we need to fix.”
He highlighted quarterback Noah Fifita as a “warrior” and praised the defense for several exciting plays. Brennan noted that the Wildcats missed execution on a few series, especially in the red zone, and emphasized the need to return to the drawing board.
Preparing for TCU
“We have to work through this for 24 hours, and then we got to get ready for TCU,” Brennan added. “It’s a short week, so we’ll assess, grind it out, and I believe in this team. They love the U of A, they work their tails off every week, and everybody’s really disappointed right now. At the end of the day, we have to fix what wasn’t right tonight and attack the process of improving it.”
Injury update
Regarding defensive lineman RJ Mosley, Brennan said he is being evaluated for a lower‑leg injury and thanked Texas Tech coach Matt McGuire for his assistance.
Comparing to the BYU loss
“That was seven weeks ago. Looking at this one, we had an opportunity to finish late in the fourth after the fumble and we didn’t get anything out of that drive,” Brennan observed, drawing a parallel to the earlier BYU defeat.
Facing Texas Tech’s defensive front
“We knew we were playing against a really good group that showed up on film,” Brennan said. He praised Texas Tech’s defensive line and linebacking core, calling it one of the best he’s seen all year, and gave credit to the Red Raiders for playing hard.
Offensive line and execution
The coach admitted the offensive line must improve, stating, “I need to get better. We’ll look at the film, dive into what we can improve, and go from there.” He stressed that the entire unit, not just the line, must elevate its performance.
Quarterback Thomas Castellanos
Brennan complimented Texas Tech quarterback Thomas Castellanos, noting his ability to stay alive, scramble and make down‑field plays.
Key plays
On the blocked PAT, Brennan said the team was unsure of the exact cause but emphasized that the missed extra point was not the deciding factor. He pointed to missed opportunities late in the game as the real issue.
He praised the 94‑yard touchdown pass from Fifita to Isaiah Mizell, calling it a “big play” that sparked the offense and highlighted Mizell as a “big‑play guy”.
Quarterback Noah Fifita takes responsibility
Fifita said, “I got to take the blame for that. Defense gave us so many opportunities to score, and we weren’t able to do so. I started slow, got stuck in a lull, and missed a fourth‑down conversion that shifted momentum. I apologize for not having their back.” He also defended the 4‑and‑1 call, describing it as a perfect scheme.
Offensive strategy and third‑down challenges
Fifita explained that Texas Tech’s defense made third‑down conversions difficult and that the Wildcats failed to be productive enough on first down, putting themselves in tough situations.
He lauded Mizell’s recent performances, calling him “one of the most explosive players” he’s ever thrown to and expressing pride in his contributions.
Running game struggles
When asked about the ground attack, Fifita noted that a couple of bad sacks altered the rushing yards and pledged to do a better job moving forward.
Looking ahead
With a short week before facing a strong TCU squad, the Wildcats aim to correct execution errors, tighten the offensive line, and capitalize on the talent of players like Fifita and Mizell. The coaching staff remains confident that the team’s work ethic and love for the University of Arizona will drive improvement in the next game.
Original reporting: Arizona Desert Swarm (Tucson Sports) — read the source article.
