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Arizona finds itself in a similar situation as last season.Ìý

Encouraged by a season-opening win over a Mountain West opponent, Arizona turns around to host an FCS opponent.

With a Friday night showdown with Kansas State on the horizon, Arizona isn't overlooking Weber State.

"Every time I played against an FCS team, they know that this is a big opportunity for them, and you get their best shot in every way," said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. "I've been through coaching football a long time, and I've had good days and bad days in this situation, so we're working our tails off to make sure that we play our best football on Saturday night and keep moving in the direction we want to move as a football program."

Weber State is an FCS program "that's going to come in here with bad intention," added Arizona running backs coach Alonzo Carter.

The last time Arizona played an FCS opponent, Northern Arizona, the UA won 22-10. Despite the triumph, "it didn't feel the way we wanted it to feel," especially considering it was the game after Arizona beat New Mexico 61-39, Carter said.

"You don't want to ride too high off winning that first game just because you beat a Group of 5 team," Carter said. "That FCS team is going to come in here and try to beat you on your home field, so it's important that we get off to a fast start on all three phases — offense, defense and special teams. ... We know we have a lot of room for improvement, so we're not satisfied with Saturday. We want to continue to get better at all three phases."

A common phrase used in football is every team makes a significant jump from the first game to the second game; the kinks from the first game are ironed out and the second game is a more polished product. Brennan doesn't ascribe to that.

"Everyone makes a big deal about Week 1 to Week 2, it never stops," he said. "You don't just go, 'Oh, we improved after Week 1, we're done.' No, it's a constant chase to try and improve every single week and improve your football team in all phases every single week, and it doesn't stop." 

Brennan was encouraged by Arizona's effort in the 34-point win over Hawaii, which is the UA's largest margin of victory since the 2023 Territorial Cup in Tempe, but said Arizona has "a little bit of work to do" with the execution of plays. Brennan said, "the improvement on the execution side, that needs to be visible for me and for our staff and our team." This week will be about fine-tuning the mistakes against a faceless and nameless opponent.Ìý 

"Winning one game means nothing," Brennan said. "It means nothing. We're trying to do that each week. We put the Hawaii game to bed last Sunday, and we've been focused on Weber State. ... In college football, you only get to play 12 guaranteed (games). Everyone is like, 'Oh, it's not a conference game' — who cares? It's the most important game of the year, because it's the only game we get to play this week. We only get 12 of them and we get one this week." 

Arizona is a 32.5-point favorite to beat Weber State, according to FanDuel. It's possible Arizona's backups and younger players who can still redshirt this season will have the second half to earn game reps. In the wake of starting wide receivers Kris Hutson and Chris Hunter being unavailable due to injury, Arizona's top three receivers — Brandon Phelps, Isaiah Mizell and Gio Richardson — were underclassmen. Freshman defensive lineman Mays Pese played 28 snaps against the Rainbow Warriors last week and could play more this week.Ìý

In-game reps for underclassmen "(helps them) with the speed of the game," said Brennan.Ìý

Brennan added: "Coming from high school, there's no way you can have a feeling for what it's going to be like on the field here Saturday night."  

UA dances between tackling, protecting players 

Practicing tackling is a double-edged sword, especially at the college football level. Pick your poison: practice live tackling and risk injuring players, or simulate tackling with weighted bags and pads, preserve the health of players, but potentially become a poor tackling team.Ìý 

"The only way you get really good at doing something is to actually do it," said Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales. "If you don't practice tackling, you're probably not going to be great at it early."

When Gonzales was Arizona State's defensive coordinator under former head coach Herm Edwards, the Sun Devils conservatively practiced tackling. ASU was an effective tackling team under Gonzales, "because it made me adapt and do some things you didn't normally do," he said.Ìý

Gonzales' counterpoint to Edwards' NFL-inspired decision to not tackle in practice: the NFL has preseason games, while college football doesn't. Plus, NFL players are fully developed physically. There's also a financial component to the NFL, too.

"There's a reason the National Football League doesn't tackle in practice," said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. "They never, ever tackle in practice because those players are super high-value parts of their program (and) it's hard to replace a really good player. Micah Parsons isn't coming off the waiver wire because you cut him." 

College teams are likely more reluctant to practice live tackling nowadays due to the financial implications. Between revenue sharing and NIL, college football teams now have six-figure — sometimes seven-figure — players.Ìý

"I do believe college football now is a little bit like (the NFL)," Brennan said. "High-value players are harder to replace. We don't have a waiver wire, we don't have free agency. We have what we have here and in training camp. That has also encouraged people to try and keep guys on their feet.

"On the flip side of that, college football players are not NFL players yet. Outside of hitting a baseball, tackling a person in space is the hardest thing to do in sport. Not getting that opportunity to do that live, you are taking that chance, but you're also taking a chance when your best players are in a live situation and they get taken out by collateral damage. ... We do as much as we can trying to get them to tackle well. I think our defensive staff does a great job with that." 

Gonzales echoed Brennan's sentiment and said, "You better take care of some of those pieces because if you don't and you lose a big investment, all of sudden your team is hurt."

Arizona practices tackling with remote-controlled dummies and donut-shaped pads that roll, which they also used in pregame warmups before the season opener against Hawaii. Against Hawaii, Arizona had 10 missed tackles and had a 70.3 tackling grade on Pro Football Focus, the highest grade since the win over Houston last season. Arizona had only three games last season with a tackling grade higher than 70.Ìý

"Those aspects, how do you create momentum and still tackle?" Gonzales asked. "We don't break down around here. There's no stutter your feet, slow your feet, no. If you see a (cornerback) running up to try and knife a wideout in half on a 5-yard route and he misses, I don't consider that a missed tackle because we have two or three other angry dudes that are going to get him within 1 or 2 yards. If they get 3 or more yards after the catch, that's a missed tackle — and it's not on those guys, it's on the guys pursuing to the football.

"You saw it on Saturday, we're going to run through the soul of somebody's body and see if we can knock the soul out of him."  

Michael Wooten settling in at LG

Arizona had four new starters on the offensive line last week, but one isn't like the others.Ìý

Unlike left tackle Ty Buchanan, center Ka'ena Decambra and right tackle Tristan Bounds, left guard Michael Wooten isn't a newcomer, but he's a newbie on the interior offensive line.

The redshirt junior appeared in nine games for the Wildcats and played mostly offensive tackle. Wooten logged 228 offensive snaps — 142 of them at right tackle — but struggled at times, allowing three sacks and 11 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.

Wooten transferred from Oregon last year after two seasons with the Ducks. The Duquesne, Pennsylvania native graduated from Los Angeles-area powerhouse Sierra Canyon High School in 2022. Wooten and Sierra Canyon battled current Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita, former UA star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and Servite High School as a senior in 2021. Servite beat Sierra Canyon, 44-22, and Fifita passed for 228 yards and two touchdowns — both to McMillan and UA tight end Keyan Burnett.Ìý

With Arizona looking for Wendell Moe's successor after the starting left guard transferred to Tennessee, "one day, I was like, 'Shoot, coach, I want to try inside, too. You never know how I could be.'" Wooten edged converted defensive tackle Chubba Ma'ae for the starting role at left guard.Ìý

"Next thing you know, it worked out fine," Wooten said.Ìý

The 6-5, 323-pound Wooten said his frame is ideal for guard because he has "a pretty long body, so everything happens quicker inside." 

Wooten had a role in Arizona's success running the football against Hawaii. Arizona had 183 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. On running back Quincy Craig's 54-yard touchdown run in the second half, Wooten and Buchanan both pulled to the right to seal the edge, creating an opening for Craig up the middle and resulting in a touchdown run.Ìý

"We were talking all week that we need to dominate the line of scrimmage," Wooten said. "That's one of our pillars." 

With Wooten at left guard and Doost starting at right for a second straight season, "think there were good moments and bad moments," said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. "There's room to grow. You look at that first game, we can be better. We can be better at all positions. Michael and Doost are excited to play again. They've had a great week of work."

Arizona tackle Rhino Tapa'atoutai, who is nearing a return after recovering from a knee injury in October, could make his season debut at right tackle on Saturday. Buchanan, Wooten, Decambra, Doost and Tapa'atoutai could potentially become Arizona's starting offensive line, with Bounds as a swing tackle.Ìý

'Old-school, hard-hat guys' 

When Arizona was building its roster in the offseason, "we wanted hungry players," said UA running backs coach Alonzo Carter.

"We want players that want to be here," Carter said. "We want players that want to be here at the University of Arizona. We wanted those old-school, hard-hat guys they used to have. That's what the U of A is built on. It wasn't built on four- or five-star guys. It was built on hard-hat guys. Guys that love the game. ... Everything about the players you see, they're cut from that cloth." 

Ten of those players from Arizona's 2025 recruiting cycle came from FCS schools, including running back Quincy Craig, who ran for 125 yards and a touchdown in his Arizona debut after transferring from Portland State.

"The way Quincy had been practicing leading up to the game, we thought this would happen," Carter said. "You don't know when it would happen, but as coaches, we talked about that. ... He had a really good camp from spring to the fall."

Craig "had a different change of pace" compared to other mainstay running backs Ismail Mahdi and Kedrick Reescano, "but you're still getting that physicality with a little more wiggle, different vision and he plays different," Carter said.

"I'm very confident he can go into the game and play like that at any given time," Carter said. "When you have the three guys that we have in our room, they have their own style, but you don't have to limit what you do. He can play physical, he can play fast, he can do it all. I wasn't surprised at all."

Last season, Craig had 93 all-purpose yards and a receiving touchdown in Portland State's 43-16 loss to Weber State. Since arriving at Arizona, he has become one of Arizona's most versatile weapons as a rusher, pass catcher and blocker. Linebacker Taye Brown said Craig "is a physical (running) back and a great all-around back."

"He's strong, he has a powerful punch and he has a strong base," Brown said.Ìý

Craig said his pass-blocking prowess stems from "the hunger that I have" to help the team at all costs.Ìý

"I don't really care about the stats I have," Craig said after the Arizona-Hawaii game. "I just want to go out and win. What can I do to benefit the team? How can I establish myself to help the team out and get to that victory? Just that hunger of protecting (quarterback Noah Fifita), so we can pass the ball and maneuver the ball around."  

Other notable FCS standouts on Arizona's roster include wide receiver Javin Whatley (Chattanooga), defensive tackle Deshawn McKnight (UT Martin), defensive end Malachi Bailey (Alcorn State), tight end Cameron Barmore (Mercyhurst), defensive end Chancellor Owens (Northwestern State) and linebacker Riley Wilson (Montana), who is expected to make his Arizona debut on Saturday, according to defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales.Ìý

With Tyler Powell suffering a season-ending leg injury and Keyan Burnett recovering from injury, Arizona's top two tight ends are sixth-year senior Sam Olson and Barmore, a wide receiver-converted-tight end, who emerged in training camp as an improved blocker. Barmore had the second-best run-blocking grade (81.6) behind left tackle Ty Buchanan for Arizona's win over Hawaii.Ìý  

"The Cam that we had in spring versus the Cam we have in training camp were two totally different people," Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said. "He really embraced the physical side of it. I'm excited to see how he progresses over the next few weeks." 

Craig, McKnight, Wilson and Whatley hit the ground running after transferring to Arizona in the spring, meanwhile, Barmore and Bailey struggled, but have settled into their respective roles.Ìý 

"Every player is different," Brennan said. "In some cases, it's just about a young man making a choice. 'Hey, I'm done sitting on the bench. I'm done being average. It's time for me to man up, kick ass and attack this thing.' You start to see them exponentially ratchet it up." 

Over the years, Brennan has observed the talent gap between FBS and FCS "getting thinner and thinner," he said. It's a useful level for roster-building because they're physically and mentally more experienced than a high school player.Ìý

"The separation is getting smaller and smaller with the revolving door of the transfer portal," Brennan said. "With the development that's happening on the high school level, these (FCS) players are more ready when they go to college football. ... They got to go to those places and play and develop and it accelerated their development. Now they're more ready to play than someone who has been here for three or four years because they've actually been playing in the games and developing in the process of real football and real in-game action."

Brennan has an FCS stop on his coaching journey. Brennan was the wide receivers coach at Cal Poly under head coach and former "Desert Swarm" defensive assistant Rich Ellerson from 2001-04. Ellerson led the Mustangs to three Great West conference championships between 2004-08.Ìý

Brennan and Detroit Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp were graduate assistants at Arizona under head coach Dick Tomey in 2000 and "shared a supply closet" when the football offices were in McKale Center, Brennan said on Thursday. Brennan and Fipp, who was Cal Poly's defensive backs coach, followed Ellerson, who Brennan called an "outside-of-the-box thinker" from Tucson to San Luis Obispo, California.Ìý

"He's the most outside-the-box thinker I've ever been around," Brennan said of Ellerson.Ìý

In four years at Cal Poly, Brennan coached four NFL receivers, he said.Ìý 

"There's really good players (in FCS)," Brennan said. "Nowadays, those guys would be snapped up and never finish their careers there. It was a great experience there. ... Lots of fond memories from that FCS time."

New Wildcats in town

One of the most iconic games in UA sports history, the 1997 men's basketball championship win over Kentucky, was a Wildcat-on-Wildcat matchup. While Arizona is no stranger to facing big cats in football, including Cougars like Big 12 members BYU and Houston and former Pac-12 foe Washington State, UA football has rarely faced other teams with the same "Wildcats" moniker.Ìý

Arizona is 5-2-1 all-time against Kansas State and lost the second game to KSU in Manhattan last season, which snapped Arizona's nine-game winning streak.ÌýArizona tied Kansas State in 1953 and lost to KSU in 1969.

Arizona is 2-0 against the Northwestern Wildcats and outscored NU 68-21 in 1975 and ’76. Arizona hasn't played Kentucky in football.

Saturday will be the first-ever matchup between Arizona and Weber State, the FCS visitors from Ogden, Utah, which lost to James Madison 45-10 last Saturday. Arizona will face another purple Wildcats team next week, when it concludes nonconference play against Kansas State.Ìý