Favored by more than 30 points, Arizona was supposed to beat NAU and do so with ease. And if not for a late interception returned for a touchdown, the Wildcats would have covered—like great teams do—and posted their first shutout in 13 years.
“We got the win, and that’s all that matters to us,” said junior safety Quinn Olson, who made his first career start and grabbed an interception along the way.
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The UA won its fourth consecutive season opener, dominating the Lumberjacks 35-7 at Casino Del Sol Stadium. It was a tune-up for a much bigger game in a week, against No. 14 BYU in Provo.
Our game recap can be found here, along with players of the game.
Below is what UA coach Brent Brennan, Olson and running back Kedrick Reescano said after the win:
Brennan on the overall performance: “We showed up ready to play. Our guys were excited. I thought our coaching staff did a fantastic job preparing them to play, showing up with our first couple possessions, moving the football great, putting points on the board, our defense answering with stops. There’s a lot to be excited about from that. We expected to win, and that’s what we did. And now we’re moving on to the next.”
On the goals for the game: “I think coming into it, the thing that we were focused on was ball security, special teams execution, tackling, avoiding stupid penalties, and I think there was a lot of good there. I think we have some work to do also, but I was encouraged by what I saw. I think our guys played extremely hard. Redlining was evident, you could see it. And then I think we can also improve on some of that. This team cares about each other. They’re deeply connected. They’re a lot of fun to coach. And if things didn’t go well, they’re going to fix it. They’re committed to diving into that and fixing those things because that’s what we need to do this week.”
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On visiting BYU in Week 2: “This week we need to make a big jump. We know we’ve got a big-time football game next week at BYU. You make your biggest jump from week one to week two. This time is going to be a big-time evaluation. I’m excited to attack the work of our team.”
On the stadium atmosphere: “I do think it was an awesome night in the stadium. I think what our administration has done with the lights and the sound system, us being on a different sideline with our faithful alums who’ve been there forever. I thought that changeup was really, really cool. I thought the Zona Zoo was outstanding, and so I think this was a huge step in terms of like creating a game day atmosphere that people are going to be excited about. The vibe was contagious, and you could feel it. The energy was awesome. I think it adds to the experience for our players, but also for our fans. The lights, the sound, all of that. I love the idea of Zona Zoo being behind our opponent. Like, let’s go. I thought the atmosphere was great tonight, and I’m excited when we get to come back here in two weeks.”
On the offense: “I thought we were really moving the ball great in the first half. I thought that easy to see. I thought Noah was really on, we were running the ball effectively. I thought the physicality of the football team was showing up. And then going into halftime, our message halftime was like, let’s keep our foot on the gas pedal. And so coming out of halftime, we didn’t get what we wanted, but our defense responded, and that’s great team football. Our defense got two 3-and-outs, I think, and our defense responded great there. So that part of it was exciting to see us complement each other that way, and in those in those moments in those first couple series of the second half, we also got an opportunity to see some high-level special teams execution with Chase (Ridley), which was exciting. So I think there’s there’s stuff to be excited about there.”
On being 7 of 12 on 3rd down and 4 for 4 in the red zone: “Some people will tell you that the only calls that matter are third down and red zone calls. Everything else is just, call whatever you want. We don’t see it that way, but some people feel that way. I think there was a lot of execution there. That’s part of redline. And I think when when Noah is playing at that level, he gives us a real chance, not just with his ability to make a decision to run the football, but also with his ability to create with his legs and still throw the ball on the run, which makes him a dangerous person on third down.”
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On Noah Fifita’s performance: “Noah Fifita is such a good player, and he’s so efficient. And I think you saw that, the first deep ball for the touchdown to Spivey. It was an incredible throw. It’s as good of a throw as you can make. Spivey made a great play, but it was in the absolute perfect place for that. And so we we have incredibly high expectations for Noah, but so does Noah, and nothing that he does surprises us. And we expect that high level of consistency from him to continue.”
On the defensive performance: “I think anytime you don’t allow any points from your opponent, and you hold them to negative rushing yards, that’s a hell of a day. Plain and simple. I don’t know what the final stat line was on their passing yards, but that quarterback is an NFL player. No points, negative rushing yards, and under 200 yards passing, that is a hell of a day for a defensive football team.”
On Lee Mollette starting over Gavin Hunter at safety: “Those guys are going to rotate a little bit, and we’re trying to figure that out, what the best thing is. Next week it might be Gavin. It’s day to day, week to week, and I think the good news is is that we have multiple players we feel good putting back there.”
On Olson getting put on scholarship and intercepting a pass: “And he got to lead the team in Bear Down in the locker room after the game. Quinn Olson is an awesome young man. He does everything right. He is a guy that is always putting in extra work. He walked on here. He did it the hard way. He has a total respect for the football team. He got his first start tonight. Obviously, you mentioned him being put on scholarship on Thursday night, and just like what an incredible moment that was. I think last week I was talking to some of you guys how you don’t see as many of those scholarship moments as you used to, but that was an incredible moment for Quinn and for our football team. The way the team responded to him because how much they love him and how much they respect him was just fantastic, and then him to make that play on the sideline was awesome. So I’m excited about his future here. He’s going to be a great player and a great teammate.”
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On Sawyer Anderson and other young players getting to play: “Sawyer’s going to learn. But he also went in there and did a nice job moving the football, made some really good throws, and you saw his legs, and you saw him get out on that scramble. We were more excited about that. So all those players that got to play a little bit at the end of the game, those are incredibly valuable reps because they’re live reps, they’re real reps, they’re against their opponent. And shoot, the majority of those guys haven’t ever even played in the game, so that part of it is very very valuable for them understanding what this is and what it takes.”
Olson on his big week: “Getting put on scholarship, that was really a big moment for me, but I tried to stay just locked in on tonight’s game, so I was obviously excited for that, but my focus was on tonight.”
On his interception: “Our D-line, they forced the quarterback to throw it all night. Once he released it I know I could make a play on it. At that point it was just make the catch.”
On early missed tackles: “I think part of it is just getting settled into the game. We don’t really go live, so first time in a while actually live tackling someone. As the game went on we got better at it. It’ll be something to focus on this week.”
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Reescano on scoring two 1-yard TDs: “I think it felt great. I don’t think things were as clean as we wanted. But honestly, I say this all the time, I think I had the easiest job out there. I think my O-line, you should be asking them this question.”
On Arizona rushing for 206 yards: “The O-line, they were moving stuff up there, so like just running behind our pads, and behind them.”
On last year’s loss to BYU: “It was a sour feeling, you know. I think it still still get to a lot of us. Losing that game last year was one of the hardest things we went through as a team, I think. Being able to to go forward and get another opportunity, a lot of us have been preparing for that.”
On writing ‘no doubt’ on his eye black stickers: “It’s kind of one of the things that’s like a promise that I made to myself. I feel like I’m tired of being doubted, but this thing makes it where they can’t doubt me.”
Read the full article here