Nearly two years removed from losing one of its worst losses in program history against NAU in Jedd Fisch’s first season at the helm, Arizona, with its rebuilt roster on both sides of the ball, enacted revenge against the Lumberjacks to begin the 2023 season in front of the largest crowd its had since 2018, taking down the Lumberjacks 38-3 on Saturday night.
"[It] was a good start to the season," Fisch said. "I really think that all three phases played good complimentary football. ...I would certainly say that it was a good hard fought game."
Running out on the field with intent, it was clear the Wildcats had a chip on their shoulder with something to prove to start off the season.
Starting off with the football, The UA drove down the field in a hurry, with second-year quarterback Jayden de Laura anchoring a 65-yard drive, including a 37-yard catch by Jonah Coleman, before a 4-yard fade touchdown catch by Jacob Cowing — a scoring drive that took under four minutes.
With the added momentum, the Wildcats’ defense immediately illustrated their improvement and tenacity from its returners with a tackle for a loss by nickel back Treydan Stukes and tackle by sophomore Russell Davis, forcing the Lumberjacks to punt and reeling in a roar from the 48,159 UA faithful in attendance.
With a tight 14-3 deficit to start the second half, the tide changed early in the third quarter, with the Arizona special teams unit coming up big when NAU was driving down the field, with defensive tackle Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei blocking NAU’s field goal and UA cornerback Tacario Davis returning the blocked field goal for a touchdown — the first blocked field goal-turned touchdown for the Wildcats since 2002.
This scoop-and-score led to an avalanche that saw UA force three turnovers on downs against an NAU team that was 20 of 31 on 4th down conversions last season, and the Wildcats scoring their first offensive touchdown since the first quarter.
"[Field goal blocking] is something that we work on every day," UA nickel back Martell Irby said. "So it was just a beauty to see the hard work turn into execution, [it] turned into a big moment for the team. Any big play is big for us, whether that's offense, defense, special teams, [the] sideline just erupting. ...It was just another moment that we were able to capitalize on and change the momentum and finish the game."
The Wildcats continued to keep the game out of reach by scoring three more touchdown with a field goal and allowing no more points from NAU since the blocked kick.
Despite Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura, who went 12-for-15 (80%) on completions, the Wildcats’ offense looked a tad shaky in the first half, only scoring points on half of their possessions, with 14 points on the board with only 13:18 of offensive possession. The UA’s signal caller was rolling, but in the second quarter, he scrambled on the outside, and instead of sliding, tucked his head down and got hit by a defender, shaking him up, resulting in him getting sent to the medical tent.
"I think if [de Laura] took off a little bit earlier, there would have been a little bit easier way for him to give himself up," Fisch said. "That's what you need to do in those situations. There's no place and no need for him to expose his head in that regard, or really his body in that matter.”
Arizona picked up their offensive firepower that it possessed much of last season, with de Laura returning to the game, finishing the game with 480 total yards with 292 in the air, 188 on the ground and five total touchdowns. De Laura finished the season opener going 18-for-24 for 285 yards, three touchdown passes, a 53-yard touchdown run and an interception.
It appeared that a decent portion of Arizona’s passing success came with usage the running backs catching passes, with the UA’s running back unit cumulating 116 receiving yards and one touchdown.
"Our running backs, we've been talking about them all year, how good of a group they aere with [Michael] Wiley, Jonah Coleman, Rayshon Luke, DJ Williams, they all catch" Fisch said. "They all go through pass routes every with us, they're really good runners. But in addition to being really good runners, they have an ability out of the backfield that really makes them a dual threat."
Arizona's offense, however, was 1-for-4 on third down conversions which is something that the team may need to clean up in those situations going forward.
On the other side of the ball, second year defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen’s defense came out running to the football, adhering to his message at the beginning of camp: finish plays, only allowing NAU to accumulate 264 total yards for three points, as well as logging in eight tackles for loss. The Wildcats also showed their absorbent amount of depth around their defensive line, rotating rapidly throughout the game, which conserved energy for their starters. Starting linebacker Jacob Manu was the catalyst for the UA’s defense, piling in nine total tackles and 1/2 sack.
"Every time [the defense] had to go out there, they went out there with energy, passion, and ferociousness," Fisch said. "The idea being able to bring more players in, we've talked about that defensively with the defensive front, the rotation makes a huge difference, you could see a fresher player make a difference.”
The Wildcats’ defense also accomplished Nansen’s message of last season: creating turnovers, where in the second quarter, safety Dalton Johnson punched the ball out of the running back’s hands with a recovery by transfer linebacker Daniel Heimuli — releasing the UA defense’s coveted turnover sword from the sideline.
The UA moves to 1-0 after Saturday’s win and will take on Mississippi State next Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium.
> DISCUSS the article with other Arizona fans as the Wildcats continue Building The Tradition
> WATCH the latest videos from GOAZCATS.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel
> FOLLOW us on Twitter (@goazcatscom, @MattRMoreno, @THutch1995, @RyanYoungRivals)
> FOLLOW us on Instagram (@goazcats)
> LIKE us on Facebook
> SUBSCRIBE for all the latest Arizona Wildcats team and recruiting news (subscribe now)
