Analysis of Arizona vs. NAU, more news in Big 12

That's Arizona's job Saturday night against NAU. The Wildcats need to play more neatly than they did in their opener against New Mexico. They need to wipe down the tables, dust the shelves and sweep the floors. Mopping wouldn't hurt either.

On offense, Arizona needs to run the ball effectively from the start. Yes, I know – the Wildcats scored 61 points and rushed for 627 yards last week. But most of that came on big plays that relied on the great connection between Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan. Arizona can't have another first half like last week, when it gained just 28 yards on nine rushing attempts. The running game took off in the second half – 177 yards on 17 attempts. More of that, please.

There is a lot of work to be done on defense. First, more discipline in the rush lane. Defensive linemen can't just rush up the field, especially against mobile quarterbacks. Devon Dampier won't be the last one Arizona faces.

Tackling needs to improve. Pro Football Focus accused Arizona of 14 missed tackles. Defensive coordinator Duane Akina said it was 16. Regardless, that number should be under 10. The Wildcats reached that goal seven times last season, including in the first five games of their seven-game winning streak to end the season.

Ultimately, Arizona needs to play more calmly. Five of the nine penalties imposed on the Wildcats were due to unsportsmanlike conduct or personal fouls. All of them were imposed on defensive players. Experienced safety Dalton Johnson summed it up best: “We can't afford any personal fouls. That's not acceptable.”

It's entirely possible that Arizona will have the nation's longest winning streak by 12:45 p.m. Saturday.

Two years ago, nothing would have been considered more improbable. But it's true!

Arizona comes into the NAU game with an eight-game winning streak. Reigning national champion Michigan has won 16 games in a row. But the 10th-ranked Wolverines host No. 3 Texas at 9 a.m. Saturday. The Longhorns are favored by one touchdown.

Texas crushed Colorado State last week. Michigan, which is undergoing a pseudo-rebuild following the departure of Jim Harbaugh, looked shaky against Fresno State. (The final score was 30-10; total yards were 269-244.)

Maybe the Wolverines held back because they knew they were facing UT. Maybe they were vulnerable.

If the latter is the case – and Arizona prevails against NAU – the team that lost 20 straight games from 2019-2021 will be the best team in college football.

Our man Mike Gundy holds his weekly radio show in an unlikely location – Legacy Village of Stillwater, a senior living community. An Oklahoma State reporter posted pictures from this week's show showing dozens of Legacy Village residents watching Gundy do his work. Many wore orange Cowboys gear. All hung on Gundy's every word. You may not agree with everything Gundy says or does – I certainly don't – but this is undeniably a nice gesture.

Really, Johnny Nansen? A turnover sword? Leaving Arizona for Texas is one thing. Taking the Wildcats' turnover prop, or at least the concept, with you is quite another. The turnover sword is Tucson's thing, not Austin's. Can't think of an alternative? Here are three possibilities: 1. Turnover Stetson – take the ball away and get a crisp white cowboy hat with an orange band. 2. Turnover Horns – headgear with Bevo-like bull horns. 3. Turnover McConaughey – Fathead image of Texas' most famous fan on a stick. This one's not that hard.

“Do you think the offense will be like the Cowboys in 2023 with McMillan completing 29% of passes, or should we expect more balance?” — @UAIvann via X/Twitter

Dallas receiver CeeDee Lamb led the NFL last season with 181 passing targets — nearly 30% of the Cowboys' total. McMillan surpassed that mark in the opening game with an astonishing 50% of passing targets. I don't think that's sustainable.

FAU's LaJohntay Wester was the most targeted wide receiver in college football last season. His 152 targets accounted for 39.2% of the Owls' total allocation.

Oklahoma State's Brennan Presley had the second most targets (143), with a percentage of 27.6%.

Washington's Rome Odunze was the only other receiver with 140 or more. His share was 26.2%.

I fully expect McMillan to be Arizona's most-used receiver in 2024. If he's not, something is wrong. But as the season progresses, opponents' game plans and coverages will change. They'll try to shut McMillan down – or at least make it as difficult as possible for the Wildcats to get the ball to him.

McMillan's target share will likely settle in the 30-35% range, or around 130 overall (10 per game over 13 games). But given McMillan's ability and his chemistry with Fifita, I wouldn't be surprised to see that number rise to 40%.

Unless they're all black or all white, I don't like most solid-colored football uniforms. Utah's all-red look with black and white trim is an exception. I especially liked the Utes' video presentation of their uniforms for Saturday's game against Baylor. They sent two players into what looks like the frozen tundra. It reminded me of the climactic battle in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which takes place on Crait, a planet with a surface made of white salt. When the speeders scrape against it, the salt turns red.

“It's obviously a really, really big game for their squad and their team. And for our squad and our team, it's a big game, but it doesn't feel like a Big 12 game. … So we have to make sure our players understand the importance of this, because any team you play against in college football today can beat you.” – UA coach Brent Brennan

“This game is NAU's Super Bowl, and we should take it seriously. I wasn't here in 2021, but I know what happened. This can't happen again. We have to compete with intensity and determination. We can't give them any glimmer of hope. If we fail in that regard, it could be a rough night.”

Eric Newman, via the Arizona Daily Sun:

Maybe the magic of a few years ago when Northern Arizona football defeated Arizona in Tucson has faded a little.

In 2021, the Lumberjacks surprised the Wildcats 21-19 by preventing a late 2-point conversion. In 2023, Arizona, now a top-25 team in the FBS, defeated Northern Arizona 38-3 in a game that was never close.

And now there is a whole new coaching staff and a revamped roster in Flagstaff. …

Those who were there when Northern Arizona won in Tucson will always remember it fondly, but if Saturday's upcoming game between teams with a 1-0 record is just another game, that could be a good thing.

“We haven't really talked about it much,” said linebacker Tommy Ellis, who played for the Lumberjacks as a redshirt freshman in 2021, “because we're trying to make our own game history this time around, and hopefully that's something we can be proud of for years to come.”

The most impressive performance by a Big 12 team in Week 1: ASU's 48-7 win over Wyoming. The Sun Devils beat the Cowboys 499-118 and dominated one of the Mountain West's most consistent programs. Yes, Wyoming is in transition and the Cowboys probably weren't used to 8 p.m. temperatures above 100 degrees. But I liked what I saw from Kenny Dillingham and ASU, and I'm backing them against Mississippi State (plus-5.5) this week. It would be the Sun Devils' first win against an SEC opponent. (Season record: 1-0)

You know what would be nice on Saturday night? A game that doesn't last three hours and 59 minutes.

It's not entirely clear why the opening game lasted nearly four hours. The playbook records three official replay reports, and there were at least two unofficial reports. The NCAA average is about 2.2 per game.

College football introduced the two-minute timeout this year, meaning each half is stopped two minutes before the end. The average game time on Friday was 3:28 minutes, five minutes longer than last season.

Among them are seven games that lasted 4:07 or longer. The longest: Marshall-Stony Brook (4:48), Virginia-Richmond (4:48) and Penn State-West Virginia (5:53). All three had weather-related delays.

There was no overtime in the UA-New Mexico game. Still, it lasted 15 minutes longer than the Wildcats' longest game last year. That game at USC went into triple overtime. No other UA game lasted longer than 3:31.

We all love college football. Just not The a lot of college football.