r/ArizonaWildcats

https://youtu.be/Vatw1J3a3Bc?si=yxdLEaAkOU4ofOs6

Say whatever you want, she's done the best job in America. Just watch and listen.

6’11 Idaho State transfer. Averaged 4.7 ppg last year. Led the Big Sky in blocked shots the last 2 seasons.

Welcome to our State of the Program Series! This is our annual preview series where we dive into the teams that don’t receive much preseason coverage. This series is not intended to give predictions, but rather to tell the story of the program in advance of the 2026 season. Thank you for reading!

Head Coach: Brent Brennan is entering his 3rd year with the Wildcats with a 13-12 record. The record is weighted down by a rough debut season but the Wildcats rebounded tremendously to a 9-4 record last year. Brennan was previously successful at San Jose State where he won a Mountain West title, he is 0-4 in bowl games however. There were some doubts after year 1 but last year showed he is the right person to lead this program.

Program Outlook: Football has always been a challenge for Arizona, the program is better known for their basketball dominance. The best string of seasons for Arizona was the “Desert Swarm” era in the 90s under Dick Tomey. They even were featured on the 1994 SI Newsletter as the preseason #1 team.

Since then Arizona has seen inconsistent success. The Wildcats made a Fiesta Bowl under Rich Rodriguez and won 10 games in 2024 only for Jedd Fisch to leave. Still, the high marks show what this program is capable of.

Arizona's facilities lagged behind their peers for a while but now with the stability of the Big 12 they are working to upgrade those to get on the same level. Basketball again becomes a challenge when it comes to resources, Arizona has to dedicate a lot of them to remain a championship contender and that limits what they can do on the football side of things. Arizona carries a lot of potential because they are well positioned in a recruiting hotbed, their home state, and nearby California are a great pipeline but Texas is nearby as well, the Wildcats new life in the Big 12 gives them more games in that state too. With some better stability we could soon see Arizona football thrive.

How does the 2026 Roster look? (Returning Production & Snaps data from Punt & Rally) Arizona ranks 50th with 66% returning production with a total of 16,709 snaps returning. Arizona once again hit the portal hard with 7,653 snaps added.

Key players for Arizona absolutely starts with Noah Fifita, outside of a challenging 2024 season he has been a star for Arizona. Fifita can frustrate defenses with his mobility. Things do get interesting around him, the offensive line has some experience (57% returning snaps) and is deep. Chris Hunter returns at receiver but the portal will once again make up the rest of Fifita’s weapons. Jordan Ross (Colorado State) was a reliable target in a struggling offense, I think he will thrive here and Antwan Roberts (Marshall) brings some more production to the RB room. Kedrick Reescano is another RB that has been involved the last couple years, he is still around. On defense the Wildcats took a huge step forward last year and return a lot of key pieces to keep that going. Defensive lineman Tre Smith and LB Taye Brown will lead the way up front. Taye Brown especially is a player to watch, he's one of the preseason favorites to win the Lott Trophy this year. Dominic Lolesio is another name to watch on the defensive line. There are a lot of portal players on defense, a combination of small school producers like DL Victory Johnson (Cal Poly) and high upside talents like Daylen Austin (Oregon) in the secondary.

The biggest question marks will have to be how all the new portal weapons mix in, they brought in a lot of mismatch weapons with great upside but haven't quite produced yet. Special teams is another major concern, this was an area that held Arizona back last year. They must improve.

2026 Schedule Thoughts: Arizona's schedule is a mixed bag, it's good for reaching a bowl but bad for Big 12 title hopes. The Wildcats non-conference includes a in-state game against Northern Arizona, Northern Illinois who can't be overlooked even under difficult circumstances for them and their headliner is a road trip to Washington State which isn't an easy place to play but not an unwinnable game. The Big 12 schedule is where it really hurts. Arizona has to face Texas Tech and BYU, the two teams that played for last year's Big 12 title on the road. Kansas State and West Virginia aren't easy places to play either. Getting TCU, Iowa State, Cincinnati and Utah at home is favorable, Utah might be the toughest of those teams but Arizona has traditionally played well at home against them. The regular season ends with the Territorial Cup which Arizona will host.

Final Thoughts: This is a big year for Arizona, with a strong season the Wildcats can establish themselves as a top team in the Big 12 pecking order. Stringing together multiple good seasons has been a struggle for this program but 2026 gives them a shot at breaking that mold. Arizona will need to work on improving in the Redzone, they were too inefficient (the aforementioned special teams woes played a part here) and they need to reduce penalties as they ran into trouble with them too often. Those two key areas along with the portal pieces meshing will be key to the Wildcats season.