Week 8 marks the continuation of a gauntlet October schedule for Deion Sanders and the Buffs, as they follow up their matchup against Kansas State with a trip to Tucson to take on Arizona.
The Wildcats join CU as one of the teams to make the jump over to the Big 12 that came with the disintegration of the Pac-12, and they’re expected to make a splash in Year 1 despite the coaching carousel drama during the offseason. UofA was one of the dominoes knocked over by the seismic Nick Saban retirement news shortly after the season ended, as head coach Jedd Fisch departed for Washington to replace Kalen DeBoer.
In Fisch’s place steps Brent Brennan, who was a graduate assistant with the Wildcats all the way back in 2000 and has served as the head man at San Jose State for the past seven seasons. Brennan passed his first test with the Wildcats with flying colors: retaining as much of Fisch’s core from a season ago as possible. Quarterback Noah Fifita and wideout Tetairoa McMillan both opted to stay at Arizona despite the coaching change.
Brennan was able to keep enough of the core and replace the holes in the roster well enough to earn a spot in the preseason AP top 25 at No. 21. The Wildcats are one of five ranked Big 12 teams, joining Utah, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Kansas. The Buffs will be looking to reverse a concerning trend in the all-time series against Arizona in this one. CU leads the overall head-to-head tally 16-10, but has lost nine of the last 12.
Let’s dive into what Arizona will look like under Brennan in its first year in the Big 12.
Arizona summary
Head Coach: Brent Brennan (34-48 in 7 college seasons, 1st at Arizona)
2023 record: (10-3, 7-2 Pac-12)
2023 result: 38-24 win vs Oklahoma in Alamo Bowl
Total offense: 448.0 yards per game (20th in FBS)
Total defense: 357.9 yards allowed per game (48th)
Scoring offense: 34.6 points per game (18th)
Scoring defense: 21.1 points allowed per game (T-29th)
Series history vs Colorado: Colorado leads 16-10
