Arizona football notebook: On holding penalties, turnover definitions and coaching changes

Arizona was near the bottom of the Big 12 in almost every offensive team category last season, a huge contributing factor in going 4-8 despite bringing back the 1-2 punch of Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan. It was a no brainer for Brent Brennan to make a change at coordinator, hiring Seth Doege to revamp the offense and make it more efficient.

So far, so good. The Wildcats are averaging 37 points per game, nearly double last year’s average of 21.8, and their 6.5 yards per play is almost a full yard better than in 2024.

Now imagine how good Arizona’s offense will look when it stops getting called for holding penalties.

Through three games the UA has been flagged 25 times, with 12 of those holds against the offense. Many of those have come deep in opponent territory, contributing to the Wildcats having to settle for seven field goals on 16 red zone trips.

“Sometimes I think it’s lack of fundamentals when we get tired,” Doege said. “If you look at most of the holdings (they) have come on the back end of the drives. We’re letting the fatigue dictate what our job responsibility is.”

At least twice this season a touchdown run by Fifita has been called back because of a hold. Chubba Ma’ae, who started at left guard against Kansas State, said it’s difficult to recognize when there’s a scramble but there are tells from the defender.

“You learn to kind of read their body language,” he said. “You can kind of tell when the quarterback is rolling out a certain way because their eyes follow them.”

Left tackle Rhino Tapa’toutai has been called for four holds in 47 snaps since returning from knee surgery. Brennan has referred to him being on a “pitch count” so far, but with a bye week to get up to speed more this problem could get corrected.

To Turnover Sword or not to Turnover Sword

In 2023, then-defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen debuted the Turnover Sword, Arizona’s entry into the college football prop trend that caught fire in 2017 with Miami’s turnover chain. The Wildcats kept the sword last year even though Nansen moved on to Texas, where he unveiled an eerily similar version, and it remains part of the Wildcats’ sideline celebration after a takeaway.

And it’s gotten plenty of use, as the UA has intercepted five passes and recovered three fumbles in three games. But current defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales has included fourth down stops in the criteria for stabbing an opponent’s football onto the sword, which explains why there were five Kansas State balls on it after the last game despite only one takeaway.

“A fourth down stop is a turnover on downs,” Gonzales said. “It is a turnover, and it is one of the most momentum changing plays in the game when you stop something on fourth down.”

Arizona made four 4^th down stops against Kansas State and for the season opponents are 1 for 6 on 4^th down. Iowa State has converted all three 4^th down plays, each coming in the opener against K-State.

Praise for fellow Big 12 coaches, current and (now) former

Iowa State has been under the guidance of Matt Campbell since 2016, which is tied for the 12th-longest active tenure in FBS. It was tied for 13^th before Oklahoma State fired Mike Gundy on Tuesday, but more on that later.

Campbell, whose first game as a head coach at Toledo in 2012 was an overtime loss at Arizona, is 68-51 with the Cyclones with seven winning seasons. On Monday Brennan called Campbell a “universally respected head football coach,” and part of that is because of his willingness to stay at Iowa State and not look elsewhere.

So, too, was ISU’s willingness to stick with him after being just 26-25 after his first four seasons.

“I think it’s super important for people to understand how valuable continuity is in a football program, especially at this level,” Gonzales said. “If you’re going to pop coaches every two to three years, like, you’re going to have the same result every two or three years, it’s what’s going to happen.”

Gundy, who was 170-90 as Oklahoma State’s coach since 2005, was let go following a 1-2 start to this season that included a 69-3 loss at Oregon and then a home loss to Tulsa. The Cowboys, who were in the 2023 Big 12 title game, have lost 11 of 12.

“I’ve always admired him because he’s unapologetically himself,” Doege said of Gundy, against whom he played as a quarterback at Texas Tech in 2011-12. “Mike Gundy is going to be Mike Gundy regardless of the circumstance, regardless of the situation, regardless of the arena. When we played them, they were hard to beat. I think he’s got a lot to be proud of, the history, of the tradition that he’s built to Oklahoma State. Obviously, you hate to see something like that happen to a guy that’s built the place up. As coaches, we understand this business, and we understand that it’s about winning and winning all the time.”