Arizona Football Schedule Breakdown

breaking down Arizona football schedule there are a couple interesting must wins for the wild cats or it must split how about that you are locked on Wildcats your daily podcast on the Arizona Wildcats part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day thanks for keeping it locked on wild cats I'm your host Mike Luke and all right now this show is brought to you by FanDuel check it out again FanDuel you know the drill all kinds of good stuff at FanDuel fanduel.com you will thank me later again place to bet all of the good stuff all right now we're going to talk Arizona football there's schedule games that we need to keep the games that we should all keep an eye on and all of that good stuff I think the first and foremost is Arizona your first two games of the Season you got New Mexico and you got NAU you should blast both of those teams those should be absolute destructions and if it's not then obviously we are going to have to recalibrate some expectations but joking aside I expect those both to be easy wins for the wild cats but then it's going to be interesting because you have your toughest you have your toughest stretch of the season to begin to begin the uh you know with Kan you got at Kansas State and you've got at Utah and those are the games that we are going to really really hit on here and because I think that they're very very important um with Kansas State and Utah it's this you obviously want to be able to beat you obviously want to be able to beat both of these teams but you got to get a split now if you would uh if you could prefer to win one game you would prefer to beat you'd prefer to beat Utah because obviously Utah is a conference game Kansas State the game was scheduled before so that is not a conference game but there's obviously with that you got to obviously keep an eye on that as well now with uh with um Kansas State let's talk a little bit about that game that's going to be a game Friday night in Manhattan and I think that it's going to be interesting to see what exactly uh what exactly does uh transpire there because Kansas State's good their defense is really good I think we know that their def um and then obviously you've got really really good running backs uh you got really really good running backs you also have a uh you also have a player in um you also have a player in ay Johnson that is probably going to be one of the better players in the conference if he can reach his potential everyone loves Avery Johnson and I think that uh there's a there's reason there's reason to understand it I mean again he was a high fourstar kid he's very fast and his arm is I think his arm is somewhat underrated and not only is it underrated it is a uh you know I think that there's a lot to like I think that he can be a Sunday football player so we will see how that one does play out but overall um Kansas state is solid you don't essentially run off a guy like will Howard who's good enough to go to Ohio State without having a real plan of succession what that is and that's obviously Avery Johnson now when it comes to uh when it comes to the running game you've obviously got two good backs there obviously a transfer from Colorado as well so we will see um this is going to be a tough game it's going to be obviously in Manhattan I will be there and um but I think it's a game that Arizona can definitely win now um with the big thing with Arizona football is that you can definitely uh you can definitely get to the uh college football playoffs with two losses and I think that is a big part of it you're probably going to have two losses when you get to um but where can those where can those losses come from and that's why I think that it is imperative that Arizona at least splits these first two games because if you don't split those first two games if you lose both of them then you have a lot of pressure to Ascent to well not essentially to win out at that point and if you win out if you win out then I think that uh you know obviously you need that to be able to be you obviously need that to happen now with the um C uh you Utah then it becomes a little bit interesting because with Utah um listen they've got probably the best defense in the Big 12 and if it's not the best defense in the Big 12 it is right there and I think a big part of that is that uh I think a big part of it is that um you know you know what you can get you know what you're getting from that uh from that Squad you're they're going to be tough they are going to be uh they're going to be relentless on defense and I think they're banking on cam Rising being good um I you know again I don't know for a fact that cam Rising is going to be good I think it's difficult to sit here and say that he is going to be good because um he didn't play he hasn't played and he hasn't played in two years when he uh when he does play he's super uh there's a lot of Moxy to his game he's very uh you know he's he's good and also he's also a uh he's also a player that is a uh I think he's pretty much I think it's pretty much fair to say that um you can win a lot of games with him but we didn't see him last year so who knows exactly how that one is going to play out we shall see but those are the two games in Arizona they're going to be Road games as well don't obviously I would prefer that Arizona beats Utah but um you got to get one of those games because then you don't really have any margin for error and you do have some tough teams that can beat you after that and I think that's where uh if you're an Arizona fan you're uh that's essentially what you're looking at now um after that it uh I think it's uh fascinating you because you got some games that I think that you should be able to win you got Texas Tech then you've got uh you got Texas Tech then you've got BYU and I think with both of those teams listen um Texas Tech you should be able to beat Arizona's just got better football players than Texas Tech and BYU it's at it's in Provo So that obviously gives you a little bit of pause but it's also a game that I think that we Arizona fans should expect to be able to get a victory out of because again uh they're pick the Finish as one of the very worst teams in the conference it does feel weird uh it does feel weird saying that but it uh that just kind of that just kind of is what it is um with uh then you've got obviously after that you got Colorado everybody likes uh everybody you know obviously Dion Sanders is the uh Dion Sanders is the you know he's the guy that everybody's talking about in college football um youve got a lot of distractions going on there obviously Shiloh Sanders that whole USA Today expose was put out there where he did a lot of stuff and Dion essentially is trying to kind of run from it but Colorado does have a lot of talent my question for Colorado and I'm glad that Arizona gets them at home but my question about Colorado is will they become dysfunctional the second that things start going poorly because that's been something that we've seen from these uh from these players that when things start going poorly they start blaming other people and um I think you know you know and especially with Dion Dion I think is kind of that same way as well I don't know that there's a lot of I don't know that there's a lot of uh how do I put this um maturity on that team or in that coaching staff Arizona goes to Colorado or excuse me Colorado comes here Arizona should uh Arizona in my opinion should be able to win uh win that game I think that Arizona just has better players now again there's certain positions uh that Colorado is probably better at but over like you know it's probably a deeper wide receiver unit but I'll take Arizona's team and I'll take Arizona at home Arizona should be able to win that game so that kind of gets you to the halfway mark of the season and at that point I'd like Arizona to be able to have only a possible one loss because again this is where uh this is where it kind of comes down to for me if uh Arizona needs to I think Arizona needs to be able to put get into the college football playoffs this year and if Arizona can get into the college football playoffs then it makes it a lot EAS easier for Arizona to be able to look forward and say that you know things are headed in the right direction yeah etc etc etc but you can't that's why I keep coming back to that you can't drop both of those games you've got to be able to either beat Kansas State or Utah again preferably Utah but it's got to be one of those two games and if uh if Arizona can be get that then I think you feel like you're in pretty good shape because the rest of the schedule I think is very manageable those two games are those two games are going to be obviously difficult for the wild cats but either way like we said we need a split so we're going to break down the rest of the schedule and what it all means but first FanDuel check it out fanduel.com all kinds of really really good stuff at FanDuel and the great thing about it too is that you can bet on games uh you know you got football here you got basketball right around the corner obviously check it out fan is here to help you they want you to be able to have a good time with all of this so again check it out FanDuel another one of these ones where you will thank me later but again uh put down put down a little bit of money get some action in the game and it becomes a lot more enjoyable after that so again fanduel.com another one of these ones that uh you know uh Sports is here or BigTime Sports is here make it even more enjoyable with a little bit of skin in the game thanks for keeping it lock on wild cats and making this your first listen of the day I am your host Mike Luke all right now let's talk a little bit about going forward then with the rest second half of this schedule we talked about it you should be able to beat the snot out of New Mexico you should be able to beat the snot out of NAU obviously and then when it comes down to it just need a split don't care how it happen but if you beat Utah or you beat Kansas State then I think that you're uh you're sitting very very good with all of this so again we will find a we will find this out we'll see how this does play so a big part of this now is what is the next step for Arizona football when it comes to uh when it comes to the schedule and that's where we're going to talk about now so then you got West Virginia West Virginia would be a game I'd be very worried about if that was in morgant town because again it's kind of like UCF and that it's a difficult place to play it's a long travel you're traveling across the country but there are some things to like about West Virginia you've obvious U you know you've uh you got a CT you got a uh you know it's a it's basically been a solid team you come in here though Arizona in my opinion should be able to beat West Virginia being there coming in here then you got at UCF at UCF is a game that worries me and worries a great deal um you're going there it's the space game so the uh generally you don't uh generally they do not lose the space game and that is uh and you know Gus Malon has done a very very good job um and uh not only does uh um Gus Gus Malon do a good job KJ Jefferson though is the uh KJ Jefferson is a guy who you know can move uh you know move around he showed at Arkansas that he's a good football player and I think you're going to see the most out of him you also have very good skill position players you're traveling across the country and it is a I think it's something that you've got to uh you know you've got to uh you got to take into account I think that Arizona there's a high I think there's a real chance that Arizona is going to lose that game because again UCF is good you are traveling across the country nobody uh nobody likes to make that trip and um so again that's if that's a loss I'm I'm putting that at two losses at this point then I think Arizona needs to win out um listen you get you you get Houston that's at home Arizona needs to beat Houston it's at home I get that Houston has had some Talent over the years but Ed Oliver not walking through that door and they are coming here that's another thing Arizona's got to be able to protect home because you got a lot you got some difficult Road games which we've already broke down but Arizona's got to be able to uh Arizona's got to be able to uh you know take care of business there and then with uh then with um you've got after that you got TCU TCU is a little bit of a trap game for me because again Sunny dkes is a really good coach they're they're a year removed from being a you know being in the national championship game so you got to remember that um but they uh they were not very good last year obviously and I think that uh you know Arizona's going to that Arizona's going there Arizona should be able to beat TCU though I am banking on an Arizona win over the horn frogs but again don't love it mainly because I think the TCU is probably a little bit underrated and I think that they have a coaching staff that uh you know knows what they're doing and it's the game before ASU so that you know that worries me um but those are G wins that I think or games that Arizona should be able to win then you got ASU listen um with ASU I don't think that uh I don't think you're watching this ASU team and saying that uh they're good but I do expect them to be better than last year now again they've had some rough uh some tough news obviously they've dealt with some injuries on the D line uh Williams or Nickelback announced that his retirement which is a big time loss for ASU um but Arizona's better Arizona's better across the board um I'm not sure if you were look at if you were look at the 22-man roster which players at ASU would play would start at Arizona and I think it's a probably a very very limited group of players you may be the center um you know maybe a couple guys on defense maybe Jordan Tyson I don't know but overall this is not a uh this is not a very talented team when you look at Arizona compared to them I think Arizona should beat the crap out of ASU now I get that it's a rivalry game I get all of that but I still believe that sometimes you know Talent wins out and Arizona just has more talented players so that's where I'm at I believe that Arizona should be able to get through this uh get through this season with only two two losses I do I think that there I think you got two and if you that's the case then I think you're looking at the college football playoffs I really do and who knows maybe you win a game maybe you win a couple games who knows but that to me is the uh that to me is the bare minimum you got to be able to get two wins and if you can get two wins then I think that you feel pretty good about uh you know I mean you know two losses I think you feel pretty good about where you are if you're the wild cats and this season under Brent Brennan because again this is a team that um this is a team this is a program that needs to win now again we talked about it you're not probably not going to be getting a T-Mac a you know Jonas savan players like that so you got to be able to capitalize you got to be able to strike while the iron is hot and I think this coaching staff knows that so again we will we'll see how this all plays out but overall that's kind of where I'm at with this squad and uh that's you know looking at it now let's look at some of these games which ones are games that you know could be a little bit more difficult than maybe some people think and um you know I think that listen uh everybody knows that you've got you know you got New Mexico Northern Arizona those are games that those are not trap games those are not be difficult at BYU worries me a little bit not because BYU is good they're not good but again it's in probo probably not a game that you can just chalk down as is a sure win even though you should be able to win that game you should be able to win that game easily but again you're traveling to Provo got to keep that in mind Colorado not many people expect a ton out of Colorado but and I don't either I don't either but you also gota you also got to sit here and say that Colorado is a very talented football program um you know listen shadur Sanders is very very good there's you can watch him for five seconds and you can see that uh and you know the wide receiving core you know lonte Webster a Jimmy horn a uh um a Travis Hunter obviously those dudes those are all really really good football players so you got to be able to keep you got to keep that in mind I think you take a step back at the running back um I don't know uh and then on the old line it can't be any worse than it it can't be any worse than it was last year so you gotta think about that but that's obviously the question and then on defense um listen you brought in a lot better you you got better players on defense you got better players across the board you know when you bring in BJ green when you bring in some of the dudes like pit from Pittsburgh and you know at the linebacker spot and then obviously in the secondary you still have Travis Hunter there's a lot of talent there that said I think it's also going to be dysfunctional talent I think that Arizona should be able to win that game but Colorado will not be an easy game I don't you know I'm not like I said I'm not sitting here breaking any news on that one uh we talked about it a great deal with uh with UCF UCF is interesting because with UCF you uh you know it's a tough place to play you got a lot of talent um that game I think is going to be a loss for Arizona I'd love to be wrong but that game if I were to look at it I was thinking that uh I was thinking I'm thinking that's a loss and then after that like I said I think TCU is a game that could be a little bit more difficult than maybe some people imagin but that's kind of what I'm looking at and like I said when it comes down to it this season comes down to one thing for me and we're going to talk about that but first game time check it out download the game time app use code lockon college for $20 off your first purchase terms do apply again the great thing with game time is and it's very very simple is that you can get tickets at the last minute and you can get these tickets lowest price guaranteed all kinds of really really good stuff and I think the thing about it is with game time that you know that um with game time you know that uh you know that um you know they're gonna they're going to be able to help you there's a lot of times when you're kind of scrambling at the last second and you're thinking to yourself man this going to be difficult for me but game time they have your back download the game time app today use code locked on college for $20 off your first purchase terms do apply again check it out game time thanks for keeping it locked on on Wildcats I'm your host Mike Luke now let's uh let's talk a little bit uh let's talk a little bit about um let's talk a little bit about what we got going on here at uh what we got going on here as far as what the season is again nine wins uh nine wins is my bare minimum it's got to be nine wins I don't care how how you get there it's got to be nine wins because I think if it's nine wins then you're uh I think that then it's a little bit uh you know you can continue to build on that and that's kind of the that's the good thing about it and with uh with uh nine wins you can also build on something that Arizona's had a difficult time with in the past being able to string together really good seasons in a row it always seems like you know there always something you know what's the next uh what's the next thing to fall or what's the next uh you know issue that somebody's going to have with Arizona it is what it is um you got to be able to win you got to be able to win now there's uh there's some good uh like I said there's a good roster there's a load it's a loaded roster and there's uh there you know again you should be able to do that again I'm not asking you to win the college football playoffs I'm not asking you to win the national championship but I am asking you to take advantage of a roster that you're probably not going to have intact next year so again you gotta check I think you got to do it and with Noah faid the uh I think with Noah faid that's kind of where it's um you know you know you got a really good quarterback you know that you got the best wide receiver in college football take advantage of it take advantage of it all of these games there's no game on the schedule where you're like all right Arizona has no chance of winning that we've gone through a lot of years in the past where you looked at the schedule and you said okay Arizona has no chance of winning that so you got to keep that one in mind but so that's kind of where it's at now with h with Arizona um you know and Brent Brennan we're gonna find out a lot about Brent Brennan this year we really are we're going to find out what exactly Brent Brennan is as a head coach with a lot of talent you know we've seen him be sourceful at San Jose State but that's also it's also a lot different though if you're doing that at a team you know with top 25 Talent OR top 25 expectations with three or four guys that are you know amongst the best players in college football and three first round picks he hasn't coached players like this before he hasn't coached players of this T caliber so we'll see exactly what he can do I think he's going to do just fine but you also don't know until you see it I do feel comfortable though having him as the coach mainly because I think would be a little bit more difficult if uh you were just bringing in a first if you were just bringing in a coach on his first time and he's having to deal with this type of talent that's kind of where I think it's um that's kind of where it's it's at at this point so we will see how this all does play out but overall um big expectations for the season and it's a schedule that is not easy but it's a very navigatable schedule how about that and you know again Arizona should in my opinion Arizona should be able to to take care of business here so get nine wins try to get in the college football playoffs or at least be lingering around there and then I think you can continue to use that for recruiting purposes going to continue to recruit Texas you're going to continue to recruit a lot of different places so we will see how that plays out but overall good stuff now we're going to talk tomorrow about can Arizona football be better in 2024 than it was in 23 I think there's an interesting case to be made for it we will see how that does play out but but there are positions you know or there are you know coaching situations where you're like all right a little bit more Talent there than uh maybe the previous coaching staff uh you know or they're able to utilize players in a way that maybe the pre previous coaching staff couldn't so again there's I think there's a case to be made and I think it's going to be an exciting one to make but overall Big Time expectations for the U OFA this year cannot fall flat on your face have to be able to take advantage of this while the time is here and then we're also going to talk a little Arizona Point Guard recruiting if we have some time because again Tommy Lloyd got to be able to get another point guard in here as well but as always thanks for making lock on Wildcats your first listen of the day bear down back the A and we will be back with you tomorrow have a absolute great rest of your day