For all the noise Arizona made last offseason—holding onto QB1 Noah Fifita and wideout Tetairoa McMillan—it didn’t amount to much on the scoreboard. The Arizona Wildcats finished with a whimper at 4-8 and carried the second-worst scoring offense in the Big 12. While Arizona State stunned the country with a title run, Brent Brennan’s first year in Tucson felt like a slow burn. Still, there’s a belief inside the building that things are about to turn. Why? Because Brennan kept his QB, and he’s betting big on the system that surrounds him.

On 365 Sports, Brent Brennan broke it down. “Noah Fifita is a really special young man and I think people are going to love watching him play in Coach Di’s offense. I think it’s really tailored a little bit to who he is with his ability to deliver the ball quickly and accurately,” Brennan said. The Wildcats added pieces through the portal, player development, and recruiting, especially in the receiver room. “I really love that receiver group. I think that’s going to be a lot of fun and I feel good about the tight end position and the running back room,” he added. “To do this the way we want to do it… we’re going to have to distribute the ball all over the field. And I think Noah gives us a great chance to do that.”

Behind the scenes, Brent Brennan and Noah Fifita found common ground quickly. “It was awesome,” Brennan said about their initial conversations. “When we brought him in here to meet with us, one of the things that was really interesting to me was he talked about what they went through at Marshall last year. They had a great season, and they won the conference—a magical run for that program.”

What caught Brennan’s eye wasn’t just the wins; it was the adaptability. “He was in a situation where he had to kind of alter what they were doing and develop a little bit more quarterback run because their quarterback was really an effective runner,” Brennan explained.

That type of flexibility is what Brennan is betting on in 2024. Fifita finished last year with just under 3,000 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and 12 INTs. Despite having a future first-round pick in McMillan at his disposal, the offense never found its rhythm. Arizona’s rushing attack ranked second-worst in the conference, and seven different starting offensive line combinations made consistency a fantasy.

The good news? Help is coming. Arizona inked 11 scholarship offensive linemen in the 2025 class and picked up key skill-position talent like running back Ismail Mahdi and wide receiver Kris Hutson through the portal.

Brennan’s system, driven by offensive coordinator Seth Doege’s tempo-heavy scheme, demands not just speed but stamina. Linemen have to move fast, adjust faster, and protect long enough for Fifita’s quick-fire accuracy to shine. If Arizona gives its passer time, he’ll make good on the faith his coach has in him. The scheme is designed to put pressure on defenses sideline to sideline—now it just needs the horsepower to run it.

There’s no sugarcoating it—the Big 12 is a madhouse. It’s a conference where chaos reigns and expectations are more of a suggestion than a rule. If you’d to ask, the Big 12 is the best conference in college football. Are any of the teams surefire title contenders? Probably not. Is every game batshit insane and unpredictable? Absolutely. That suits Arizona just fine. They’ve been in the shadows long enough.

Brent Brennan embraces year 1 Big 12 chaos

If Brent Brennan didn’t know what he was signing up for in the Big 12, he sure does now. And he’s not backing down from the challenge—it’s clear he’s leaning into the chaos. The league didn’t just absorb the Pac-12’s leftovers in realignment; it swallowed their wild soul. Welcome to a conference where every week feels like a rivalry game and absolutely no one gets a free pass.

“The Big 12 is a tough conference,” Brennan admitted. “I think the thing that’s really interesting about it is I think the conference is incredibly deep. I think there’s, you know, every team in the conference is good enough to beat you.” That’s the exact kind of brutal honesty you get from a coach who’s about to walk into stadiums that feel more like cages.

“When you go on the road, you’re not going to play in any empty stadiums,” he said. “You’re going to play in absolutely sold-out, rabid fan bases that are on you the moment you step into the stadium.” Brennan’s well aware the league is full of teams with traditions louder than their speakers and fans louder than their marching bands. “You have your traditions. Obviously, the four schools from the Pac-12 have theirs, and everybody else does.” Welcome to the jungle.