The honeymoon didn’t last long for Arizona head football coach Brent Brennan.

Taking over a team coming off a banner 2023 season and loaded with expectations in 2024, Brennan had his own fans questioning his job security throughout a dismal first year. As the 4-8 season came to a close, however, Wildcats athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois backed her coach.

This summer, BuffZone is previewing each of Colorado’s opponents for the 2025 season and in this installment we look at Arizona, which will visit the Buffs in Boulder on Nov. 1.

Brennan turned around San Jose State before taking over at Arizona, which went 10-3 in 2023 under Jedd Fisch, who bolted after that year for Washington (taking several key Wildcats with him).

Despite having one of the best receivers in the country last year in Tetairoa McMillan (the No. 8 pick this year’s NFL Draft) and a returning starter at quarterback, Arizona sputtered offensively. One of the preseason favorites in the Big 12, the Wildcats went 1-7 in their last eight games.

Behind new coordinators and a whole lot of transfers, Brennan is looking to get the Wildcats back on track.

“I think we’re really excited about where we’re at right now with this team,” Brennan said in a recent interview with 365 Sports. “We’ve had a great offseason, we’ve added some key players in the portal and we’ve also added some big-time personnel in the coaching and recruiting department. We’re moving forward. Our guys are locked into the process, and we’re getting after it every single day here.”

Seth Doege takes over as offensive coordinator after filling that role at Marshall last year. He runs an up-tempo offense and helped Marshall score 9.0 more points per game than in 2023. He’ll look to do the same for an Arizona offense that averaged just 21.8 points last year (114th nationally), a number that drops to 18.2 when taking out a 61-point burst in the opener against New Mexico.

Noah Fifita is back at quarterback, but the Wildcats need him to return to 2023 form (72.4% completion rate, 25 touchdowns, six interceptions) and not have a repeat of 2024 (60.5% completion rate, 18 TDs, 12 INTs).

McMillan, leading rusher Quali Conley and most of the offensive line from last year is gone, so the Wildcats added 16 offensive transfers, including seven linemen and five receivers.

Running back Kedrick Reescano (359 yards) returns, but transfers Ismail Mahdi (991 yards at Texas State last year), Quincy Craig (602 yards at Portland State) and Mike Mitchell (158 yards at Utah) should boost a ground game that ranked 119th nationally.

Last year’s No. 2 receiver Chris Hunter (35 catches, 323 yards, three TDs) is back, but a host of transfers, including Kris Hutson (54 catches for 683 yards at Washington State), Javin Whatley (56 catches for 697 yards at Chattanooga) and Luke Wysong (69 catches for 840 yards at New Mexico) will battle for starting roles.

Defensively, Arizona gave up 31.8 points per game (ranking 108th) but promoted Danny Gonzales, who was the linebackers coach last year, to coordinator.

A trio of key defenders left to join Fisch at Washington this offseason, but Arizona returns its top four tacklers and six starters overall. Linebacker Taye Brown, defensive end Tre Smith, nickel Treydan Stukes and safeties Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith are all key returners.

A plethora of transfers are expected to be in the rotation, including defensive lineman Tiaoalii Savea. He was a part-time starter at Arizona in 2023 (22 tackles, six tackles for loss) and is back after playing at Texas last year.

Outside expectations are low, but the Wildcats have some pieces in place to rise above those expectations and post a winning season.

“I just feel like we’re way further ahead (than last year),” Brennan said. “I feel like we’re in a great spot. I think this team knows what the expectations are for how we work and how we go about our business. These kids have been fantastic buying in.”