Arizona football’s Brent Brennan: Territorial Cup loss to ASU ‘soul crushing’

From the opening kickoff on Saturday, the Arizona Wildcats were outgunned and outmatched in a 49-7 Territorial Cup defeat at the hands of No. 16 Arizona State. In front of their home fans in Tucson no less.

“For us to be so unproductive today, soul crushing I would say,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan told reporters in his postgame remarks.

“(Arizona State’s) got a good football team. As much as that hurts me to say, I got to respect it.”

That respect extends to the Big 12 Championship, which will feature the Sun Devils and No. 18 Iowa State Cyclones on Dec. 7 in Arlington, Texas.

Brennan quickly transitioned his focus to the Wildcats’ upcoming signing day before taking questions. A pile of defensive injuries certainly hurt Arizona down the stretch in a season it was picked as one of three favorites to win the Big 12. But for a squad with three projected first-round NFL draft picks, the sheer amount of available talent was undeniable, and Brennan only highlighted the collective disappointment.

Despite finishing 4-8 (2-7), Brennan said he remains optimistic about the program’s future. When he looks at the program as whole, with administration and revenue share included, Brennan is confident in keeping turnover to a minimum in 2025.

“I’m excited to move forward,” Brennan said. “This year was not fun. It was absolutely misery. There were some fun moments, but not nearly enough.”

He closed off that sentiment by apologizing to all parties involved: his team, his school and the fans.

Only one year removed from being ranked among the AP’s Top 25 teams and an emphatic 59-23 win over ASU, Arizona fell way short of expectations.

With quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan sticking together after the departure of Jedd Fisch to Washington, the Wildcats’ offense was supposed to be high octane and make up for any defensive deficiencies. However, that wasn’t the case for almost the entire season.

The 2024 edition of the Territorial Cup was no exception. Arizona only put up 210 yards. Its lone touchdown was well after the game was out of reach.

McMillan hauled in a 28-yard pass from Fifita on the Wildcats’ opening possession of the second half for his 26th career touchdown. Other than that, the 6-foot-5 Biletnikoff Award semifinalist had a pedestrian six catches and 68 yards. He did enjoy the team’s only end-zone trip, blowing kisses after what most likely will be his final collegiate touchdown.

Brennan was nothing but congratulatory toward McMillan for what the junior has brought to Tucson, including being the only Wildcat wideout to post back-to-back seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards. McMillan also passed current Arizona receivers coach Bobby Wade (1999-2002) to become the program’s leader in career reception yards against TCU on Nov. 23.

McMillan’s tally was bookmarked at 3,423 yards in the ashes of a massive Territorial Cup defeat.

“He’s an awesome person,” Brennan said. “If he decides to go to the NFL, which everyone’s assuming he is, he hasn’t made that official statement yet, but we want what’s best for him.

“He’s a Wildcat forever, and a great human being. Everyone will always be rooting for T-Mac. Always.”

Brennan referenced past coaching hurdles he overcame while at San Jose State from 2017-2023. After consecutive 11-loss campaigns, Brennan led the Spartans to three winning records and three bowl games (though all three were losses) in his final five years.

The optimism was genuine from Brennan, but his future with Arizona is all but guaranteed in an era of college football riddled with NIL deals and transfer portal activity.

And he was inevitably asked about possible coaching changes.

“That starts (Sunday),” Brennan said. “We have recruits here tomorrow, so I got a busy night ahead of me.”

Brennan said everything in regards to the program is on the table. Besides answering recruits’ questions, Arizona football will be answering a few of its own.

“You only have one choice when you’re in this position,” Brennan said. “And that is to go to work, and believe that you can (bounce back).”

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