"The penalty thing has been damaging": Brent Brennan calls for 'discipline' as Arizona becomes one of the most penalized teams
The No. 20 Arizona Wildcats faced a humiliating 31-7 loss to the No. 14 Kansas State Wildcats on Friday. While Kansas State were the favorites going into the matchup, the difference should have been a mere touchdown. Instead, it was a blowout victory for the home team in Manhattan, Kansas.
Coach Brent Brennan was particularly not happy with one aspect of the team's approach on the field. No one in college football has received more penalties than Arizona this season. The team has 28 penalties for 269 yards through three games. Brennan said in the press conference:
"Well, I think the biggest thing we learned as a football team is that we have to be more disciplined. The penalties, especially in week one and tonight, have been damaging. As coaches, I think we could be more demanding about the small technical details that help avoid some of those penalties."
"Every player needs to look at their own technique and footwork—whether it's blocking or receiving—making sure it's giving them the best chance to execute correctly. That's a big part of it. The good news is, we’ve got two weeks to go to work on it."
Brett Brennan took the blame of Arizona's loss on himself
Arizona drew first blood in the contest as their opening drive ended with a touchdown that gave them a 7-0 lead early in the game.
However, from there on, the offense got overwhelmed by Kansas State's secondary. Not to mention some gifted opportunities they let go in the second and third quarters.
The running game was the difference in the contest. While the Kansas State Wildcats hit the ground running with 235 rushing yards, the Arizona Wildcats could only rush for 56 yards in the entire game.
After the game, Brett Brennan had no excuses and took the onus of the loss on himself.
“At the end of the day, I need to coach this team better,” Brennan said. “It all starts with me. The good news is, we have a bye, which gives us a chance to hopefully get some guys healthy and we can get to work on fixing the things that weren't right tonight.”
From hereon, the schedule only gets tougher for Big 12's Arizona. After observing a bye next week, they take on the No. 12 Utah Utes in Week 5. So as Brennan said, they need to iron out chinks in their armor before it's too late.