Arizona trending up in third season under Brennan, has QB Noah Fifita back to lead offense

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Cite

Marshall, J. (2026, August 21). Arizona trending up in third season under Brennan, has QB Noah Fifita back to lead offense. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/arizona-trending-up-in-third-season-under-brennan-has-qb-noah-fifita-back-to-lead-offense/article_7f631921-bd39-5fa8-8e8b-eae1e48d7128.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-08-21 · by John Marshall

Quick Summary

The University of Arizona football team is entering its third season under coach Brent Brennan with high expectations, having finished 9-4 in their second season. Quarterback Noah Fifita returns to lead the offense after throwing for a school-record 29 touchdowns and 3,228 yards last season. The Wildcats have talent on both sides of the ball, but may struggle in the secondary where they lost four players to the NFL. Arizona's key games this season include matchups against top-ranked teams BYU, Texas Tech, Utah, and in-state rival Arizona State.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-21, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

The Arizona Wildcats football team is looking strong heading into its third season under coach Brent Brennan. The team has high expectations after finishing 9-4 last season and returning quarterback Noah Fifita, who threw for a school-record 3,228 yards and 29 touchdowns in his first season with offensive coordinator Seth Doege. Fifita, who is one of the few quarterbacks to play all four seasons for the same team, has improved each year and will feel more comfortable leading the offense. The Wildcats also have talent at receiver, including Tre Spivey, and return leading rusher Ismail Mahdi, who was granted another year of eligibility due to a court order. However, the team does face challenges on defense after losing four defensive backs to the NFL.

Written for “Arizona Football Season Update” on 2026-10-17, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Arizona Football Season Update
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Claims extracted
14
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-21 · how these are computed

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Publisher

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Who wrote this

John Marshall
13 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Monday the Avalanche have granted Hakstol permission to speak with Arizona State about the position and a decision could come later this week.
2026-10-12 · assertive framing · Arizona State in talks with Colorado Avalanche assistant Dave Hakstol about hockey coach job
🔮 Cincinnati also failed on fourth-and-goal from the 2 in the second quarter when Kellen Davis couldn’t come down with a high throw at the edge of the end zone.
2026-10-04 · assertive framing · Fifita accounts for 3 TDs, shorthanded Arizona shuts down Cincinnati for 34-7 win
🔮 Powers will not join the team for its season opener at Lindenwood on Friday in the wake of the Aug. 20 collapse of defenseman Matthew Mayich.
2026-09-30 · assertive framing · ASU hockey coach on leave after player collapsed during outdoor workout
🔮 John and Christina Mayich, parents of 21-year-old Matthew Mayich, released a statement through the family attorney on Tuesday, concurring with a letter sent by seven Arizona State hockey players to university president Michael Crow on Monday.
2026-09-29 · assertive framing · Parents of Arizona State hockey player who collapses call for coaches to be placed on leave
🔮 The letter sent to President Michael Crow through an attorney on Monday also contradicted some of the facts stated in Arizona State’s initial probe into the collapse of Matthew Mayich during an outdoor workout on Aug. 20.
2026-09-28 · assertive framing · Arizona State hockey players send letter to school president about teammate's collapse
🔮 Matthew Mayich collapsed during an Aug. 20 workout and remains hospitalized with what family attorney Rob Carey said was exertional heat stroke that reduced flow of oxygen to his brain.
2026-09-22 · assertive framing · Arizona State report shows training plan not submitted before hockey player's collapse
🔮 That would seemingly set up a season of parity, but not every winning team (so far) is created equal.
2026-09-22 · assertive framing · No. 11 Texas Tech playing with a different vibe in second straight 3-0 start
🔮 That past built what could be a better future in Utah.
2026-09-18 · assertive framing · Utah Mammoth eye deeper postseason run following franchise's first playoff berth
🔮 The reincarnated Pac-12 will try to flex its way into the College Football Playoff.
2026-08-27 · assertive framing · New-look Pac-12 looking to flex its way into CFP with unique schedule at end of regular season
🔮 Fifita threw for 3,228 yards and a school-record 29 TDs in his first season with Doege calling the shots and will feel even more comfortable in Arizona’s offense.
2026-08-21 · assertive framing · Arizona trending up in third season under Brennan, has QB Noah Fifita back to lead offense
Also by John Marshall
Arizona State in talks with Colorado Avalanche assistant Dave Hakstol about hockey coach job
2026-10-12 · Toronto Star
Cardae Mack runs for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns, Arizona State grinds out 30-12- win over Hawaii
2026-10-11 · Toronto Star
Fifita accounts for 3 TDs, shorthanded Arizona shuts down Cincinnati for 34-7 win
2026-10-04 · Toronto Star
ASU hockey coach on leave after player collapsed during outdoor workout
2026-09-30 · The Independent
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 13 articles by John Marshall →

Topics

Ariz. Arizona NFL TUCSON Wildcats

Subjects

Arizona GPE · 7× Wildcats ORG · 5× Fifita PERSON · 3× Dalton Johnson PERSON · 2× Genesis Smith PERSON · 2× Javin Whatley PERSON · 2× Kris Hutson PERSON · 2× Michael Dansby PERSON · 2× NFL ORG · 2× Treydan Stukes PERSON · 2×

Narrative

Key losses in secondary among weaknesses Arizona’s secondary was one of the keys to its defensive resurgence, but the Wildcats lost Dalton Johnson, Genesis Smith, Michael Dansby and Treydan Stukes to the NFL.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-21
🔮 Fifita threw for 3,228 yards and a school-record 29 TDs in his first season with Doege calling the shots and will feel even more comfortable in Arizona’s offense.
2026-08-21 · Toronto Star
Arizona trending up in third season under Brennan, has QB Noah Fifita back to lead offense · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 0 hedged)

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — 2025 record: 9-4 Expectations Arizona took a big step in its second season under coach Brent Brennan, finishing 9-4. asserted
Arizona → take → Brennan
The Wildcats have even higher expectations with the return of quarterback Noah Fifita and offensive coordinator Seth Doege. asserted
Wildcats → have → Fifita
Fifita threw for 3,228 yards and a school-record 29 TDs in his first season with Doege calling the shots and will feel even more comfortable in Arizona’s offense. asserted
Doege → throw → offense
Arizona has talent at receiver despite losing its top two producers and returns leading rusher Ismail Mahdi thanks to a court order granting him another year of eligibility. asserted
Arizona → have → eligibility
The Wildcats took a big step on defense a year ago and will hope to keep the upward trend despite losing four defensive backs to the NFL. asserted
Wildcats → take → NFL
Strengths all over the offense Fifita is the rare quarterback to play all four seasons for the same team. asserted
Fifita → play → team
Though undersized at 5-foot-10, Fifita has gotten better each season. asserted
Fifita → get → foot-10
He threw for a career-high in yards last season and cut his interceptions in half from the previous season, from 12 to six. asserted
He → throw → six
Though Kris Hutson and Javin Whatley are gone, receiver should be a strength with several players back, including Tre Spivey. asserted
receiver → go → Spivey
Mahdi was granted an extra year of eligibility — with linebacker Max Harris — after leading the Wildcats with 853 yards last season Kedrick Reescano also returns. asserted
Reescano → grant → yards
The defense will be anchored by edge rusher Tre Smith and Taye Brown, one of the Big 12’s best linebackers. asserted
defense → anchor → linebackers
Key losses in secondary among weaknesses Arizona’s secondary was one of the keys to its defensive resurgence, but the Wildcats lost Dalton Johnson, Genesis Smith, Michael Dansby and Treydan Stukes to the NFL. asserted
Wildcats → lose → NFL
Arizona restocked the secondary through the transfer portal, but it still will be a question mark heading into the season. asserted
it → restock → season
Arizona struggled with pass protection at times last season and will need to be better this season to give Fifita time to throw. asserted
Arizona → struggle → time
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