Brent Brennan alerts Arizona Wildcats after surprising results in Week 0

Arizona was able to sit back and relax and enjoy the opening weekend of the college football season.

When all the action was over, they probably breathed a sigh of relief that they were back home and didn’t have to play in one of the four games in which schools from different levels of the sport showcased their skills.

Before Week 0, the list was viewed primarily as an appetizer, as not a single game was expected to end with a single-digit margin.

Instead, it produced some surprising results.

First, Florida State, the preseason ACC favorite, suffered a surprise loss to Georgia Tech in a game that has been the talk of the college football world ever since the walk-off field goal went through the goal posts.

FCS program Montana State then got dominated by Arizona’s upcoming opponent New Mexico as a double-digit favorite before mounting a comeback in the fourth quarter to take a 17-point lead.

Even the big favorites SMU and Hawaii were put under some pressure during their competitions, which was unexpected.

As the Wildcats prepare to face New Mexico in Week 1, head coach Brent Brennan is making sure his players have taken note of what happened over the weekend and what can happen if they are not ready to play.

“It’s definitely something we talk about. Every game is different and it’s all about how you prepare and what mindset you go into it with. I don’t know why those things happened on Saturday, but you have to give credit to teams for either pushing other teams to the limit or, in Georgia Tech’s case, finding a way to get it done,” he said at his weekly press conference.

Brennan believes being able to watch the Lobos’ game against Montana State was beneficial to them as it gave him and his team an idea of ​​what to expect when these two teams face off on Saturday.

“They seem to be playing hard. Defensively they’re definitely creative and offensively they have some weapons. I feel like they were one catch away from being finished. They’ll be ready to play,” he said.

So how can Arizona avoid the fate of Florida State or, like the other big favorites, almost experience disappointment in Week 0?

“My message to the team is that it’s all about us. It’s about our process and our preparation. It’s very, very simple, it’s boring and it’s not sexy… It’s about us and this football team and how we approach our preparations for this game this week and then how we perform on Saturday,” he added.

That is certainly the right attitude.

This is a game Arizona must dominate if they truly want to compete for the Big 12 Conference title, not to mention a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Whether this will happen will be seen on Saturday.

Click here for a more detailed preview of this duel.