Brent Brennan and the Arizona Wildcats are 1-0 to start the 2026 college football season, securing a 35-7 win over FCS opponent Northern Arizona at Casino Del Sol Stadium on Saturday night.
The offense came out of the gate firing, scoring three touchdowns through four drives, establishing the run early and letting Noah Fifita spread the love - he completed 22 passes to nine different receivers before exiting after three quarters.
The defense was excellent as well, forcing NAU QB Ty Pennington to throw on the move all night long, and completely stuffing the run game - holding the Lumberjacks to -7 rushing yards.
Arizona running back Kedrick Reescano (10 carries, 48 yards, two touchdowns) and defensive back Quinn Olson (first career interception) took the podium after the game to talk about their performances, how they prepared for this matchup, and how they are feeling about a revenge game against BYU in Week 2:
"It felt great. I don't think things are as clean as we wanted, but honestly, like I say all the time I think I had the easiest job out there. My o-line, they really scored that touchdown.
Sep 5, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats safety Quinn Olson (35) celebrates after a turnover against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks during the third quarter at Casino Del Sol Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
"Getting put on scholarship that was a big moment for me. But also I tried to stay locked in on tonight's game. I was obviously excited for that, but my focus was on tonight. Our d-line just forced the quarterback to throw it all night, and once he released it I knew I could go make a play on it. At that point, it was just make the catch."
"I was super freaking proud of Antwan today man. An explosive player as you can see. When he gets the ball watch out, because he can go score with it anytime."
"They're a great team and our coaches had a great game plan for us going into this week. So it was just about execution, and our d-line they did a great job forcing quarterback hurries. Our linebackers were all over the field, our DBs we just had to make plays in the secondary. It started up front, and they did a great job tonight."
Reescano: "It was a sour feeling. I think it still gets to a lot of us. Losing that game last year was one of the hardest things that we went through as a team, and being able to go forward and get another opportunity at them, a lot of us have been preparing for this moment."
Olson: "Pretty much what K [Reescano] said, we thought last year we let one get away from us. This year, starting tomorrow, we're going to start prepping and doing whatever we can to walk out of Provo with a W."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/arizona as What Kedrick Reescano and Quinn Olson said after Arizona's 35-7 win over NAU .
