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Arizona football notebook: Seth Doege’s homecoming, Noah Fifita’s Heisman hopes collide in Lubbock
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- Arizona football notebook: Seth Doege’s homecoming, Noah Fifita’s Heisman hopes collide in Lubbock
Since the trip to Provo, Arizona has rattled off five straight wins and finds itself in the middle of the Big 12 title race. However, so are about five other teams including Texas Tech.
The tone for the rest of the season will be set on Saturday when Arizona visits Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are coming off their first loss of the season and offensive coordinator Seth Doegeexpects them to respond the same way the Wildcats did after the loss to BYU.
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"I expect Texas Tech to play at their best," said Doege. "I feel like, you know, you guys asked us questions after losing to BYU. We were pissed off, and we were ready to respond. I expect them to feel the same way."
Doege will have to battle outside distractions as he is making a trip back home. He played at Texas Tech from 2008-12 and is very appreciative of what he learned during his time in Lubbock.
Homecoming for Doege
Whenever a team goes on the road there are always people guaranteed to be rooting against you, but for Doege it's a bit different. He's expecting 30+ family members to be in attendance and while they will always want the best for Doege, they will be rooting for Texas Tech.
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"My parents still live there, my in-laws live there, we have grandparents there, some of my best friends over at my wedding still live there," said Doege. "They played there. It's gonna be fun. Now it's unique because most of those friends are cheering against me. So that's unique, but that'll be fun. So, I'm excited."
With his contingent in attendance on Saturday, he is tasked with blocking out the outside distractions and making sure the X's and O's part of the game is ready to go. It starts with having a game plan for the Red Raiders' pass rush.
"Depending on what the pressure patterns are, if they have a unique pass rusher, they have somebody that you feel like you don't want to put any of your guys one on one with, you try to tweak and adjust your rules that week, and then there's some protections that you just can't do," said Doege. "Obviously you have to adjust your scheme a little bit to make sure that you're giving your kids a chance to be successful."
Along with adjusting the game plan and pass protection, there also needs to be an acknowledgement of Texas Tech's power. Offensive lineman Alexander Doostknows that the Red Raiders' present one of the biggest challenges the Wildcats will face this season.
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"I'd say power-wise, usually they're a lot bigger dudes," said Doost. "A lot closer to our size, so it's making sure you're not lunging on them because they're going to swim you or get your hands tied."
Outside of the game planning, Doege is grateful for the full circle moment that will be presented to him on Saturday. An appreciation for where Doege's career started and where he spent the earlier years of his life only make Saturday's showdown that much more meaningful.
"Some special memories for sure in that area, and like I said, Texas Tech was a special place to me and I made a lot of memories and a lot of good friends from them," said Doege.
Heisman hopes still alive
While Doege will reminisce on his time in Lubbock this week, he is still focused on making sure Noah Fifita's ending in Tucson finishes the right way. That starts with continuing the conversation of Fifita being one of the best quarterbacks in the country.
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"Noah Fifita is the best quarterback in the country, and I'm going to stand on that 10 toes down until the end of the season and I expect him to play well," said Doege. "I don't want him to apply any more pressure than he already does on himself. I want him to go be Noah Fifita, and it's my job to make sure that he's ready to play and that he has answers to go play at a high level."
The 520 is very aware of how special Fifita is, but the rest of the nation is arriving to the party late. Head coach Brent Brennanbelieves that conversations about his quarterback should've started well before Arizona's slow rise in national recognition.
"I think the national narrative around Noah is slow and late to the game," said Brennan. "I think just his consistent level of play has been outstanding, and it speaks to who he is. It speaks to how he prepares. It speaks to the trust we have in him and his relationship with Coach Doege and what we're doing schematically."
Offensive lineman are the true protectors of quarterbacks but when there's a quarterback with a resume like Fifitas, blocking becomes easier. Doost was not close to Fifita when he first arrived at Arizona, but has since created a strong bond.
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"Having been here for a little while now, I'd say this is like the closest I've been to him and he's a great guy and like I've loved blocking for him," said Doost. "It's the best. He's an amazing quarterback, an amazing guy."
Clearly, the coaches and his teammates believe in Fifita, but now it looks like the fans are starting to show their support. In the Heisman's fan vote week eight leaderboard, Fifita ranked at eighth overall.
He is the highest Big 12 quarterback in the fan vote and the third overall quarterback in the country. As long as the Wildcats keep winning, and Fifita performs at a high level, he will continue to climb the Heisman rankings.
