Arizona suffered its first loss in the Brent Brennan era, lost 31-7 at Kansas State on Friday night. There were glimpses of strong play in every phase, but overall it wasn’t enough to take on a very physical Kansas State team.

See how we rated each part of the Wildcats:

Attack: D-

The offense started very strong, marching 73 yards with Quali Conley finishing with a 1-yard touchdown run. It was his fourth of the season, and the drive also featured two third down conversions and a fourth down conversion.

From there the offense would struggle. They would go three and out on their next drive and after marching down the field again, Noah Fifita would make a costly interception as the Wildcats were just outside the red zone.

Arizona would never reach the end zone again, as their drives went like this: Punt, punt, punt, turnover on downs, turnover on downs, turnover on downs.

Fifita completed 26 of 42 passes for 268 yards, including the interception. Tetairoa McMillan finished as the top receiver with 11 catches for 138 yards. Conley finished with 14 carries and 48 yards on the ground.

The offense also had six penalties for 45 yards.

Defense: C-

With a little help from some mistakes by Kansas State, the defense kept Arizona within reach for most of the game. Some issues that still plague the defense are containment and tackling.

QB Avery Johnson ran for 110 yards on 17 carries, making him the leading rusher for Kansas State. Missing tackles led to a lot of long plays for Kansas State, especially in the third quarter. Technique and finishing is something that needs to be improved during the bye week.

Marquis Groves-Killebrew led the team with eight tackles. Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei, Taye BrownAnd Owen Goss all registered sacks tonight.

In total, the defense allowed 391 yards and 21 first downs.

Special Teams: D+

Because Arizona doesn’t have Michael Salgado-Medina And Jordan Forbes can go tonight, kicker Tyler loop took over the punting duties. He punted four times with a long of 53 yards.

The big mistake made by the special teams was a 71-yard punt return from Dylan EdwardsIt was a low kick from Loop, allowing Edwards to turn the corner and use his speed to run away from the punt coverage.

Coaching: D

Brennan made his Big 12 debut tonight and there is a lot to learn from this game.

Overall, it seemed like the team was motivated for the game and showed a lot of grit in the first half. When the game could have slipped away from them early, they gave Kansas State a slap to show that the Tucson Wildcats were there to fight.

As the game progressed, the team seemed to lose confidence. There was a lot of frustration on the faces on both sides of the ball. However, no one was pointing fingers at each other and they stuck together, which is thanks to the way Brennan instilled that mentality in his team.

For the defense, some adjustments needed to be made to quarterback runs and being able to maintain containment. Defensive coordinator Duane Akina will have to deal with finishing and completing tackles.

Many of Kansas State’s plays ended with their players gaining extra yards and charging forward. Kansas State had only three possessions in which they did not score, one of which was a missed field goal.

Offensive coordinator Dino Babes had called the first drive of the game almost perfectly and it looked like Arizona had found its offense after the NAU game. However, as the game wore on, the offense began to sputter and struggled to stay ahead of the chains.

The only thing that seemed consistent was the connection between Fifita and McMillan. Outside of that, the offense struggled to make plays and find a way to move the ball. It was also an entire game with a healthy offensive line, and it struggled to keep the quarterback protected.

The bye week comes at a good time for the Wildcats. Arizona needs the week to get back on track, fix its offensive issues and find a way to improve its tackling.