The last time Arizona played a college football game, the hopes and hype surrounding the program were at their highest in 25 years. What followed was perhaps the most chaotic offseason in school history.

But all that uncertainty is a thing of the past as the Wildcats see light at the end of the tunnel as the 2024 season opener against New Mexico is set for Saturday night.

“We’re finally here,” quarterback Noah Fifita said. “I think with all the things we’ve been through as a team, we’ve come closer than we were. The culture has continued to grow. So I’m really excited to finally be able to play with these guys, to just be able to compete at the highest level, and we’re looking forward to taking it even further.”

First year coach Brent Brennanwho wore a shirt with the words “Loyalty” on it during his press conference on Thursday, said the energy during training this week had been great.

“I’m so happy for these players and for this team and our fans that we’re finally on Game Day,” he said. “It’s obviously been a lot these past seven months.”

Here’s what to look for in the first game of the Brennan era:

New faces

If the first depth map is there any indication, Arizona will have 11 players make their first start for the program. Seven of those are transfers, either from another FBS school or a junior college, while linebacker Taye Brown and defensive lineman Isaiah Johnson will start for the first time after appearing as a reserve in 2023.

But there will be two Wildcats making their first start in their collegiate debuts. Redshirt freshman Rhino Tapa’atoutai He is expected to start at the left tackle position as a freshman Michael Salgado-Medina will be the punter from Arizona.

Brennan said both players got the job based on their performances during training camp, but he also knows how nervous they can be Saturday night.

“He’s a kid with an unbelievable attitude and he’s really talented,” Brennan said of Salgado-Medina. “The biggest thing for him is the first game, freshman year, just keeping everything under control.”

Brennan credits offensive line coach Josh Oglesby to get Tapa’toutai so well prepared to start. Oglesby’s experience playing both tackle positions at Wisconsin, and starting as a redshirt freshman, helped with that process.

“I think Josh has done a fantastic job coaching him,” Brennan said. “We wouldn’t put him on the field if we didn’t think he gave us the best chance to win.”

New technology

Saturday night will also mark the introduction of two pieces of technology to college football: in-helmet communications and sideline tablets. The former was implemented during spring ball, while Microsoft’s tablets hit the market over the summer and both took some getting used to.”

“After we worked out some technical issues, it was cool,” the safety official said. Gunner Maldonadowho will be the defensive player who gets information in his helmet as a linebacker Jacob Manu is not on the field. “It was really cool that Coach could give you a little bit of direction on what you see up top. I’m excited to see how it feels in a live setting.”

STARS coach Brett Arce will be the defensive communicator, with the offensive coordinator Dino Babes in Fifita’s ear.

The Lobos

New Mexico will visit Arizona Stadium for the first time since 2007, when it defeated the UA 36-28. That was the last time the Lobos defeated a power-conference team away from home, while their last win over a ranked team came in 2003 at Utah.

New Mexico is already 0-1 this season after failing to hold onto a 17-point lead at home against Montana State. In 2023, New Mexico is 4-8 (with UA assisting). Danny Gonzales (as head coach) and has not had a winning record since 2016.

Now coached by Bronco Mendenhallwho previously spent time at Virginia and BYU, the Lobos scored two defensive touchdowns on fumbles but also gave up 567 yards, including 362 on the ground. That could mean a big night for Arizona’s running backs, especially Jacory Croskey-Merrittwho will make his UA debut against the team he threw for 1,190 yards and 17 touchdowns with last season.

“I’ve had a couple of players that I’ve coached that have been in the same situation,” Brennan said. “I think the biggest thing for them is don’t make it about you. Make it about this team, because that’s what it’s all about. I think Jacory is in a good frame of mind and he’s excited to play.”

The renewed defense

Arizona’s defense was a huge key to last year’s 10-win performance, and it’s also the side of the ball that faces the most uncertainty heading into the opener. While the secondary is almost completely intact, and Duane Akina is back for another year, this time he’s the one announcing the plays.

The plan according to Akina and the defensive line coach Joe Seumalo is to be aggressive up front, to get “vertical” instead of holding blocks for the linebackers. And that will happen with an almost entirely new set of players rotating at the four spots, with only four of the 14 on the depth chart seeing action for the UA last season.

Akina said he’ll “go by feel” on how to rotate those spots, but he expects big things from the group. Brennan expressed that sentiment earlier this week, saying he had a feeling that unit could be one of the big surprises on the team.

Return of the T-Mac

A consensus pre-season All-American, Tetairoa McMillan is as close to a sure thing as a first-round NFL Draft pick as Arizona has had in a while. That’s assuming the “procedure” he had on his foot at the end of spring ball doesn’t impact his performance this season.

According to the teammate who knows him best, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Earlier in the training camp, Fifita said that McMillan had actually been looking forward to it better than before he was injured or during his breakthrough sophomore year, when he had 90 catches for 1,402 yards and 10 TDs. T-Mac has been a full participant in practice since spending the first two weeks of camp working on the sidelines, but Fifita believes that time has only helped.

“You could see him building his repertoire, from his speed and his power to little things you’ve never seen him do before,” Fifita said. “When you take the best player in the country and give him more tools, it’s pretty scary what he’s going to do this year.”

McMillan enters the year eighth in school history in both receiving yards (2,104) and TDs (18). He needs 1,248 and 15 TDs, respectively, to become the UA career leader.