⚡ CFB Dashboard

* Tight end Cole Rusk left the NIU game with an undisclosed injury and while his status remains to be seen, there was a notable update on defensive back Daylen Austin. "I don't have any updates on Cole right now," Brennan said. "Daylen Austin has a season-ending injury, which is really unfortunate. He's a great kid. He's going to be a great player here, but he's got a little bit of a mountain to climb, so we're supporting him on that journey right now." * Arizona struggled to run the ball against Northern Illinois and head coach Brent Brennan did not hide his concern when discussing it on Monday. "I felt like some of that execution wasn't where it needs to be in terms of the run game, and some of that was just missed assignments," Brennan said. "Cleaning that up is an absolute priority for us this week. That's something that we have done a really good job of, and I felt like the week before we ran the ball, against a really good BYU team. That's something that we are aggressively attacking right now." * Wide receiver Brandon Phelps saw some time in the slot on Saturday, which is different than how he has been used in the past. "If you want to put a good football player inside or outside, they can make it go," Brennan said. "Some of the stuff we ask those guys to do is different, some of the play calls. The one thing for me with receivers, just being an old receiver guy, is I don't want to have all the same type of body types at receiver. I don't want a bunch of speed and space guys. I don't want a bunch of monsters. I want to be able to mix and match that. BP is one of those kids that's a tough ass kid, and he can make plays and that's shown up the last couple weeks." * Cam Chapa got an extended look at safety due in large part to injuries and the returns are positive. "I felt like watching him Saturday night was the most confident and physical I've seen him play since he's been here," Brennan said. "Maybe that's just him settling in, him getting used to the speed of the game, him getting used to who he's playing against, or he's getting used to the scheme and being able to play. "I think that's one of those things for players, you guys asked me last week about young players and them getting their chance, but when players get a new scheme and they learn know what to do and they really know it, to me that's when you see their talent show because they know what to do. They're no longer processing or thinking. For Chapa, I think like all of a sudden it's like let's go, and he's he's confident playing fast. You saw him trigger. You saw him play physicality. I was really excited for him." * When discussing Saturday's game against Washington State, Brennan made sure to keep the overall approach simple. "This is one of those games where I know the focus for us is just going to be heavy on what sounds basic, but turnover battle, tackling, special teams execution, and just penalty avoidance, avoiding those sins," he said. "They hurt your chances to win in a tough environment on the road." * Noah Fifita was gotten hit more than Arizona would like and it appears the blame isn't solely on the offensive line. "I think it's everybody," Brennan said. "I think everybody has a piece of the execution, and obviously we don't want Noah Fifita getting hit at all if we can avoid it. Protection is O-line, tight ends, backs. It's the receivers getting open on time."