Tetairoa McMillan's record performance lifts No. 21 Arizona to 61-39 win over New Mexico
By JOHN MARSHALL
Posted 8/31/24
Tetairoa McMillan had a school-record 304 yards receiving and matched another with four touchdown catches, all from Noah Fifita, and No. 21 Arizona opened coach Brent Brennan’s first season with a …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
Tetairoa McMillan's record performance lifts No. 21 Arizona to 61-39 win over New Mexico
Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) tries to break a tackle from New Mexico cornerback Bobby Arnold III (0) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)
Posted
By JOHN MARSHALL
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Tetairoa McMillan had a school-record 304 yards receiving and matched another with four touchdown catches — all from Noah Fifita — and No. 21 Arizona opened coach Brent Brennan's first season with a 61-39 win over New Mexico on Saturday night.
The Wildcats (1-0) put on an offensive show in their first game as a Big 12 member, with McMillan and Fifita headlining.
Arizona's stars connected on a 69-yard touchdown on the Wildcats' opening drive and kept gouging New Mexico's defense for big chunks.
McMillan averaged 30.4 yards on 10 catches and broke the Arizona single-game record of 283 yards receiving set by Jeremy McDaniel in 1996. McMillan matched Jacob Cowing's touchdown catches record set against Southern California last season and fell 10 yards short of the Big 12 record set by Baylor's Terrance Williams in 2012.
Fifita finished with 422 yards and four touchdowns on 19-of-31 passing with an interception. Quali Conley ran for 90 yards and three touchdowns to round out an Arizona offense that racked up 627 total yards.
The Lobos (0-2) opened coach Bronco Mendenhall's first season by blowing a 17-point lead in a 35-31 loss to Montana last week.
New Mexico held its own against Arizona, at least offensively.
Devon Dampier picked apart the Wildcats' defense, throwing for 260 yards and three touchdowns, adding 130 yards and two more scores rushing. He also threw two interceptions.
New Mexico's issue for the second straight week came on defense, particularly McMillan.
Arizona's first preseason AP All-American also had touchdown catches of 17 and 78 yards in the first half, then added a 40-yarder in the third quarter to help Arizona pull away after leading 27-24 at halftime.
The chemistry between Fifita and McMillan played a huge role in the high expectations for Arizona in Brennan's first season.
They opted to remain in Tucson instead of joining former coach Jedd Fisch, who left for Washington. Their decisions trickled into the rest of the roster, giving Brennan a stacked roster for his first season at Arizona after spending the previous nine at San Jose State. The Wildcats also were ranked in the AP preseason poll for the first time since 2015.
The takeaway
Arizona has plenty to clean up on the defensive side of the ball, but there certainly no problems offensively with Fifita and McMillan putting on a show. New Mexico had some good flashes offensively, but struggled defensively after giving up 362 yards and three TDs against Montana State last week.