The No. 20 Arizona Wildcats are coming off a 31-7 loss to the No. 14 Kansas State Wildcats on Friday, and they are smarting about a lot of things entering their bye week.

Perhaps no single statistic is rankling coach Brent Brennan more than the self-inflicted penalties that Arizona is creating on their own.

Through three games, the Wildcats (2-1) have 28 penalties for 269 yards. Through two games Arizona was already tied for No. 118 in FBS with 19 total penalties. That put the Wildcats at No. 121 in penalties per game (9.50).

So the nine penalties for 74 yards the Wildcats gave up against Kansas State will certainly keep them in the lower echelon of that list until Big 12 action kicks off in two weeks.

Frustration doesn’t begin to cover where Brennan is at with that particular area of the game.

Fixing it is on his to-do list once the team gets back to Tucson.

“The biggest thing we learned as a football team is we have to be more disciplined,” Brennan said to reporters after the game. “The penalty game, especially tonight and in Week 1 (against New Mexico) has been damaging.”

With no game until Sept. 28 for the Wildcats, this will give Brennan and staff time to work with players to try and correct the issues.

But some of that will come down to his players, too.

“That’s something where, as coaches, I think we can be more demanding of players in the small, technical pieces that can hopefully help you avoid some of those penalties. Every player has to do look at that and say, ‘What am I doing with my technique? My footwork?’ That gives them a chance to block someone correctly or cover a receiver correctly. I think that’s a big part of it. The good news is we have two weeks and we can go to work.”

Penalties certainly made a difference on Friday night, but so did Arizona’s inability to consistently run the ball.

The Wildcats had Quali Conley, but he gained 48 yards and scored a touchdown. Arizona was without Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who sat out due to an eligibility issue related to his 2019 redshirt season.

Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan had a great bounce-back game on the edge, as he caught 11 passes for 138 yards but was unable to score a touchdown. His quarterback, Noah Fifita, threw for 268 yards but did not find the end zone and threw an interception.

When Arizona returns to the field, they will go to Utah to open Big 12 action on Sept. 28.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Arizona Cardinals fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Happy Saturday morning one and all.

The Arizona Cardinals take on the Los Angeles Rams tomorrow afternoon and we wanted to know if you thought the Cardinals would win in week two against their division rivals, and the majority do not see it happening.

It makes sense. The Cardinals have been historically awful against Sean McVay, as they sit at 2-13 in that time.

So, it makes sense fans don’t think a win is on the horizon this weekend.

What was a little more dramatic was the drop in confidence of the direction of the team after one week.

Before their loss to the Buffalo Bills (who look like they are going to be a great team once again after their thorough beating of the Miami Dolphins) 83% of fans were confident in the direction of the team.

Now, only 65% are.

Make sure to check out our new partner, FanDuel Sportsbook for any and all of your online sports betting needs.

In future seasons, Arizona versus Kansas State could be a thrilling Big 12 intra-conference clash. For this year and next, however, this will be a non-conference matchup as the home-and-home series was scheduled before Arizona joined the Big 12.

No. 14 K-State gave the road Wildcats a fine “Welcome to the Big 12” moment with a 31–7 win at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Friday night. Quarterback Avery Johnson passed for 156 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for an additional 110 yards. The home Wildcats rushed for 234 yards in total, including DJ Giddens’ 77 yards and one TD.

The defeat ended No. 20 Arizona’s nine-game winning streak, which was the longest active win streak in FBS. That run went back to last October’s 44–6 victory at Washington State (which was then a Pac-12 conference matchup) and included a 38–24 win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl.

Second-quarter pivot

The game turned on two possessions at the beginning of the second quarter. After the K-State defense forced a three-and-out, Dylan Edwards ran from the right hash across the field and turned the corner at the left sideline, streaking past four Arizona defenders for a 71-yard punt return touchdown. That gave K-State a 14-7 lead.

On the following possession, the road Wildcats drove to the KSU 30-yard line, thanks largely to two catches for 49 yards by all-world receiver Tetairoa McMillan. Quarterback Noah Fifita looked McMillan’s way for a third time and had him apparently open in the end zone. But cornerback Keenan Garber swooped in to pick off the pass.

Kansas State had a chance to add a field goal at the end of the first half. But with nine seconds remaining, Johnson apparently lost track of time, scrambling to keep the play alive and eventually running for a 5-yard gain. He got out of bounds, but time expired.

Yet KSU shouldn’t have had an opportunity for a field goal try anyway. As Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira pointed out on the broadcast, the home Wildcats should have been called for a false start penalty.

The home Wildcats pulled away with 14 points in the third quarter on a 9-yard TD pass from Johnson to Brayden Loftin and a 1-yard scoring run by Giddens. Will Swanson scored K-State’s first touchdown on a 3-yard reception.

For Arizona, McMillan showed a national TV audience on Fox that he might be the best pass-catcher in the country and likely a first-round NFL Draft pick next year, catching 11 passes for 138 yards. Montana Lemonious-Craig had six receptions for 75 yards. Fifita threw for 268 yards with one interception, completing 24-of-38 passes. Quail Conley rushed for 48 yards and scored Arizona’s only touchdown on the game’s opening drive.

Kansas State next travels to BYU on Sept. 21 for a Big 12 conference matchup. Arizona has a bye week before a road game at No. 12 Utah on Sept. 28.