When Arizona upset Utah on the road two weekends ago, it was revealed the Wildcats had changed play callers from newly hired Dino Babers to passing game coordinator and tight ends coach Matt Adkins.

That was surprising at the time.

Babers came over after being fired by Syracuse following his eight-year tenure as head coach.

He talked all offseason about wanting to create an offense that did some things differently than how they operated under Jedd Fisch, but to make the transition easier, he kept some of the same verbiage they used before.

In the opening game against New Mexico, it looked like this unit was poised to be one of the best in the entire country, but after that 61-point outburst, they scored 22 against FCS-level Northern Arizona and seven against Kansas State.

The Wildcats went into the bye week with a lot of figure out, and they came out of it with a new play caller that helped them take down the No. 10-ranked team in the country two Saturdays ago.

And apparently, this change was something that was planned all along.

Babers said “it was just a matter of time of when we were going to do it” and that the Adkins, who followed Brennan over from San Jose State, had “accelerated his growth” in the last few months that made everyone comfortable making the change, per Justin Spears of The Arizona Daily Star.

So what does the offensive coordinator do now that he’s not calling plays?

That wasn’t exactly revealed, but Spears did point out that Babers was originally brought to Tucson to not only be the OC, but to also mentor the younger coaches on staff.

He is likely still very much involved in putting together the offensive gameplan alongside Adkins who is now calling the plays.

But, despite the change, there are still questions about this offense.

Following their balanced 358-yard performance against Utah’s solid defense where 197 came through the air and the other 161 was produced by the ground game, Arizona left a lot of be desired on that side of the ball during their loss against Texas Tech.

The Wildcats put up yards, totaling 422, but they failed to capitalize and score touchdowns at a high rate when they were inside their opponent’s territory.

It will be interesting to see how everything progresses, especially since the change in play caller was already something that was in the works by Brennan from the beginning.

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Two lottery players in the Valley are taking home cash prizes over $1 million after hitting jackpots on Monday.

Arizona Lottery officials said a winning $1,040,000 Triple Twist Jackpot ticket was sold at a QuikTrip store near Val Vista Drive and Germann Road in Gilbert. The second winning ticket was a $1,600,000 The Pick Jackpot, which was sold at a Circle K store near 40th Street and Greenway Road in north Phoenix.

Tickets for The Pick cost $1 with drawings Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The jackpot starts at $1 million and grows until there is a winner.

Triple Twist is a new game that costs $2 for a ticket. Drawings are Monday through Sunday, and the jackpot starts at $200,000, also growing until there is a winner.

Winners can claim their tickets from the Arizona Lottery. Click/tap here for information on claiming prizes.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.

Cincinnati Reds infielder Matt McLain hit a home run Tuesday in his first Arizona Fall League game, a sight for which Reds fans have been waiting since McLain injured his left shoulder during spring training.

McLain missed the entire 2024 season after having shoulder surgery and suffering a rib-cage injury during rehab work. He hasn’t played in a regular-season game since August of last year, and finished the 2023 season on the injured list with an oblique injury.

The Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith reported Tuesday afternoon via Twitter that McLain is open to moving around positions, including third base and center field.

A first-round pick of the Reds in the 2021 MLB draft, McLain had his first big-league hit in May 2023.

McLain, who turned 25 years old in August, batted .290 with an OPS of .864 in 403 plate appearances as a rookie for the Reds. He hit 16 home runs and 50 RBIs with 14 stolen bases.

From MLB Pipeline via Twitter:

LOVE SPORTS? [ Subscribe now for unlimited access to Cincinnati.com ]