New Mexico
No. 21 Arizona kicks off first season under Brent Brennan against New Mexico
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona took three short years to go from one of the worst programs in the FBS to a 10-game winner on the rise.
That was under Jedd Fisch. Now it’s Brent Brennan’s turn and he appears to have a stacked deck.
Kicking off a season with more expectations than any in recent years, No. 21 Arizona opens the Brennan era Saturday night at home against New Mexico.
“My message to the team is: it’s all about us,” Brennan said. “It’s about our process and how we prepare. It’s very, very simple, it’s boring and it’s not sexy. I think that sometimes gets lost.”
After seven seasons at San Jose State, Brennan takes over an Arizona program that climbed from the depths of a school-record 20-game losing streak to winning seven straight games to close out last season, the current longest run in the FBS.
Fisch took some players with him when he moved to Washington, but two key ones remained: quarterback Noah Fifita and receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
With two of the program’s best players opting to stick around, several others joined them, giving Brennan a stacked roster for his first season.
Fifita and McMillan headline what could be one of the nation’s most explosive offenses and the defense, long an issue in Tucson, took massive strides last season. Arizona has numerous playmakers back on defense, including linebacker Jacob Manu — the Pac-12’s leading tackler a year ago — cornerback Tacario Davis and safeties Dalton Johnson and Gunner Maldonado.
The Wildcats were ranked in The Associated Press preseason poll for the first time since 2015 and now get a first chance to show that it was warranted in their first Big 12 season.
“I had that thought walking out here just now, how much has changed in seven months,” Brennan said. “It’s surreal but also really, really special, but I’m excited, just like our players are.”
Bronco’s Lobos
Arizona won’t be the only team with a new head coach at Arizona Stadium.
Veteran coach Bronco Mendenhall was hired during the offseason to replace Danny Gonzales, who was fired after four mediocre seasons. Mendenhall had a successful stint at BYU before spending the past six seasons at Virginia, where he led the Cavaliers to three straight bowl games.
The Lobos got the Mendenhall era off to a shaky start last week, blowing a 17-point lead in a 35-31 home loss to Montana State.
“I saw capability, certainly, two defensive touchdowns, some fourth-down stops and some other positive things, but not consistent enough, not clean enough and not sound enough really, from beginning to end, to put the game away,” Mendenhall said.
Talented connection
Fifita and McMillan give Arizona one of the nation’s most talented duos.
Fifita began last season as the backup, but played so well in place of injured Jayden de Laura that he kept the job when de Laura returned. Fifita threw for 2,869 yards and 25 touchdowns with six interceptions, setting a school record with a 72.4% completion rate.
McMillan was the top-rated recruit in program history nearly three years ago and has lived up to the hype. The native of Hawaii caught 90 passes for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, helping him become the first Arizona player to earn preseason AP All-America honors.
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When patients are admitted to The University of New Mexico Hospital, they are usually there for something like an infection, a surgery or another medical emergency. But many of those same patients also live with substance use disorders. Until recently, that aspect of their health often went untreated during their hospital stay.
Now, a program called CAMINOS is changing that.
“We are an addiction medicine consult service,” said Sergio Huerta, MD, medical director of CAMINOS. “Anybody with an addiction in the hospital, we can see, even if it hasn’t been diagnosed yet. The whole concept is to meet people where they’re at when they’re most vulnerable and most in need.”
CAMINOS, which stands for Coordinating Addiction Medicine with Inpatient and Outpatient Services, connects patients with treatment during their hospital stay and helps them transition into ongoing care once they leave.
Huerta, who is board-certified in both addiction medicine and internal medicine, explained how the program works.
“We go talk to the patient, offer them treatment services, including medications, and refer them to treatment,” he said. “We also have a peer on our team with lived experience in recovery. Patients who are seen by peers tend to do better. They’re more adherent to their medications and treatments when they leave the hospital.”
It’s a reachable moment when patients are here. By offering treatment, we help them feel more comfortable, we help them stay and complete their care, and we give them a better chance at recovery. That’s what makes this work so meaningful.
– Sergio Huerta, MD, Medical Director, CAMINOS
For Chris Smith, MD, director of operations for CAMINOS and section chief of Hospital Medicine, the impact is evident.
“Almost every patient we see is not here primarily for their substance use disorder,” Smith said. “They’re admitted for something else. Before our service, these problems weren’t always addressed. Now, the primary team can call us to see the patient, and we can start them on treatment during their stay.”
Before CAMINOS, patients with addictions often left the hospital with little more than a referral sheet.
“There wasn’t really much help for patients with substance use disorders,” Huerta said. “We treated the admitting diagnosis, like pneumonia, and then gave them a list of resources for when they left. That really wasn’t the best way to do things.”
The stakes in New Mexico are especially high. The state has the highest alcohol-related death rate in the country and is consistently ranked among the worst for drug overdose deaths. Huerta estimates that about one in 10 New Mexicans lives with a substance use disorder.
At UNM Hospital, that means a large share of inpatients also need addiction treatment. In its first year, CAMINOS logged more than 1,200 consults, making it one of the busiest consult services at the hospital. Of those patients, more than 450 were newly started on proven medications like buprenorphine or methadone for opioid use disorder.
Substance use disorders are everywhere. No matter what you end up doing as a physician, you’re going to see patients with this. Having that background makes you a better provider.
– Chris Smith, MD, Director of Operations, CAMINOS & Section Chief, Hospital Medicine, UNM Hospital
“Even if only half of those patients continue treatment after discharge, that’s a huge success for a population that can be very difficult to engage,” Smith said.
The program’s impact is visible every day, Huerta said.
“These patients are always the most appreciative and the most thankful,” he said. “Just showing them that there’s somebody here who cares goes a really long way.”
Smith noted that patients who start treatment for addiction are less likely to leave the hospital against medical advice. They are also more likely to follow through with other treatments for conditions like diabetes, infections or chronic disease.
“It has a dramatic change on their whole hospital stay,” Smith said.
The program is also shifting how hospital staff think about addiction. Huerta shared how some clinical teams that were once hesitant to start addiction medications are now more comfortable doing so thanks to CAMINOS.
“Our goal is that the primary teams feel more comfortable identifying and treating substance use disorders,” Huerta said. “We’re beginning to change the culture.”
CAMINOS is also an educational hub. Medical students, resident physicians, and trainees in their fellowship now rotate through the service, learning to treat substance use disorders alongside experienced providers and peer support specialists.
“Substance use disorders are everywhere,” Smith said. “No matter what you end up doing as a physician, you’re going to see patients with this. Having that background makes you a better provider.”
Huerta and Smith see CAMINOS as a model for the future. They hope to expand the program to serve more patients, strengthen outpatient connections and eventually help people across the state through call-in support lines and partnerships with other hospitals.
“It’s a reachable moment when patients are here,” Huerta said. “By offering treatment, we help them feel more comfortable, we help them stay and complete their care, and we give them a better chance at recovery. That’s what makes this work so meaningful.”
Our state’s protests were part of a nationwide movement with more than 2,600 rallies held across the country.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — From the metro to Taos and Truth or Consequences, people came together for Saturday’s No Kings Rally.
Many New Mexicans made signs and protested, upset with the direction that they say the country is heading.
The protests were part of a nationwide movement, with more than 2,600 rallies held across the country. The No Kings rallies took place in the backdrop of a seemingly never-ending government shutdown, as lawmakers on Capitol Hill are at a standstill.
Protesters KOB 4 spoke with Saturday say that they hope for better days.
“Our avenues are narrow. We can do this peacefully, and we can vote,” said a protester.
“Obviously, Congress isn’t going to help us out. So we have to do this grassroots stuff. We have to come out and show the king that wants to be that we don’t want a king,” said another protester.
Some of our elected leaders were also there, including Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury. Crowds came together for a peaceful rally.
“Just the fact that this many people are going back to the fundamentals and standing for them. If we don’t have a king or a third-term president, democracy can return,” said a protester.
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