TUCSON, Ariz. — For the third time in as many weeks, the Arizona Wildcats (3-6, 1-5) will face a highly-ranked Pac-12 opponent when they travel to take on the UCLA Bruins (8-1, 5-1) on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
Saturday night's game will kick at 8:30 p.m. MST with a national television broadcast slated for FOX. Noah Eagle (play-by-play) and Mark Helfrich (analyst) will have the call.
Arizona is seeking their first win in the Rose Bowl since 2010, when the No. 15 Wildcats took down the Bruins, 29-21.
A complete preview of the Wildcats Top 25 road test can be found below.
ARIZONA NOTES & NUMBERS
- The Arizona Wildcats polish off their two-game road swing with a Pasadena tilt against the No. 9 UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl.
- Saturday's game will be nationally televised on FOX with Noah Eagle (PxP) and Mark Helfrich (Analyst) on the call.
- This week's contest marks the 47th all-time meeting between the Wildcats and Bruins, with UCLA holding a 27-17-2 edge in the all-time series.
- Arizona has gone 4-16-2 all-time against UCLA in Pasadena/LA with their last road victory coming in 2010, a 29-21 decision.
- The Wildcats face their third straight AP Top 25 opponent this Saturday. The Wildcats are 47-127-1 all-time against the AP Top 25, including a record of 14-64-1 on the road. The Cats last Top 25 road victory was against No. 20 Utah in 2014 (42-10).
- Tight end Tanner McLachlan's 27 receptions this year are tied for the fourth most by a tight end in a single season in program history. He is one reception shy of tying Rob Gronkowski in 2007 for third place.
- Wide receiver Dorian Singer was recently added to the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award. Singer currently sports 49 receptions for 755 yards and five touchdowns. This award honors the top receiver in the nation at any position.
- Arizona's pass offense currently ranks Top 10 among all FBS programs, checking in at No. 7 with an average of 328.0 yards per game through the air. Quarterback Jayden de Laura also currently ranks seventh nationally with an average of 312.6 yards per game, an impressive jump from his average of 233.0 in 2021.
3 — WR
Dorian Singer made a career-high
three touchdown receptions against USC on Oct. 29. It was the first multi-touchdown game of his career.Â
7th — QB
Jayden de Laura is
7th in the nation in passing yards (2,813) and he is tied for 14th in the nation in passing touchdowns (22). Â
41 — WR
Jacob Cowing has caught a pass in
41 straight games. He leads the team with 65 receptions and 846 yards. His streak of 41-straight games is tied for the longest active streak in the nation.Â
1st — Freshman quarterback
Noah Fifita threw the
first touchdown of his collegiate career. Fifita connected with Servite High School teammate
Tetairoa McMillan for a two-yard touchdown against Utah (11/5).Â
3 — The Wildcats have seen 21 400-yard passing performances in program history,
three of which belong to QB
Jayden de Laura this year.
Â
VERSUS UCLA: This marks the 47th all-time matchup between the Wildcats and the Bruins. Arizona is 17-27-2 against UCLA all time. The Wildcats have dropped two in a row against the Bruins. Arizona's last win over UCLA was a 20-17 victory on Sept. 28, 2019, in Tucson. The Wildcats have lost five straight on the road against the Bruins. The last win at the Rose Bowl for Arizona was 29-21 Oct. 30, 2010. Last season, Arizona fell to the Bruins 34-16 in Tucson. Arizona is 4-16-2 all-time in Pasadena/Los Angeles. Arizona is 2-8 in the last 10 games against Arizona and 2-3 in the last five matchups.
ABOUT LAST WEEK: Arizona forced two turnovers in the 45-20 loss to Utah on Saturday night, their first multi-turnover game since forcing three against Mississippi State in week two of the season. They now have nine this year after forcing just six turnovers in 2021.
- Arizona rushed for 156 yards against Utah after going for 163 last week against USC. This marks the first time the Wildcats have rushed for 150+ yards in back-to-back games since going for 431 and 314 against Northern Arizona and Texas Tech, respectively, in weeks two and three of the 2019 season.Â
- The fumbles recovered by Christian Young and Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei were the Wildcats first turnovers in four games.Â
- Running back Michael Wiley's 57-yard rush in the first quarter was the longest rushing attempt of his career, surpassing a 45-yard non-scoring rush against Colorado in 2020.Â
- Quarterback Jayden de Laura's first quarter rushing score was his second touchdown on the ground this season, and the seventh of his career. He is one rushing touchdown shy of his single-season career high of three while at Washington State in 2021.Â
- Defensive end Hunter Echols added to his team-leading sack total in the first quarter, taking down Utah quarterback Cam Rising to bring his season total to 4.5 sacks.Â
- Echols sack was the Wildcats first in four games, breaking a three-game streak without a sack for the Arizona defense.Â
- With two catches against Utah, tight end Tanner McLachlan moved into a tie for 4th place on the Wildcats single-season receptions by a TE leaderboard with 27 (also: Mark Keel, 1981).Â
- Defensive end Sterling Lane II (5), safety Gunner Maldonado (9), and cornerback Ephesians Prysock (5) all set career-high marks in tackles for the Wildcats.
- The safety forced by the Wildcats late in the fourth quarter was the first forced by a Utah opponent since USC on Sept. 20, 2019.Â
- The 51-yard reception for wide receiver Anthony Simpson in the fourth quarter was the longest of his career and the longest career completion for quarterback Noah Fifita.Â
- Fifita's fourth-quarter touchdown pass to former high school teammate Tetairoa McMillan was the first passing touchdown of his collegiate career.Â
- McMillan now has seven touchdown catches this year, tied for the team lead with wide receiver Jacob Cowing.Â
- Cowing pulled in a team-best five receptions against Utah, extending his reception streak to 41 consecutive games.
ARIZONA OFFENSE: The Arizona Wildcats have been outstanding offensively this season. Currently, the Wildcats are No. 7 in the nation in passing offense with an average of 340.1 yards per game. Arizona is 22nd in total offense (465.1) and averages 30.9 points per game, which is 52nd in the nation. Arizona is 12th in the nation in first downs gained on offense (230). Quarterback
Jayden de Laura is 7th in the nation in passing yards (2,813) and passing yards per game (312.6), 10th total offense (327.2), and 14th nationally in passing touchdowns (22). De Laura is 21st nationally in passing yards per completion (13.40). WR
Jacob Cowing and true freshman wide out
Tetairoa McMillan are tied for 24th nationally with seven receiving touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver
Dorian Singer is tied for 62nd nationally in touchdown receptions (5).
TIGHT END U: Redshirt junior tight end
Tanner McLachlan is tied for 15th among tight ends nationally in receiving yards (362), 10th in yards per catch (13.4), and tied 14th in yards per game (40.2) among the nation's tight ends. McLachlan has caught 27 passes, which is tied for 17th nationally at the position. His 27 receptions this year are the fourth most in a single season in program history, surpassing Mark Keel who caught 27 passes for 343 yards and four touchdowns in 1981.Â
TRUE FRESHMAN: True Freshman wide receiver
Tetairoa McMillan is second among Arizona true freshman wide outs with 610 receiving yards, since 1996. McMillan trails Nate Phillips who recorded 696 receiving yards during the 2013 season. He leads the nation's true freshman in yards, yards per game (67.8), and is first in touchdown receptions (7).
LOOP THERE IT IS: Kicker
Tyler Loop made his only field goal attempt at Utah (11/5), a 30-yard boot and went 3-for-3 on field goal attempts against USC (10/29) for the second time this season and third time in his career. Loop improves to 13-for-16 on field goal attempts (81.3) this season. He is 27-for-27 on extra-point attempts (100.0) this year. Loop is perfect from inside 40 yards (10-of-10) for his career. He made one of two attempts against North Dakota State, improving to 15-of-15 on his career prior to missing a 43-yard field goal attempt with 12:56 left the fourth quarter. Loop was one of four Pac-12 kickers to begin their collegiate career perfect in kicking at least 15 field goals including Arizona State's Thomas Weber, 17 straight from Sept. 1 to Nov. 3, 2007, Utah's Matt Gray, who made 14 straight from Aug. 31 to Sept. 22, 2017, and Nathan Villegas (Oregon), who made 14 straight to begin his collegiate career from Sept. 5 to Nov. 7, 1998.
CLIMBING UP THE ARIZONA RECORD BOOKS: With three games left to play, quarterback
Jayden de Laura is 8th in single season passing yards (2,813) in Arizona football history. Willie Tuitama is seventh with 3,088 passing yards in 2008. Nick Foles is sixth with 3,191 passing yards in 2010. Jason Johnson is fifth with 3,327 passing yards in 2002. Matt Scott is fourth with 3,620 passing yards in 2012. Willie Tuitama threw for the third-most yards (3,683) in 2007. Anu Solomon recorded the second-most passing yards (3,793) in 2014, and Nick Foles passed for the most yards since 1996 (4,334) in 2011. De Laura has thrown for 22 touchdowns this season which puts him seventh all-time in Arizona history. He is one touchdown pass behind sixth place Willie Tuitama who threw 23 touchdowns in 2008. He trails the all-time leaders in single-season touchdown passes, Nick Foles (28 in 2011), Willie Tuitama (28 in 2007), and Anu Solomon (28 in 2014) by six touchdown passes. De Laura is tenth in pass completions with 210, surpassing Anu Solomon (205) in the last game against Utah (10 completions). De Laura continues to climb the top-10 in completion percentage as well. With three games left to play, he is 8th in Arizona history in completion percentage (62.1).
ARIZONA'S PLAYMAKERS: Junior wide receiver
Jacob Cowing has tied a career-high seven touchdown catches in his first five games with Arizona. He is two TD grabs away from moving into the top-10 in single-season touchdown receptions. Cowing is currently tied for 16th for a single season in program history. With three catches for 34 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter against Colorado, Cowing eclipsed the 3,000-yard mark for his collegiate career while catching his seventh touchdown of the season. He sits with 3,441-career receiving yards. He recorded seven receptions for 94 yards at Washington on Oct. 15. Cowing surpassed the Arizona wideout with the most career receiving yards Bobby Wade (3,351) from 1999-2002.
JUST GETTING STARTED: Sophomore quarterback
Jayden de Laura is tied for third in the Pac-12 with 22 passing touchdowns. He is second in the Pac-12 in passing yards per game (312.6) trailing Michael Penix Jr. (359.1) of Washington. De Laura passed for the lowest yards in a game this season (159) at Utah on Nov. 5.
- He is also second in total offense with 2,654 passing yards and 119 rushing yards. De Laura averages 346.63 yards per game and 331.75 passing yards per game, which are second in the conference.Â
- With 380 yards passing against USC, de Laura eclipsed the 350-yard mark throwing the ball for the fourth time this season (eight game).Â
- Since 1996, the most 350-plus yard passing performances in a single season belongs to Nick Foles, who had nine in 2011. De Laura tied his career-best seven-game touchdown streak with four touchdown passes at Washington on Oct. 15.Â
- De Laura threw for the third-most yards in a game this season (400) at Washington. He threw for a career-high 484 yards and six touchdowns against Colorado. 484 passing yards marked the most allowed by Colorado in school history. De Laura's 484 yards marked the fifth most passing yards by a QB in Arizona history. This performance comes on the heels of throwing for 401 yards at Cal to become the 19th quarterback in Arizona history to turn in a 400-yard passing performance.
- The six touchdown passes tie a school record set by Tom Tunnicliffe against Pacific on Oct. 23, 1982. De Laura led the Wildcats to a 43-20 win over Colorado and became the first Arizona QB with 400-plus passing yards in consecutive games since Matt Scott in 2012. Â
- De Laura led a comeback 31-28 win after trailing by four entering the fourth quarter, 28-24, against North Dakota State. De Laura connected with Cowing on a 22-yard touchdown pass with 4:53 left in the fourth quarter to earn the win. De Laura threw for 229 yards and one touchdown and rushed for career-highs with 10 carries and 58 yards and a rushing touchdown against the Bison to help the Wildcats improve to 2-1. Â
- De Laura had a breakout first game with Arizona, throwing for 299 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to a 38-20 win at San Diego State. De Laura's four touchdown passes are the most by an Arizona QB in their Wildcat debut since Anu Solomon threw four against UNLV in 2014. He completed 29-of-35 passes and connected with Jacob Cowing three times for touchdowns, as well as Tetairoa McMillan once for a TD.
- Up for a challenge? De Laura's full name is: Jayden pukonakona ha'awi mai na makua ha 'ele mai ka hiapo e wili 'ia me ke aloha de Laura.
GAME-CHANGER: The Arizona Wildcats earned a 43-20 win against Colorado with two receivers recording over 100 yards receiving (Cowing 180 yards, Singer 163) for the second straight week following the 133-yard effort by Cowing and 103-yard performance by Singer at Cal on Sept. 24. Singer is 27th program history with 1,047 receiving yards. He has surpassed the 1,000-yard threshold in 13 games. Arizona has now notched two games with a pair of 100-yard receivers in a single season for the first time since 2014 (Cayleb Jones 186 & Austin Hill 127 vs. California; Austin Hill 110 & Samaje Grant 101 vs. UNLV). The Wildcats 673 yards of total offense in its 43-20 win over Colorado set a school record for most yards of offense in conference play as a member of the Pac-10/12 Conference.
LONGEST STREAK IN THE NATION: Junior wide receiver
Jacob Cowing extended his streak of consecutive games with a catch to 41, which is the longest such streak in the nation (1st; 41, Chris Autman-Bell, WR, Minnesota).
- Through nine games, Cowing is 12th in the nation with 846 receiving yards. He is tied for 24th nationally in touchdown receptions (7).Â
- Cowing recorded a career-high 180 receiving yards against Colorado, and he has caught a touchdown in five of nine games played this season. He has not caught a touchdown pass in the last four games.Â
- Cowing made seven receptions for 133 yards at Cal, marking the second-most receiving yards in a single game this season. He has surpassed last year's top scoring threat through the air, running back Michael Wiley, who tallied four receiving TDs in 11 games played.Â
- He is three touchdown catches shy of breaking into the Arizona all-time top-10 and five off the single-season record of 11 touchdown catches held by six players.Â
- Cowing caught a touchdown with 4:53 remaining in the fourth quarter to put the Wildcats in front of North Dakota State 31-28, marking his third straight game with a reception (5 rec., 55 yards) and the first Wildcat player with touchdown catches in three straight games since Michael Wiley caught a touchdown in each of the final three games of the 2021 season.Â
- Cowing had a breakout game during his debut with Arizona. He made eight catches for 152 yards and three touchdowns to help the Wildcats to a season-opening 38-20 win at San Diego State.
DESERT SWARM: Linebacker
Jerry Roberts leads the Wildcats with 60 tackles this season. Roberts has made 27 solo tackles and 33 assists averaging 6.7 tackles per game. Safety
Jaxen Turner is second on the team in tackles with 57. Turner has made 37 solo tackles and 20 assists, averaging 7.1 tackles per game (8 games). Safety
Christian Young is third on the team with 55 tackles (33 solo, 22 assists), averaging 6.1 tackles per game. Cornerback
Christian Roland-Wallace is fourth on the team in tackles with 45 (34 solo, 11 assists), averaging 5.0 tackles per game. Defensive lineman
Hunter Echols is fifth on the team in tackles with 42 (21 solo, 21 assists), averaging 4.7 tackles per game. Echols also leads the Wildcats with 4.5 sacks, a career high.
PROGRAM BUILDING: The Wildcats enter the second season of the
Jedd Fisch era with a reenergized roster in tow. Coach Fisch and staff pulled in the No.21/No. 22 recruiting class nationally (per Rivals and 247 Sports) with key additions at multiple positions. That recruiting class ranked first (per Rivals) and third (per 247 Sports) in the Pac-12 behind Oregon and Stanford. Fisch reeled in 23 commits with five four-stars and 18 three-stars. Arizona landed the highest-ranked recruit in program history, wide receiver
Tetairoa McMillan out of Servite High School. A four-star prospect that was ranked No. 5 at his position. McMillan was joined by teammates
Keyan Burnett (TE), a four-star tight end, and
Noah Fifita (QB) a three-star QB, out of Servite High School. The success in recruiting marked one of the top classes in program history. In all, the Arizona Wildcats have 50 new members of the roster entering the 2022 season. It is the second-most in the Pac-12 (ASU, 51). The Wildcats played 17 freshmen on Oct. 29 against USC. It marked the most played this season and included six starting true freshmen. The Wildcats have had contributions from as many as 18 true/redshirt freshman this season including
Kolbe Cage (LB),
Dalton Johnson (S),
Isaiah Taylor (S),
Tacario Davis (CB),
Will Uhrich (LB),
Ammon Allen (LB),
Evan Branch-Haynes (DL),
Roberto Miranda (TE),
Keyan Burnett (TE),
Jacob Kongaika (DL),
Russell Davis II (DE), and
Jonah Coleman (RB).
WILDCATS IN THE NFL: The Wildcats are once again well represented in the National Football League this year with 10 former letterwinners active across the league. One of Arizona's most prestigious alumnus, tight end Rob Gronkowski, retired following the 2021 season after winning the fourth Super Bowl of his career. Gronk was a five-time Pro Bowl selection, a four-time First Team All-Pro selection, and was selected to the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team and NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. Over 11 seasons with New England and Tampa Bay, Gronkowski recorded 9,286 yards (5th all time) and 92 touchdowns (3rd all time). Quarterback Nick Foles is in his 11th NFL season after rewriting the Wildcats record books during his time in Tucson. The most recent Wildcats to make the transition to the NFL are running back Gary Brightwell (New York Giants), and defensive end Roy Lopez (Houston Texans).
Â
Current Wildcats on NFL Rosters
Player |
Position |
Team |
Stanley Berryhill III |
WR |
Detroit Lions |
Jace Whittaker |
CB |
Arizona Cardinals |
Dane Cruikshank |
S |
Chicago Bears |
Roy Lopez |
NT |
Houston Texans |
Nick Foles |
QB |
Indianapolis Colts |
Nick Folk |
K |
New England Patriots |
J.J. Taylor |
RB |
New England Patriots |
Gary Brightwell |
RB |
New York Giants |
Will Parks |
S |
New York Jets |
Demetruis Flannigan-Fowles |
LB |
San Francisco 49ers |
Â