TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats (3-1, 1-0) return home to Arizona Stadium to host the Washington Huskies (4-0, 1-0) this Saturday, Sept. 30. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. MST with a television broadcast set for the Pac-12 Networks and a radio broadcast available on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM.

Arizona's Pac-12 home opener against the No. 7 Huskies will also serve as the program's annual Family Weekend game, with large crowds and two explosive offenses a virtual certainty.

The Wildcats are fresh off a narrow victory in their conference opener, a 21-20 defeat of the Stanford Cardinal last weekend that pushed Arizona halfway to bowl eligibility.

Arizona's defense has shown signs of tremendous improvement, and paired with an always dangerous offense seeks to pull off the second ranked upset of the Jedd Fisch era this weekend.

A complete preview of the Wildcats week five home contest can be found below.

ARIZONA NOTES & NUMBERS

• Arizona returns home for Family Weekend to host No. 7 Washington. Ted Robinson (play-by-play) and Yogi Roth (analyst) have the call with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. MST on Pac-12 Network.
• The Wildcats are 11-25-1 all-time against the Huskies. Most recently in 2022, Arizona fell 49-39 to Washington on the road. The Wildcats are 7-9-1 in Tucson with the last home win coming on Nov. 15, 2014, in the form of a 27-26 victory.
• Arizona has dropped six straight games to Washington dating back to 2014. The last time Washington made the trip to Tucson was 2021 and the result went the Huskies way 21-16. The Wildcats have been outscored 1157 to 889 in the all-time series.
• The six-game winning streak for Washington is the longest streak in the all-time series. Arizona's longest winning streak in the series is two (3x; last, 2007-08).
• Arizona has gone 3-1 to open the season for the first time since 2019 when the Wildcats started the year 3-1.
• The Wildcats fell 49-39 on the road to the Huskies in 2022. Despite the loss, the Wildcats had some noteworthy performances. QB Jayden de Laura recorded his third 400-plus passing yard game. LB Jacob Manu recorded 10 tackles. WR Tetairoa McMillan recorded his first 100-yard receiving game of his career with 132 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions. It also marked the first multi-touchdown game of McMillan's career.
• The 2022 matchup with Washington was the third 500-plus-yard game under Head Coach Jedd Fisch. The Wildcats finished with 526 total yards of offense (400 passing and 126 rushing).
• Last season's Family Weekend matchup against Oregon turned into a sellout with 50,800 fans packing Arizona Stadium to complete the first home sellout since Sept. 26, 2015.

5 — Arizona's five sacks at Stanford are the most recorded by the team since notching five against Colorado in 2018. The Wildcats are 7-0 in the Pac-12 era when notching at least five sacks.

34 — QB Jayden de Laura's 34 touchdown passes at Arizona are the 11th most in school history surpassing Matt Scott (33, 2008-12). He is one away from moving into the top 10. 

48 — WR Jacob Cowing has pulled in a reception in 48 consecutive games, giving him the longest active streak in the nation.

11 — The Wildcats defense made 11 tackles for loss against the Cardinal, their most since recording 12 on the road at UCLA in 2018. 

20 — Arizona's defense held Stanford to just 20 points, the fewest Arizona has allowed on the road to a Pac-12 opponent since 2018 (W, 35-14; at OSU). 
 

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ABOUT LAST WEEK: DJ Williams scored a go-ahead touchdown from two-yards out midway through the fourth quarter to finish off a nine-play drive as Arizona beat Stanford 21-20 on Saturday to open Pac-12 Conference play with a road win. The Wildcats closed out the win with backup quarterback Noah Fifita under center, after starter Jayden de Laura left the game early in the fourth quarter with an apparent injury. Stanford - coming off a loss to FCS-member Sacramento State in last week home opener - also entered the game on a five-game conference losing streak but had won the previous six contests against Arizona. The Wildcats had not won at Stanford since 2006. The Cardinal entered the fourth quarter with a 17-14 lead after a Sedrick Irvin 1-yard touchdown run late in the third. But down by a point after Arizona touchdown, Stanford could not get a stop as the Wildcats ran out the clock. Arizona (3-1) took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter on Tanner McLachlan longest career reception. McLachlan 36-yard catch-and-run touchdown came after de Laura pumped left, then right before finding the tight end wide open over the middle. Stanford (1-3) reclaimed the lead before halftime with the help of a pass interference penalty that wiped away an Arizona interception in the end zone. Bryce Farrell ran in from two yards out to put the Cardinal in front 10-7. De Laura was 14-for-26 for 157 yards in the air, throwing and running for a touchdown before getting hurt. He capped off an 11-play, 66-yard drive on the Wildcats first possession of the second half with a 7-yard touchdown run, fooling the defense on a fake handoff to reach the end zone untouched. The Cardinal rotated between Justin Lamson and Ashton Daniels at quarterback, sometimes in the middle of drives. Stanford head coach Troy Taylor said during the week that both quarterbacks would see playing time throughout the season. Daniels was 15-for-27 for 202 yards, while Lamson was 4-for-6 for 48 yards but ran for 57 yards.

WILDCATS HOST HUSKIES FOR PAC-12 HOME OPENER: Arizona looks to open Pac-12 Conference play 2-0 as it welcomes Washington to Arizona Stadium for the conference home opener. It's Family Weekend at the University of Arizona and the Wildcats hope to end a six-game losing streak to the Huskies. The Wildcats last beat the Huskies at home on Nov. 15, 2014, when redshirt junior kicker Casey Skowron accounted for 15 of Arizona's 27 points in a thrilling 27-26 win at Arizona Stadium. Trailing 26-24 with just 1:23 remaining in the contest, Arizona's defense came up with arguable one of the biggest turnovers of the 2014 season, as Tra'Mayne Bondurant found himself involved in his second forced turnover of the game, causing a fumble and giving the Wildcats the ball on the Huskies' 44 yard line after Derrick Trituri came up with the recovery. For plays later, the Cats thought they had their game winner, as Anu Solomon chucked a 34-yard rocket to Cayleb Jones in the back of the end zone with under a minute to play, but the pass was eventually ruled incomplete upon review after initially being called a touchdown. Skowron's 47-yard field goal as the clock hit zero lifted the Wildcats past the Huskies 27-26.

CATS ATTACK: Arizona's five sacks are the most recorded by the team since notching five against Colorado in 2018. The Wildcats are 7-0 during the Pac-12 era when notching at least five sacks. DE Taylor Upshaw recorded a career-high 2.0 sacks on Saturday at Stanford. He is the first Arizona player with 2.0+ sacks in a game since Kyon Barrs logged 2.5 against California in 2021. Upshaw is tied for 5th in the Pac-12 with 3.5 sacks this season. LB Jacob Manu is tied for 7th in the Pac-12 with 3.0 sacks. Arizona's defense is tied for 6th in the Pac-12 with 11 sacks. The Wildcats' 11 sacks through four games is on its way to surpassing the Wildcats 16 sacks in 2022.

CAREER BESTS: 

• Senior tight end Tanner McLachlan reeled in a 36-yard touchdown grab at Stanford (9/23) marking the longest touchdown reception of his career. 
• RB Jonah Coleman rushed for 75 yards (at Stanford, 9/23), marking a career-best in rushing yards and surpassing his previous high of 74 yards against Oregon (2022). 
• Junior QB Jayden de Laura posted his highest completion percentage (79.3%, 23-of-29) as a Wildcat against UTEP (9/16), only surpassed by his performance in 2021 (84.4%) with Washington State at Washington.   
• Coleman broke off a career-high 59-yard run in the third quarter against UTEP (9/16), the longest rush by a Wildcat this season. His previous high was 43 against Oregon in 2022. 
• WR Montana Lemonious-Craig's fourth quarter touchdown against UTEP (9/16) was his first in a Wildcat uniform. He is the fourth different Arizona player (third wide receiver) to catch a touchdown pass this season. 
• Sophomore wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan reeled in a 55-yard reception for the longest catch of his career and recorded 161 receiving yards on eight receptions marking career highs against Mississippi State (9/9). 
• Sophomore linebacker Jacob Manu set a career-high with 12 total tackles and matched a career-high with 2.5 tackles for loss against Mississippi State (9/9). 
• Coleman made a career-high three receptions for a career-high 59 yards and his first-career touchdown reception in the win over NAU (9/3). Coleman now has five-career touchdowns (4 rushing, 1 receiving). 
• Sophomore tight end Keyan Burnett reeled in a 17-yard reception late in the first quarter against NAU (9/3), marking the longest reception of his career (previous: 5 yards vs. Oregon, 2022). Like Coleman, he recorded more receiving yards on the play than he did during the entire 2022 season. 
• QB Jayden de Laura rushed for a 53-yard touchdown against NAU marking the longest rush and rushing touchdown of his career. De Laura finished the NAU game with a passer-by rating of 207.7, the third best mark of his career (first: 211.2, at Washington, 2022).

OFFENSIVE OUTPOURING: The Wildcats offense also put-up notable numbers, posting their first 300-yard passing and 200-yard rushing performance since throwing for 350 yards and running for 216 against Colorado in 2018. Saturday's (9/16) 544-yard performance is the best mark for the Arizona offense since putting up 673 yards against Colorado in 2022 and the fifth 500+ yard game under head coach Jedd Fisch.

DESERT SWARM: The Wildcats defense logged 11 tackles for loss against the Cardinal, their most since posting 12 on the road at UCLA in 2018. Currently, Arizona is in the top-27 nationally in the following defensive categories, rushing defense (27th, 95.0), scoring defense (22nd, 16.0), 4th down conversion percentage defense (17th, .333), red zone defense (15th, .667), and first down defense (19th, 64). Arizona's defense has forced a turnover in seven of the last eight games dating back to last season. Arizona has forced three turnovers this season, one in three of four games. Arizona has allowed 13 points in two home games marking 6.5 points per game allowed at home this season. UTEP was forced to punt on seven of its first 8 possessions. UTEP did not reach Arizona territory on five of its seven punts. Arizona limited UTEP to 1.9 yards per carry for a total of 49 rushing yards. UTEP's QB Gavin Hardison was held without a touchdown for the first time in 2023. Arizona has held opponents at home to 10 or fewer points in both wins. Arizona held NAU to three points marking the fewest allowed by the Wildcats defense since holding California to three points during a 10-3 victory in 2021. It was also the fewest points allowed by the Wildcats in a season opener since shutting out NAU 35-0 to kick off the 2013 season. The 35-point win was Arizona's largest margin of victory since beating UTEP 63-16 in 2017. Arizona has held opponents scoreless in home openers 40 times and held opponents to three points seven times in home openers dating back to 1899.  Arizona has allowed only 44 points in three games this year. The Wildcats scoring defense stands at 16.0 after four game; Arizona allowed 36.5 points per game in 2022. The Wildcats limited UTEP to just 49 yards on the ground, marking the 24th time that an Arizona opponent has gone for 50 or fewer yards since 1996. The Wildcats defense held the Cardinal to just 20 points, the fewest Arizona has allowed on the road to a Pac-12 opponent since 2018 (W, 35-14; at OSU).

2022 vs. 2023: Through the first four games in 2022, opponents were averaging 34 points per game against the Wildcats for a total of 136 points. In 2023, opponents have scored 64 total points in the first four matchups and are averaging 16 points per game against the Arizona defense. The Wildcats have allowed over 30 points once through the first four games of the season in 2023. In 2022, the Wildcats allowed over 30 points in a game twice (39 vs. Miss. State and 49 at Cal). In each of the first four games last season, the Wildcats allowed 20-or-more points. The Wildcats have allowed more than 20 points in a game once this season (31 vs. Miss. State, 9/9).

LEADING TACKLERS: Linebacker Jacob Manu sits atop the Pac-12 in tackles with 38.0 tackles and tackles per game 9.5. Flowe, the transfer from Oregon, is 6th in the conference with 29.0 tackles and second in the conference with 7.3 tackles per game. The Wildcats are one of three teams in the conference to have two players in the top six in tackles within the Pac-12 (Oregon State, California, Arizona).

TOP O-LINE: Jonah Savaiinaea is the highest rated pass-blocking guard in the nation by Pro Football Focus (PFF), with a mark of 94.5 through four games. Savaiinaea has appeared in 261 snaps (158 passes, 103 runs). He has not allowed a sack and has allowed just one hurry. Jordan Morgan is ranked 23rd nationally in pass-blocking with a grade of 87.4 (236 snaps) through four games. He has made 145 pass-blocking snaps and 91 run-bocking snaps so far this season, with a 100% block percentage. Morgan has not allowed a sack and just five hurries so far this season.

WILEY VETERAN: Michael Wiley is the 2nd Arizona running back with 100 career receptions (110) The other is Vance Johnson, who had 104 from 1981-84. Wiley's career-high in receptions was 36, which was posted in 2022. He made six receptions for 57 yards against NAU in the season opener. His 109 career-receptions are the most of any Arizona running back dating back to at least 1996. Wiley was second on the team with 8 receptions and 60 yards at Mississippi State during week 2.

ETCHED IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Senior wide receiver Jacob Cowing has caught a pass in 48 straight games, marking the longest active reception streak in college football. Cowing has 3,860 (1,265 at Arizona) yards in his career (leads active players). His 23 touchdowns are third among active players, trailing Zakhari Franklin (37, UTEP & Ole Miss) and Xavier Worthy (24).

SECURING THE FUTURE: Following the 2022 season, the University of Arizona and head football coach Jedd Fisch agreed to a contract extension through the 2027 season. Fisch has elevated the football program in two seasons, which included a four-win improvement in his second year as head coach. The four-win improvement in Fisch's second year tied for the second-largest win increase in a single season in program history. The 2022 season saw the Wildcats defeat No. 9 UCLA at the Rose Bowl, which was Arizona's first top-10 win on the road since 2015. The team went on to defeat Arizona State in the Territorial Cup two weeks later, snapping its in-state rival's five-game winning streak. The successful start to his tenure has been highlighted by historical recruiting success. Arizona signed its highest rated recruiting class ever in 2022 that ranked at the top of the Pac-12 and in the top 25 nationally. The program's elite recruiting was bolstered by the addition of key transfers in the portal. Player development has also been a staple of the program with a litany of offensive players rewriting the record book this season.

ALWAYS RECRUITING: The Arizona Wildcats secured the No. 40 recruiting class (247Sports) in the country with key signings like Trinity League MVP four-star linebacker Leviticus Su'a, four-star quarterback Bradyen Dorman, safety Genesis Smith, and Alabama decommit offensive lineman Raymond Pulido. Included in this class were veteran transfers Montana Lemonious-Craig (WR, Colorado), Taylor Upshaw (DL, Michigan), Sio Nofoagatoto'a (DL, Indiana), Daniel Heimuli (LB, Washington), Justin Flowe (LB, Oregon), Bill Norton (DL, Georgia), Orin Patu (LB, California), and Tyler Manoa (DL, UCLA). It marked the second consecutive top-40 recruiting class and first time in program history that the Wildcats have posted back-to-back top-40 classes. 

AERIAL-ZONA: Jayden de Laura has thrown for 33 touchdowns during his career with Arizona. On the heels of one of his best completion percentages with Arizona (79.3%) against UTEP, (23-of-29). He threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns and has moved into a tie for 11th in Arizona program history with 33 career passing touchdowns. De Laura tied Matt Scott (33, 2008-12) and is two away from the top 10 in Arizona football history. He is also 13th in Arizona football history with 4,597-career passing yards sitting 324 yards behind 12th-place Matt Scott (4,921; 2008-12).

GO WITH THE FLOWE: One of the biggest signings for the Wildcats came on the defensive side of the ball and through the NCAA Transfer Portal. Former five-star linebacker out of high school, Justin Flowe, decided to transfer to Arizona prior to the spring of 2023. Flowe made a season-high 12 tackles at Mississippi State (1 solo, 11 assists), and 0.5 tackles for loss. He added an 11-tackle performance against UTEP, marking double-digit tackles in back-to-back games. Flowe has 29.0 tackles in four games, 2nd on the team and tied for 6th in the Pac-12, with the Wildcats after marking 50 during three seasons with Oregon.

NICE KICKS: Tyler Loop earned 2023 Preseason All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and has been selected to the Lou Groza Award Watch List for the second straight year. He appeared in all 12 games as the team primary kicker and kickoff specialist. Loop has made 11 straight field goals dating back to last season moving his career kicking totals to 32-for-35. He is 58-of-58 on extra points and 26-of-26 from under 39 yards. Loop made the game-tying field goal from 36 yards out to force overtime at Mississippi State last Saturday. The longest of his career was 48 yards at Washington on Oct. 15, 2022. Loop kicked a 38-yard field goal against UTEP (9/16) to improve to 27-for-27 from under 39 yards in his career.

BIG PLAY: Wide receiver Jacob Cowing combined between UTEP and Arizona has surpassed the Arizona wideout with the most career receiving yards Bobby Wade (3,351) from 1999-2002. Sophomore wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan led the Wildcats with eight touchdown grabs in 2022. It tied for first in the Pac-12 and was the most touchdown grabs by a freshman in program history. McMillan finished just three touchdown grabs shy of the Arizona single-season touchdown record (11) held by Juron Criner (2010, 2011), Mike Thomas (2007), Theopolis Bell (1974), Austin Hill (2012), and Shawn Poindexter (2018).

TIGHT END U: Tanner McLachlan continues to climb up the tight end record books at Arizona. He made 34 receptions for 456 yards and two touchdown grabs a season ago. McLachlan's 456 receiving yards are the third-most in a single season (StatsPass era, since 1996) for an Arizona tight end. His 34 receptions in 2022 are second-most in a single season for Arizona and most since Rob Gronkowski caught 47 during the 2008 season. McLachlan made a 36-yard touchdown grab at Stanford (9/23), marking the longest touchdown reception of his career. He made two receptions for 54 yards at the Cardinal, giving him 619 receiving yards in his career at Arizona. McLachlan is second since 1996 in receiving yards among tight ends at Arizona, trailing Rob Gronkowski's 1,197.

WILDCATS IN THE NFL: The Wildcats are once again well represented in the National Football League this year with five former letterwinners 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). The most recent Wildcats to make the transition to the NFL are defensive lineman Jalen Harris (Chicago Bears) and linebacker Christian Young (Seattle Seahawks). For a complete list of former Wildcats in the NFL, see the comprehensive chart below. *Practice squad
 

Player	Position	Team
Gary Brightwell	RB	New York Giants
Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles	LB	San Francisco 49ers
Nick Folk	PK	Tennessee Titans
Jalen Harris*	DE	Chicago Bears
Lucas Havrisik*	PK	Cleveland Browns