Arizona Hosts Colorado for Homecoming

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats (3-3, 1-2) return to Tucson for a Homecoming matchup against the Colorado Buffaloes (4-2, 2-1) this Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. MST.

The sold out game will be nationally televised on FOX with Jason Benetti (Play-by-Play), Brock Huard (Analyst), and Allison Williams (Sideline) on the call.

Saturday will serve as the program's annual Homecoming game, and fans in attendance are encouraged to WEAR RED.

The Wildcats look to get back into the win column and climb back to the .500 mark in conference play while also extending their current two-game win streak over Colorado.

Historically, Arizona has posted a record of 61-39-5 in Homecoming games and has won three of their last five. 

For more information on Saturday's game, continue reading below.

Arizona Notes and Numbers

• The Arizona Wildcats welcome the Colorado Buffaloes to Arizona Stadium for the 27th matchup in series history. Jason Benetti (Play-by-play), Brock Huard (Analyst), and Allison Williams (Sideline) are the broadcast crew on FOX. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. MST.
• Arizona has won two in a row over Colorado including a 34-31 win in Boulder last season. In that game, kicker Tyler Loop connected on a 24-yard field goal with no time remaining to give the Wildcats the three-point win. Tetairoa McMillan led all receivers with nine receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown.
• Arizona is 10-16 all time against Colorado including a 5-10 record at home and a 5-6 record on the road. As conference foes, Arizona holds a 9-5 lead. The Wildcats longest winning streak in the series is four games from 2012-2015.
• Colorado holds the longest winning streak in matchup history, 12 games from 1931 to 1985. The Wildcats have won nine of the last 12 meetings with the Buffaloes.
• The last time Arizona lost two straight games was on Sep. 30 and Oct. 7 during the 2023 season. The Wildcats went on to win nine straight and held the longest active winning streak in the nation.
• Arizona is led by six captains this season, three on offense and three on defense. QB Noah Fifita, OL Jonah Savaiinaea, OL Josh Baker, DB Treydan Stukes, LB Jacob Manu, and DB Gunner Maldonado.
• Arizona defeated No. 10 Utah 23-10 on Sept. 28, marking the first win over an AP Top 25 opponent for Head Coach Brent Brennan. It was the first loss for Utah to an unranked team at home since falling 21-7 to Washington on Sept. 15, 2018.

By The Numbers…

AGAINST COLORADO: Arizona has won two in a row over Colorado including a 34-31 win in Boulder last season and a 43-20 win in Tucson in 2022. Last season’s win, kicker Tyler Loop connected on a 24-yard field goal with no time remaining to give the Wildcats the three-point victory. Tetairoa McMillan led all receivers with nine receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown. Noah Fifita completed 21-of-35 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns in the win. The victory over Colorado was the fourth of seven straight wins to close the 2023 season. The Wildcats defense limited the Buffaloes to just 77 yards rushing, marking the fourth time during the 2023 season that the Arizona defense held its opponent under 100 yards on the ground. That win was the first as a ranked team since taking down Northern Arizona 77-13 in 2015. Arizona is 10-16 all time against Colorado including a 5-10 record at home and a 5-6 record on the road. As conference foes, Arizona holds a 9-5 lead. The Wildcats longest winning streak in the series is four games from 2012-2015. Colorado holds the longest winning streak in matchup history, 12 games from 1931 to 1985. The Wildcats have won nine of the last 12 meetings with the Buffaloes. In 2022, former quarterback Jayden de Laura threw for 484 yards and tied a school record with six passing touchdowns to lead the Cats to a 43-20 win. Former wide out Jacob Cowing caught 12 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown.

LAST GAME: Jake Retzlaff passed for 218 yards and two touchdowns and No. 14 BYU forced four turnovers in a 41-19 win over Arizona on Saturday. Darius Lassiter had 86 yards on five catches and Parker Kingston caught a touchdown pass and threw for a score on a trick play for BYU. The Cougars (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) are off to their best start since 2020. Noah Fifita threw for 275 yards and a touchdown to lead Arizona. But he tossed three interceptions and lost a fumble. Tetairoa McMillan had 78 yards on five catches for the Wildcats. Arizona (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) has lost four straight games in the series with BYU. Arizona turned the ball over twice in its first three plays of the second half. BYU's Jakob Robinson batted the ball to himself and came down with an interception, setting up a 9-yard touchdown catch by Chase Roberts. Then Harrison Taggart recovered a fumble when Isaiah Glasker stripped Fifita on a sack. That led to a 33-yard field goal by Will Ferrin and extended BYU’s lead to 24-7 less than two minutes into the third. LJ Martin scored on a 1-yard run and Glasker scored on a 21-yard interception return in the fourth quarter to seal it for the Cougars. For the second consecutive week, Arizona got a fourth down stop on its opponent’s opening drive. After Retzlaff threw away a fourth down pass at the Arizona 5, the Wildcats drove 95 yards for a score. McMillan’s wide-open 39-yard catch in the flat set up a 14-yard scoring grab by Montana Lemonious-Craig that made it 7-0. Another fourth down gamble paid off for BYU on its second drive. Martin took a pitch and raced 15 yards on fourth down to get the Cougars in the red zone. Kingston scored on a 20-yard catch one play later to even the score at 7. BYU took a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter when Kingston threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Martin. Tanner Wall set the scoring drive in motion when he intercepted a pass from Fifita at the BYU 1.

LAST GAME INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

• K Tyler Loop connected on both of his field goal attempts in Provo, improving to 63of-74 on his career. He now has 306 career points, the fourth most in program history and six points shy of a tie for third.
• QB Noah Fifita finished the game 26-for-52 through the air for 275 yards and one touchdown. He took over sole possession of 12th place on the program’s career passing touchdowns leaderboard.
• Fifita’s 52 passing attempts were a career-high, surpassing his previous high-water mark of 49 attempts last week against Texas Tech.
• WR Montana Lemonious-Craig hauled in his first touchdown reception of the season on the Wildcats opening drive. It was his fourth in an Arizona uniform.
• DL Dominic Lolesio posted a career-high with 1.0 TFL (previous: 0.5, 11/18/23 vs. Utah).
• WR Reymello Murphy picked up his first reception with the Wildcats in the second quarter, a 25-yard catch.
• WR Tetairoa McMillan hauled in five receptions for 78 yards, marking the 24th game of his career with 50+ receiving yards.
• RB Quali Conley picked up his team-leading sixth rushing touchdown of the year in the fourth quarter.
• DB Genesis Smith led the Arizona defense with a career-high seven tackles (5 solo).
• DB Owen Goss tied his career-high with five tackles against BYU.

LAST GAME TEAM NOTES:

• Arizona drops its fourth straight game to BYU and falls to 12-13-1 all-time against the Cougars.
• This is the third consecutive loss in Provo. Arizona is 3-5 all-time against BYU in Provo.
• Arizona moves to 3-3 on the season, with a 1-2 mark in Big 12 Conference play.
• The Wildcats lose back-to-back games for the first time this season, and since Sept. 30 and Oct. 7, 2023.
• The Wildcats fall to 54-132-1 all-time, including 17-66-1 on the road against AP Top 25 opponents.
• The Wildcats defense is the first unit to hold BYU scoreless in the first quarter this season.
• Arizona won the opening coin toss and elected to defer. BYU received the opening kickoff.

PASSING OFFENSE: The Wildcats own the 30th ranked passing offense in the nation averaging 272.7 yards through the air this season. That’s a better passing offense than undefeated No. 3 Penn State (33rd, 6-0), one-loss No. 7 Alabama (38th, 5-1), one loss Memphis (41st, 5-1), undefeated Iowa State (49th, 6-0), and undefeated No. 13 BYU (50th, 6-0).

SWARM TO THE BALL: Arizona’s defense is the first unit to hold BYU scoreless in the first quarter this season. BYU was outscoring opponents 49-10 entering the game. The Wildcats allowed 10 points to Utah, which marked the fewest points allowed to a top 10 team since shutting out #10 Miami 29-0 in 1994 Fiesta Bowl. The Wildcats held the Utes to just 10 points, marking the fewest first half points by Utah since scoring seven against Northwestern at the 2023 Las Vegas Bowl. Ten points is Utah’s lowest scoring output against a conference team since losing 6-35 to Oregon in 2023. Arizona limited the Texas Tech offense to 28 points, the Red Raiders average 39.3 points per game this season. Texas Tech managed just 14 first downs in the contest, threw two interceptions, and fumbled twice. The Wildcats held the Red Raiders to 2-of-11 on third down conversion attempts.  The Wildcats defense held the Red Raiders to just 118 rushing yards, their lowest output on the ground since going for 110 yards against then No. 7 Texas in 2023. The Wildcats are 18th nationally in fourth down conversion defense (4-for-11, .364).

BACK-TO-BACK LOSSES: Arizona's loss to Texas Tech is the Wildcats' first loss to an unranked team since the Mississippi State game last year. First loss to an unranked opponent at home since Washington State in 2022. It was the first home loss in over a year for the Wildcats (Last: No. 7 Washington, 31-24). The Wildcats are 10-3 in their last 13 games dating back to last season. Arizona dropped its second straight game with a 41-19 loss to BYU (10/12), for the first time since early in the 2023 season. The Wildcats began the 2023 season 3-3 and went on to win seven straight games and qualify for the Valero Alamo Bowl. The Cats two straight losses are the first consecutive losses since Sep. 30 vs. #7 Washington (31-24, L) and Oct. 7 at #9 USC (43-41, L – 3 OT).

THE TRE WAY: Arizona defensive lineman Tre Smith is tied for third nationally in hurries, getting after the quarterback 19 times so far through three games this season (Per PFF). Smith joined the Wildcats prior to the 2024 season as a transfer from San Jose State. Smith has recorded 116 total tackles (53 solo, 63 ast) through 30 games. He has 11-career sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss combined between Arizona and San Jose State.

MAKING MANU: Linebacker Jacob Manu once again leads the Wildcats in tackles with 43 (19 solo, 24 ast) so far this season. Manu is 11th in the Big 12 in total tackles, averaging 7.2 per game which is also 11th in the Big 12.

FINISHING DRIVES: In the last five games, Arizona has finished 30 drives inside its opponents' side of the field. In 30 drives, the Wildcats scored eight TD, made 12 FG, committed four interceptions, and turned the ball over on downs four times. When the offense has passed the 50 yard line in the last five games, the Wildcats have scored touchdowns on 27% of those drives. Since scoring 61 points in the season opener against New Mexico (8/31), Arizona has averaged 18.6 points in the last five games.

POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Across the last two games against BYU and Texas Tech, the Wildcats allowed 42 points off six turnovers. The Cougars scored 24 points off four UA turnovers on Saturday. Arizona’s four turnovers against BYU (10/12) are the most in a game since having five in a loss at Mississippi State last season.

QUALI TAKES FLIGHT: RB Quali Conley recorded his first 100-plus yard rushing game with Arizona (112 vs. NAU, 9/7), and since he rushed for 155 yards against San Diego State on 11/18/23. Conley broke off a 58-yard rush on Arizona’s first drive of the game, marking his longest rush with the Wildcats and the second longest of his career (Longest: 68 yards vs. New Mexico, 10/14/23). Conley matched his career-high in receptions with five against NAU (9/7) (2x; last: vs. Air Force, 9/22/23). Conley rushed for his sixth touchdown of the season against BYU, which is tied for fourth in the Big 12.

BIG RANKED WIN: The Wildcats earned their first road win at Utah (23-10) since 2014 on Sept. 28. They have now won back-to-back games over Utah for the first time since rattling off four straight victories from 2012–14. Arizona now boasts nine wins while unranked over AP Top 10 ranked teams in the last 20 seasons.’ Arizona picked up its second road win versus a top 10 opponent in the last 10 seasons. (Won at #9 UCLA in 2022). The 23-10 win over No. 10 Utah on Saturday, Sept. 28, was the first win over an AP Top 25 program for head coach Brent Brennan. The 23-10 victory for Arizona is the first loss for Utah to an unranked team at home since falling to Washington 21-7 on Sept. 15, 2018.

O-FER ON 4TH: Arizona’s defense turned away Utah on fourth down four times, marking their first 0-for-4 performance since Oregon in 2006. The Wildcats’ defense has forced four turnovers in the last two games and seven total turnovers this season (3 fumbles, 4 interceptions).

T-MAC: After making four touchdown grabs in Game 1 against New Mexico, wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is 6th in program history in career-receiving touchdowns (22), 6th in career-receiving yards in program history (2,846). He has now recorded the most receiving yards in a single game (304) and the second-most receiving yards in a single game in program history in 2023 (266; at ASU, Nov. 25, 2023). McMillan improved his career receiving yards total to 2,846 and is now just 14 yards shy of moving past Juron Criner (2,859 yards, 2008-11) for fourth all-time. McMillan recorded the tenth 100-yard receiving game of his career and finished with 161 receiving yards on eight receptions. His ten 100-yard performances are the fourth most in program history; he is one 100-yard game away from tying Mike Thomas (2005-08) and Juron Criner (2008-11) for third all-time with 11 career 100-yard receiving games. McMillan has caught a pass in 19 straight games. T-Mac is third nationally in receiving yards (742). He leads the Big 12 in receiving yards (742) and tied for fourth in the conference in receiving touchdowns (4).

WELCOME TO THE BIG 12: The Arizona Wildcats embark on a new journey in a new conference after joining the Big 12 in Aug. 2024. The Wildcats end an era of Pac-10/12 that began in 1978 and finished with a 277-256-7 record, including a 171-202-6 Conference record over 45 years in the conference. The legendary Dick Tomey led the Wildcats through 13 years of the Pac-10/12 Conference and recorded the most wins of any head coach in program history (95).

THE CATS ATTACK: The Wildcats recorded 627 yards of total offense in the season-opening win over New Mexico on Aug. 31. It marked the most since recording 673 (178 rush, 495 pass) against Colorado in 2022. The offensive output tied for 8th in program history (627; California, Sept. 20, 2014). Despite the loss, the Wildcats recorded 422 total yards of offense against Texas Tech (10/5), outgaining the Red Raiders 422 to 331. It marked the first time this season that the Wildcats have outgained their opponent and lost the game.

QB 1: Quarterback Noah Fifita continues to climb up the Arizona passing record charts with another outstanding performance to open the 2024 season, throwing for 422 yards and four touchdowns. Fifita’s career-completion percentage is 66.2% (386-583) for 4,633 yards and 34 touchdowns, which is second in program history behind Super Bowl Champion Nick Foles (66.8%, 360-for-531). Fifita has surpassed the 1,000-yard passing mark through four games with 1,636 yards this season. Fifita’s season high was 422 yards passing and four touchdowns against New Mexico (8/31) to open the season. He has passed for more than 300 yards twice in six games this season.

ON A LOOP: Tyler Loop has led the program in multiple kicking records, first the most consecutive extra-points made (117) and he is chasing down the top-career field goal percentage (85.1%, 63 of 74) in program history. Loop is chasing the record for the most consecutive games with a made field goal (25) in program history. He is fourth in career-scoring in program history (283; 2022-present). Loop is second among active kickers in FBS (1st; Jonah Dalmas, 88.8% - Boise State). Loop was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award in 2023. He booted a career-long 54-yarder against New Mexico on Aug. 31. He also made two-of-three field goal attempts against NAU, booting a long of 48 yards against the Lumberjacks. Loop made a 53-yarder among three made field goals at Utah in the 23-10 win. He set a program record with five made field goals against Texas Tech (10/5), marking the most field goals made (5) and attempted (6) in a single game in program history.

POLYNESIAN PIPELINE: Arizona continues to build its program with some of the top Polynesian College Football Players in the nation on its roster. The Wildcats had seven players selected to the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award watch list including quarterback Noah Fifita, defensive lineman Keanu Mailoto, linebacker Jacob Manu, wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, defensive lineman Stanley Ta’ufo’ou, and defensive lineman Ta’ita’I Uiagalelei. The seven players included in this watch list is second in the nation behind only BYU in 2024. It also marked the most for the Wildcats since the inception of the award preseason watch list. Fifita joined the college watch list for the first time. Savaiinaea makes his second straight appearance on the list. McMillan advanced to the finals of the 2023 award consideration after being named to the preseason list. Mailoto, Manu, Ta’ufo’ou, and Uiagalelei made their first appearance as Wildcats on this award watch list.

WILDCATS IN THE NFL: Arizona currently has 10 players on NFL rosters during the 2024 season. Former offensive lineman Jordan Morgan was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round (25th overall) following the 2023 season. He was the first first-round selection since Antoine Cason was picked 27th overall in 2008. He joined a list that includes Cason (2008; 27th, San Diego), Trung Canidate (2000; 31st, St. Louis), Chris McAlister (1999; 10th, Baltimore), John Fina (1992; 27th, Buffalo), Chris Singleton (1990; 8th, New England), Anthony Smith (1990; 11th, Oakland), Rickey Hunley (1984; 7th, Cincinnati), Mike Dawson (1976; 22nd, Arizona), Bill Lueck (1968; 26, Green Bay), and Walt Nelson (1939; 10th, New York Giants) to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Wide receiver Jacob Cowing was picked in the fourth round (135th overall) by the San Francisco 49ers and became the highest wide receiver selected since Mike Thomas in 2009 (4th Rd, 107 overall by Jacksonville) and the first wide receiver since Juron Criner (5th Rd, 168th overall by Oakland) in 2012. Tight End Tanner McLachlan was the third Wildcat selected in the 2024 NFL Draft when the Cincinnati Bengals picked him the 6th round (194 overall). The three draft picks matched the most selected in one draft since 2014 when Ka’Deem Carey (4th Rd, 117 overall), Shaquille Richardson (5th Rd, 157th overall), and Marquis Flowers (6th Rd, 212 overall) were picked in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Current Wildcats on NFL Rosters (as of 10/13/24)

*Practice Squad