Arizona Returns to the Road for UCF Showdown

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats (3-5, 1-4), after enjoying back-to-back weeks at home, return to the road for their first-ever matchup against the UCF Knights this Saturday, Nov. 2.

Saturday's game will kick off at 12:30 p.m. MST with a national television broadcast slated for FS1. Dan Hellie (play-by-play) and Robert Smith (analyst) will have the call from Orlando.

The Wildcats are entering the final third of their schedule and will look to return to the win column against the Knights.

Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan has logged a pair of 200-yard receiving games this year, most recently last weekend against West Virginia, and looks to continue his climb up the Arizona program leaderboard this week.

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

Arizona Notes and Numbers

• The Arizona Wildcats (3-5, 1-4 Big 12) travel to UCF (3-5, 1-4 Big 12) for the first-ever matchup between these two programs on the football field. Dan Hellie (play-by-play) and Robert Smith (Analyst) are the broadcast team on FS1. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. MST.
• This is the first matchup between Arizona and UCF and it’s the first time since 1999 that the Wildcats have played in the eastern time zone. Arizona opened that season at Penn State.
• In the loss to West Virginia, Arizona rushed for two touchdowns for the first time since the opening week of the season (4 TD) against New Mexico. It also marked the first multi-passing touchdown game (2 TD) since the 23-10 win over Utah on Sep. 28.
• The Wildcats passed for more than 300 yards against WVU (308 yards) for the first time since Oct. 5 against Texas Tech. Noah Fifita threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns, while Tetairoa McMillan accounted for 14 yards passing on two attempts.
• QB Noah Fifita is now 10th in program history with 36 career passing TD. He finished the night going 21-of-32 through the air for 294 yards and two touchdowns. Fifita moved into 12th all-time in program history with 5,065 career passing yards, passing Matt Scott who recorded 4,921 passing yards from 2008-12.
• Fifita surpassed 5,000 career passing yards. He is the 12th Wildcat to reach the milestone.
• 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.

By The Numbers…

AGAINST UCF: The Arizona Wildcats (3-5, 1-4 Big 12) travel to UCF (3-5, 1-4 Big 12) for the first-ever matchup between these two programs on the football field. Dan Hellie (play-by-play) and Robert Smith (Analyst) are the broascast team on FS1. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. MST. This is the first matchup between Arizona and UCF and it’s the first time that the Wildcats have traveled to the Eastern Time Zone since opening the 1999 season at Penn State.

LAST GAME: Nicco Marchiol threw for two touchdowns and West Virginia scored three times on fourth downs to beat Arizona 31-26 on Saturday night. Marchiol got his second career start after Garrett Greene was injured against Kansas State last week and was sharp, throwing for 198 yards on 18-of-22 passing. The Mountaineers (4-4, 3-2 Big 12) complemented his performance with a pounding run game, rushing for 203 yards and two touchdowns. West Virginia also converted all four of its fourth-down chances, including its first three touchdowns, to end a two-game losing streak. Arizona All-American Tetairoa McMillan bounced back from a quiet game against Colorado last week with 10 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown. He caught a 34-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and quarterback Noah Fifita added a 3-yard TD run to pull the Wildcats within 31-26 after trailing by 18. The Mountaineers never gave Arizona (3-5, 1-4) a chance to complete the rally, converting two key third downs to grind out the clock and send the Wildcats to their fourth straight loss. West Virginia had no trouble moving the ball against Arizona's defense early, particularly on the ground. The Mountaineers opened with a field goal and scored the next drive on a fake when holder Leighton Bechdel went 14 yards around the left end for a touchdown. West Virginia opted to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3 in the second quarter and converted when Marchiol found Hudson Clement in the back of the end zone. The Mountaineers did it again on the opening drive of the third quarter, scoring on a fourth-and-3 when CJ Donaldson Jr burst through the left side for a 20-yard TD run that put West Virginia up 24-7. West Virginia pushed its lead to 31-13 early in the fourth quarter when Marchiol found Traylon Ray on a 54-yard touchdown pass — this time on second down. Arizona's offense was hit or miss. The Wildcats put together one scoring drive in the first half, eating up nearly eight minutes of the clock before Quali Conley scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter. Arizona spent the rest of the time sputtering until finding a rhythm late in the third quarter, pulling withing 24-13 when broken coverage left Sam Olson wide open for a 23-yard touchdown catch.

ARIZONA’S BEST WIDE OUT: Tetairoa McMillan gained 202 yards receiving on 10 receptions. McMillan’s 202 yards were the 12th most in a single game in program history. He now owns three of the top 12 receiving performances in program history.

LAST GAME INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

• QB Noah Fifita is now 10th in program history with 36 career passing TD. He finished the night going 21-of-32 through the air for 294 yards and two touchdowns.
• Fifita moved into 12th all-time in program history with 5,065 career passing yards, passing Matt Scott who recorded 4,921 passing yards from 2008-12.
• Fifita surpassed 5,000 career passing yards. He is the 12th Wildcat to reach the milestone.
• Fifita scored his first career rushing TD, a 3-yard scramble in the fourth quarter.
• WR Tetairoa McMillan caught his 23rd career receiving TD to move into a tie for fourth all-time in program history.
• McMillan finished the night with 202 yards and one touchdown on a team-high 10 receptions. It marked his third career game with 200 or more receiving yards. He is the only Wildcat to ever have multiple 200-yard receiving games.
• McMillan’s 202 yards were the 11th most in a single game in program history. He now owns three of the top 11 receiving performances in program history.
• McMillan recorded his 11th 100-yard receiving game to tie Mike Thomas (2005-08) and Juron Criner (2008-11) for third most in program history.
• McMillan recorded his 25th career game with 50 or more receiving yards.
• RB Quali Conley logged his seventh rushing touchdown of the season on Saturday night. His seven TDs on the ground are the most by a Wildcat since Michael Wiley had eight in 2022.
• TE Sam Olson caught his first touchdown with Arizona and seventh of his collegiate career.
• DL Chase Kennedy made his second sack of his collegiate career, both this season with Arizona.
• DB Dalton Johnson matched his career high of 13 tackles (5 solo, 8 assisted).
• DB Jack Luttrell set a career high of 11 total tackles (3 solo, 8 assisted).

LAST GAME TEAM NOTES:

• Arizona dropped their first ever contest against West Virginia and moved to 1-4 in Big 12 Conference play.
• The Arizona defense limited West Virginia to just 198 yards passing, marking the third time this season they held an opponent under 200 yards through the air (also: NAU, 109 yards; Kansas State, 156 yards).
• The Wildcats failed to accumulate 100+ rush yards for only the second time this season (also: at Kansas State, 56 rush yards).

FOUR STRAIGHT LOSSES: The Wildcats lost their third straight game; it is the first time since the 2022 season that Arizona has dropped four straight games (4, 10/8/22-11/5/22). Arizona dropped their first ever contest against West Virginia and moved to 1-4 in Big 12 Conference play. 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 10-4 in their last 14 games dating back to last season. The Wildcats began the 2023 season 3-3 and went on to win seven straight games and qualify for the Valero Alamo Bowl.

SWARM TO THE BALL: The Arizona defense limited West Virginia to just 198 yards passing, marking the third time this season they held an opponent under 200 yards through the air (also: NAU, 109 yards; Kansas State, 156 yards). At the time, Arizona’s defense was 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 fifth nationally in fourth down conversion defense (6-for-20, .300). Defensive back Genesis Smith is tied for third in the Big 12 with six passes defended (6). Smith leads the Wildcats in that category. Against Colorado (10/19), DB Jack Luttrell made his first career interception in the second quarter to stop Colorado on Arizona’s 11-yard line. He made his second career interception — and second interception of the game — in the fourth quarter to stop Colorado’s drive at the Arizona 14-yard line. He is the first Wildcat to have two interceptions in a game since Anthony Pandy had two against Colorado in 2020.

T-MAC: Tetairoa McMillan is tied for 4th in program history in career-receiving touchdowns (23), 4th in career-receiving yards in program history (3,086). He has now recorded the most receiving yards in a single game (304) and the third-most receiving yards in a single game in program history in 2023 (266; at ASU, Nov. 25, 2023). McMillan pulled in 202 yards for his 11th 100-plus-yard receiving game of his career against WVU. He finished with 161 receiving yards on eight receptions against Texas Tech (10/5). His 11 100-yard performances are tied for third in program history. T-Mac is third nationally in receiving yards (982). He leads the Big 12 in receiving yards and tied for fourth in the conference in receiving touchdowns (4). McMillan has caught a pass in 20 straight games.

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). Arizona fell to 1-3 in conference after dropping three straight games following the conference-opening win over Utah.

QB1: Quarterback Noah Fifita’s career-completion percentage is 66.0% (423-641 for 5,065 yards and 37 touchdowns) which is second in program history behind Super Bowl Champion Nick Foles (66.8%, 360-for-531). 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. Fifita threw 294 yards against WVU (10/26), marking the third most in a single game this season.

SPIN IT BACK: Tyler Loop set the program record for most consecutive extra-points made (120-of-120) prior to missing the first extra-point try of his career to fall to 120-for-121 for his career. He is chasing down the top-career field goal percentage (84.0%, 63 of 75) in program history. He is fourth in career-scoring in program history (309; 2022-present). 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. Loop is fourth among active kickers in FBS in field goal percentage (84.0%, 63-75).

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. Conley has rushed for a touchdown in three of the last four games to give him seven rushing touchdowns this season. It marks the most rushing touchdowns in a single season since Michael Wiley rushed for eight touchdowns in 2022.

TOP 10 OFFENSE: 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.

FORCING TURNOVERS: Against Colorado (10/19), Arizona forced multiple turnovers in a game for the fourth time this season. That matches the same number of games with a turnover forced that Arizona has had in both 2023 and 2022. Arizona’s last season with more than four games forcing two-plus turnovers was 2017 (eight).

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 12 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 10/6/24)

*Practice Squad