Big 12 Wildcats Meet for Non-Conference Showdown

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats (2-0) continue their opening homestand with a crucial non-conference matchup against the Kansas State Wildcats (1-2) this Friday night at Arizona Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. MST.

The prime time matchup will be nationally televised on FOX with play-by-play from Jason Benetti; he is joined on the call by analyst Robert Griffin III and Alexa Landestoy. The game will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.

Tickets for Friday's game are available for purchase now and can be secured HERE.

The Wildcats, both members of the Big 12 Conference, will meet on Friday without league standings implications on the line, as the game is being played as a non-conference contest.

This Friday will also be Retro Night at Arizona Stadium, and fans are encouraged to wear their coolest throwback gear to the game. Halftime festivities are highlighted by a drone show, the first of its kind at Arizona Stadium.

For more news and notes on Friday's game, continue below.

Arizona Notes & Numbers

• The Arizona Wildcats look to keep their opening season success rolling as they welcome the Kansas State Wildcats to Arizona Stadium for a non-conference matchup this Friday night.
• Friday's game will be nationally televised on FOX with Jason Benetti (PxP), Robert Griffin III (Analyst), and Alexa Landestoy (Reporter) on the call. It will also be broadcast list on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.
• Arizona and Kansas State have matched up eight times previously, with games dating back to 1941 and Arizona leading the all-time series, 5-2-1. Kansas State won the most recent contest, 31-7, in week three of last season in Manhattan.
• This week's game is a non-conference contest between two Big 12 Conference foes; it is the second half of a home-and-home series that was originally scheduled in January 2016 when Arizona was a member of the Pac-12 Conference.
• The Wildcats defense has yet to surrender a touchdown in two games this season, marking the first time Arizona has kept back-to-back opponents out of the end zone since 2010.
• Arizona’s defense has tallied seven turnovers this season and the Wildcats sport a 3.50 turnover margin, both marks that rank first among all FBS programs.
• The Wildcats coaching staff was shaken up during the offseason, highlighted by new faces at all three coordinator positions. Seth Doege now serves as Offensive Coordinator / QB Coach, Danny Gonzales now serves as Defensive Coordinator, and Craig Naivar now serves as Special Teams Coordinator.
• Arizona's offense is led by redshirt junior QB Noah Fifita. He ranks fifth in program history with 6,489 passing yards and fourth all-time with 50 passing touchdowns.

SOME GAME THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats and Kansas State Wildcats square off in a non-conference matchup this Friday at Arizona Stadium...This marks the second straight week that Arizona will face a Wildcat opponent with purple as a primary color...Friday’s game will be nationally televised on FOX with Jason Benetti (PxP), Robert Griffin III (Analyst), and Alexa Landestoy (Reporter) on the call...The game will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries...Despite being Big 12 Conference mates, Arizona and Kansas State are meeting in a non-conference contest; it is the second half of a home-and-home series that was originally scheduled in January 2016 when Arizona was a member of the Pac-12 Conference...Arizona and Kansas State have matched up eight times previously, with games dating back to 1941 and Arizona leading the all-time series, 5-2-1...Kansas State won the most recent contest, 31-7, in week three of last season in Manhattan...Arizona is 2-0 for the second time in two years under Head Coach Brent Brennan, marking the first time that the Wildcats have posted back-to-back 2-0 starts since the 2014 (5-0) and 2015 (3-0) seasons...A win on Friday would give Arizona their first 3-0 start since that 2015 season.

LAST TIME OUT: Arizona pitched a first half shutout and rode a dominant offensive attack to a 45-point win over FCS Weber State to improve to 2-0. Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita posted one of the best games of his career, throwing for 373 yards and five touchdowns to continue climbing the program’s career leaderboards. The game was delayed two hours and eight minutes due to inclement weather in the area, marking the first game at Arizona Stadium to suffer a delay since 2009. Additional highlights from last week’s game include...

Notable Postgame Notes

• Saturday marked the second 500-yard offensive performance under head coach Brent Brennan; Arizona is 2-0 in those games.
• The Wildcats allowed only 68 passing yards to Weber State, marking the fewest surrendered by Arizona since holding San Diego State to 62 yards through the air in the 2022 season opener.
• DB Jay’Vion Cole’s interception returned for a touchdown in the third quarter was the Wildcats first pick six since Anthony Pandy at USC in 2021.
• Arizona’s 24 first quarter points were their most in the opening quarter since scoring 24 against Washington State in Oct. 2014.
• The Wildcats defense has not allowed a touchdown this season; this marks the first time Arizona has held back-to-back opponents out of the end zone since beating Toledo (41-2) and Citadel (52-6) to open the 2010 season.
• QB Noah Fifita’s 85-yard touchdown pass to WR Javin Whatley on the Wildcats second drive was the longest pass by an Arizona quarterback since Brandon Dawkins threw a 95-yard score on Nov. 21, 2015 against Arizona State.
• WR Javin Whatley became the first Arizona receiver not named Tetairoa McMillan to post 160+ receiving yards in a game since Dorian Singer tallied 176 yards at Washington State in 2022.

PICK CITY: Arizona’s five interceptions this season are the second most in the nation, just one behind the FBS leaders Maryland and UNLV. Across 12 games last year the Wildcats pulled in just eight interceptions. Five different players have combined to pull in Arizona’s five picks: DBs Genesis Smith, Jay’Vion Cole, Gavin Hunter, and Jack Luttrell, alongside LB Taye Brown.

HIT SOMEONE: Early returns on Defensive Coordinator Danny Gonzales’ unit have been promising, with the Wildcats ranking among the top 40 teams in the nation in total defense, passing defense, and rushing defense. The Arizona defense has also been busy in the turnover department, pulling in seven turnovers across the first two games of the season after logging only 16 across 12 games last season. The Wildcats seven turnovers and +3.5 turnover margin, marks that are tied for first and first in the nation among all 134 FBS programs.

BALANCED ATTACK: Arizona's offensive attack against Weber State came from all directions, with three signal callers combining to throw for 406 yards to 12 different pass catchers and seven different rushers combining for 150 yards. It marked just the second time since 1996 that Arizona posted 400+ yards through the air and 150+ yards on the ground in the same game, per Opta Stats; Arizona is 4-2 in those games.

RUN, FOREST, RUN: Four different Wildcats logged rushing touchdowns in week one against Hawai’i: RB Kedrick Reescano, RB Quincy Craig, QB Noah Fifita, and RB Ismail Mahdi. It marked the first time since 2019 that Arizona had four different players log rushing touchdowns. Since 1996 Arizona has punched in four rushing touchdowns on 40 occasions; in that same time span the Wildcats have scored four or more times on the ground and thrown for one or fewer passing touchdowns just 21 times (per OptaStats). In total, the Wildcats rushed for 183 yards and threw for just 161 yards, marking the first time since facing Northern Arizona in 2024 that Arizona tallied more yards on the ground than through the air. Since 2019 the Wildcats have posted more rushing yards than passing yards eight times and are 6-2 in those contests.

NOAH'S ARC: Redshirt junior quarterback Noah Fifita returns under center to lead the Wildcats offense in 2025. The California native has logged three-plus seasons and 29 games with the Wildcats since his true freshman campaign in 2022. Over that span he has etched his name into the Arizona record books and looks to cement his legacy even further this season. Fifita currently sports 6,489 career passing yards and 50 career passing touchdowns, marks that ranks sixth and tied for sixth in program history, respectively. Fifita is 434 yards shy of moving past Anu Solomon (2014–16) for fourth all-time, while also standing seven passing touchdown shy of a tie for third. The fourth-year signal caller was selected to a trio of watch lists this preseason, earning national recognition from the Maxwell Award, the Polynesian Player of the Year Award, and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

GONE PORTALIN’: According to research done by ESPN’s Max Olson, the Wildcats are ranked fourth among Power Four programs and second in the Big 12 Conference in experience added via the transfer portal. Arizona added 27 transfers that brought with them 403 starts and 25,467 snaps of Division I experience.

MAHDI MOTION: Arizona running back Ismail Mahdi has been a key piece of the Wildcats offense over the first two games, tallying 98 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns. Prior to his time with the Wildcats, Mahdi spent two years at Texas State and one season at FCS Houston Christian. The Murphy, Texas native currently boasts one of the most productive careers in the nation: Mahdi's ranks among the top five active career leaders with 3,650 all-purpose yards (4th), 88.7 rush yards per game (4th), and 135.19 all-purpose yards per game (2nd) during his FBS career.

STATE 48: The Wildcats have made in-state recruiting a priority — keeping top talent at home is a crucial piece of the program's success historically and will continue to be emphasized under Head Coach Brent Brennan. Of the 110 players on the Wildcats 2025 roster, 29 of them hail from hometowns in the 48th state in our union; those Arizona players account for over a quarter (26.4%) of the roster. Included in that bunch are four players who call Tucson home — they are highlighted in the table below.

WILDCATS IN THE NFL: The Arizona Wildcats are once again well represented in the NFL, with 10 players currently sprinkled throughout league rosters. Highlighting the group of former Wildcats are a pair of first round picks in Tetairoa McMillan (2025) and Jordan Morgan (2024). With his selection earlier this year, McMillan became the 12th Arizona player to earn a first round NFL Draft pick. He joined a list that includes Morgan (2024; 25th, Green Bay), Antoine 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). McMillan was the first of four Wildcats selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, marking the most Arizona picks since 2008.

Current Wildcats on NFL Rosters (as of 09/07/25)

• Jonah Savaiinaea, OL, Miami Dolphins
• Nick Folk, K, New York Jets
• Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Washington Commanders
• Tyler Loop, K, Baltimore Ravens
• Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, LB, New York Giants
• Roy Lopez, DT, Detroit Lions
• Jordan Morgan, OT, Green Bay Packers
• Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers
• Jacob Cowing^, WR, San Francisco 49ers
• Gary Brightwell*, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

*Practice Squad    ^Reserve/Injured