No. 22 Arizona Clashes with No. 2 Utah in Tucson

Tucson will become the center of the college football spotlight Saturday when No. 22 Arizona hosts No. 2 Utah at Casino Del Sol Stadium. The game brings a nationally ranked matchup, a major FOX pregame production and thousands of fans to town, with kickoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. FOX Big Noon Kickoff will begin the day on the University of Arizona Mall from 8 to 10 a.m., marking the first time the program has brought its Tucson broadcast to campus. Rob Stone will host alongside former Arizona quarterback Matt Leinart, Mark Ingram II, Brady Quinn and Urban Meyer. Rob Gronkowski is also scheduled to return to Tucson for the show.

The game itself will air nationally on FOX, with Gus Johnson handling play by play, Joel Klatt providing analysis and Jenny Taft reporting from the sideline. Tucson viewers and listeners can follow the Wildcats on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM and KHYT 107.5 FM, where Brian Jeffries will call the game with analyst Lamont Lovett and reporter Mackenzie Hamilton. Utah fans can listen through ESPN 700 AM and 92.1 FM, with Bill Riley, Steven Sylvester and former Utah star Zack Moss on the broadcast. The matchup is set for Nov. 14, according to Utah’s schedule information.

Arizona enters at 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12 after one of the most dramatic wins of its season, a 29-28 comeback against TCU. Michael Salgado-Medina supplied the winning points with a 37-yard field goal with 38 seconds left, completing a three-for-three performance and earning Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Quarterback Noah Fifita delivered another 300-yard passing game, while Giovanni Richardson had a career performance and the defense held TCU to 49 rushing yards. The victory moved Arizona up two places to No. 22 and secured a winning regular season record.

The Wildcats also arrive with momentum at home. Arizona has won seven consecutive games at Casino Del Sol Stadium, a streak that dates to a victory over Kansas on Nov. 8, 2025. Over the past two seasons, Arizona is 11-1 in Tucson. The Wildcats have also reached bowl eligibility in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2014 and 2015. Their win over TCU marked just the fourth time in the last 10 seasons that Arizona reached seven victories in a regular season. Arizona has appeared in the AP Top 25 during each of the last four seasons, the program’s longest such run since 1992 through 1995.

Fifita will be a central figure in the matchup. The fifth year quarterback has started 43 consecutive games since taking over in 2023 and owns the program records for career passing yards and passing touchdowns. His 11,977 yards and 94 touchdown passes lead all active FBS quarterbacks, while his 27 victories as Arizona’s starter are the most in school history. He has also produced both a passing and rushing touchdown in four games this season. Receiver Isaiah Mizell has become another major part of the offense, recording three 100-yard receiving games in the past four weeks and catching touchdowns in four consecutive games.

Utah brings a much larger national profile into Tucson. The Utes are 9-0 overall and 6-0 in conference play, alone atop the Big 12 standings. They moved to No. 2 in the AP poll after a 28-20 victory over rival BYU, the highest regular season ranking in program history and the program’s best position since the final poll of the 2008 season. Utah has won 15 consecutive games dating to the 2025 season, the longest active winning streak in the FBS, and has taken 11 straight conference games. Morgan Scalley is 10-0 as Utah’s head coach dating to last season’s Las Vegas Bowl and is the first coach in program history to begin his first full season 9-0.

Utah’s offense is led by quarterback Devon Dampier, who made an unusual mark in the victory over BYU. He recorded 177 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, 89 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, plus a 29-yard reception. That combination made him the first player in Big 12 history, and the first FBS player since at least 1995 according to Stathead, to record at least 150 passing yards, 25 receiving yards, two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in one game. Dampier was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and the Paul Hornung Award National Player of the Week, and he was listed as a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award.

The Utes have been especially strong on defense. They have allowed 122 points this season, or 16.3 per game, and rank fifth nationally in passing efficiency defense. Utah is allowing 103.3 rushing yards per game, a major improvement from the 181.2 it allowed per game in 2025. The Utes have also outscored opponents 103-9 in the first quarter and 77-27 in the fourth. They defeated Arkansas 43-10 earlier this season, making Utah one of only two non Southeastern Conference teams to beat an SEC opponent in 2026.

The matchup continues a rivalry that began in 1924, with Utah holding a 26-21-2 advantage. Arizona has won the last two meetings, including a 23-10 road victory over then No. 10 Utah in 2024, and the Wildcats are 11-12-2 against the Utes in Tucson. Utah has not won in Tucson since 2021. The AP rankings add another layer, as this will be one of five ranked Big 12 teams playing this week. Georgia is No. 1 nationally, followed by Utah and Notre Dame, while Arizona is one of the conference’s two ranked teams in the matchup. For Tucson, Saturday offers both a high stakes conference test and a full day of national college football attention beginning on the UA Mall and ending under the stadium lights.