Wildcats Welcome Jayhawks for Homecoming Showdown

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats (5-3, 2-3) are teed up for their annual Homecoming game this Saturday afternoon at Arizona Stadium. They welcome the Kansas Jayhawks (5-4, 3-3) to Tucson for the first time since 1966 with a kickoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m. MST.

Saturday's game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 with Mike Monaco (play-by-play) on the call. The game will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM featuring play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.

In addition to serving as the Wildcats 107th Homecoming game, Saturday will also be Arizona's annual Military Appreciation contest. Tickets for Saturday's game are available for purchase here.

Fans attending Saturday's game are encouraged to WEAR RED to support the Wildcats!

The Wildcats enter this weekend's game riding the high of a dominant 52-17 road victory over Colorado, while the Jayhawks are also recently back in the win column with a 38-21 decision over Oklahoma State last weekend at home.

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

Arizona Notes & Numbers

• The Arizona Wildcats return to Tucson for their annual Homecoming game as they host the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday afternoon.
• Saturday’s game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 with Mike Monaco (PxP), Kirk Morrison (Analyst), and Dawn Davenport (Reporter) on the call.
• The game will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 featuring play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.
• Arizona and Kansas have faced off six times previously, with games dating back to 1936 and the Jayhawks holding a narrow 3-2-1 lead in the all-time series.
• The most recent matchup in the series was nearly six decades ago on Sept. 24, 1966. Kansas won the game in Tucson, 35-13. The Wildcats latest win in the series was a 23-15 victory in Lawrence on Sept. 25, 1965.
• Arizona has hosted 106 Homecoming games dating back to 1914 and boasts a 61-40-5 record in those contests.
• QB Noah Fifita is on the verge of history with 65 career touchdown passes and sitting just three shy of setting the Arizona program record (67, Nick Foles & Willie Tuitama).
• The Wildcats defense has created 18 turnovers this season, their most since notching 19 in 2023 and tied for the sixth most in the nation.
• Arizona’s defensive secondary has been a big part of the program’s turnover success, hauling in 12 interceptions to rank tied for seventh nationally.
• The Cats currently rank 15th nationally in total defense, a 90-spot jump from their 105th ranking in 2024. It’s the fifth best improvement in FBS this year.

SOME GAME THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats (5-3, 2-3) return to Arizona Stadium to host their annual Homecoming game this Saturday afternoon, a matchup against the Kansas Jayhawks (5-4, 3-3) that will reignite a decades dormant series…Saturday’s game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 with Mike Monaco (play-by-play), Kirk Morrison (analyst), and Dawn Davenport (reporter) on the call…The game will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM featuring play-by-play from the Voice of the Wildcats, Brian Jeffries…Arizona and Kansas have faced off six times previously, with games dating back to 1936 and the Jayhawks holding a narrow 3-2-1 lead in the all-time series...The most recent matchup in the series was nearly six decades ago on Sept. 24, 1966...Kansas won the game in Tucson, 35-13...The Wildcats latest win in the series was a 23-15 victory in Lawrence on Sept. 25, 1965...Arizona has hosted 106 Homecoming games dating back to 1914 and boasts a 61-40-5 record in those contests…The Wildcats are just 2-3 in their last five Homecoming games, with wins over UCLA (2023) and California (2021) in the mix…Saturday will be the sixth consecutive Arizona Homecoming game played during the day.

FIFITA NAMED BIG 12 OFFENSIVE POTW: Arizona Football quarterback Noah Fifita has been voted as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday morning. Fifita, a redshirt junior, earned the honors for the second time this season; he was also tabbed as the Big 12 Offensive POTW following his performance over Oklahoma State early last month. The Wildcats star quarterback continued his strong run of play over the weekend in Boulder, throwing for 213 yards and four touchdowns on just 19 attempts Fifita helped lead Arizona to a dominant 52-17 victory over the Buffaloes and brought the Wildcats just one win shy of bowl eligibility. His effort on Saturday was his third game of the year throwing for four-plus touchdowns, making him one of only six quarterbacks in the nation to accomplish the feat. Fifita now sits just three passing touchdowns shy of the Arizona program record currently held by Nick Foles (2009–11) and Willie Tuitama (2005–08) who both passed for 67 scores in their careers.

LAST TIME OUT: Last week, quarterback Noah Fifita and a five-turnover effort from the defense led the Wildcats to a dominant 52-17 road victory over the Colorado Buffaloes. The victory put the Cats within one win of bowl eligibility. Additional highlights from the Colorado game includes…

Notable Postgame Notes

• Arizona closed the gap in the all-time series against Colorado to 11-17. With the win, the Wildcats evened the all-time series in Boulder at 7-7. Since Arizona and Colorado became conference foes in 2011, the Cats hold a commanding 10-5 lead over the Buffaloes.
• The 52 points scored by the Wildcats are their most on the road since dropping 59 on Arizona State in the 2023 Territorial Cup.
• Arizona’s five turnovers on Saturday in Boulder gives them 18 for the season, surpassing their mark of 16 from last year.
• The Wildcats now have multiple five-turnover games for the first time since the 2000 season.
• WR Tre Spivey opened the scoring with a 57-yard touchdown reception and now has seven touchdowns on just 12 touches this season.
• RB Kedick Reescano found the end zone midway through the third quarter, marking his third straight game with a rushing touchdown. State.

NOAH'S ARC: Redshirt junior quarterback Noah Fifita, one of the most prolific passers in program history, returns behind center to lead the Wildcats offense in 2025. The California native has logged three-plus seasons and 35 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 7,997 career passing yards and 65 career passing touchdowns, marks that both rank third in program history. Fifita is 1,215 yards shy of moving past Willie Tuitama (2005–08) for second all-time, while also standing just two passing touchdowns shy of a tie for first. 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. He was also added to the Manning Award watch list last month and has earned a pair of Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week nods.

ON THE MARK: In the Wildcats week eight contest at Houston, quarterback Noah Fifita completed 24-of-26 passes for a 92.3% completion rate, tying the Arizona single-game program record. Fifita’s ultra-accurate outing was the fourth best in the FBS this season, and the third best by a road quarterback in the last 30 years (minimum 25 attempts). Fifita is the only quarterback in the nation this season with a 90%-plus completion percentage in a game with 25 or more attempts.

PICK CITY: Arizona’s 12 interceptions this season are Top 10 in the nation. The Wildcats are currently on pace for 18 interceptions this season, which would be the most for the program since pulling in 19 during the 2017 season. The Wildcats defense is spearheaded by Defensive Coordinator Danny Gonzales, who has made led multiple INT-hungry defenses during his career. From 2011–16 while he served as the safeties coach at San Diego State, the Aztecs pulled in 100 interceptions, the third most in the country during that span. Across 12 games last year the Wildcats pulled in just eight interceptions. Seven different players have combined to pull in Arizona’s dozen picks: DBs Jay’Vion Cole (3), Treydan Stukes (2), Dalton Johnson (2), Genesis Smith, Gavin Hunter, and Jack Luttrell, alongside LB Taye Brown.

UNSHEATH THE SWORD: Arizona’s turnover sword has been busy this season, seeing use in 7-of-8 games so far with multiple uses in five separate games. The Wildcats 18 turnovers forced through eight games are tied for the sixth most in the nation and the most for the program since creating 19 turnovers across 13 games in 2023. With five turnovers against Colorado and Hawai’i, the Wildcats now boast multiple five-turnover performances for the first time since 2000 (USC & Washington State).

I GOT 5 ON IT: Quarterback Noah Fifita’s five passing touchdown performance at the beginning of the month against Oklahoma State was the fourth of his career and his second this season. The only other FBS players with multiple 5+ TD games this season are Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Temple’s Evan Simon (via Opta StatsPass). Across all of Arizona Football history there have been only 15 five-plus pass touchdown performances, four of which belong to Fifita, the most by any player (next: Khalil Tate, 3).

HIT SOMEONE: The returns on Defensive Coordinator Danny Gonzales’ unit have been promising through the first half of the season, with the Wildcats ranking among the top 25 teams in the nation in total defense (15th), passing defense (6th), first downs defense (11th), fumbles recovered (19th), interceptions (7th), team pass efficiency defense (3rd), tackles for loss (13th), and turnovers gained (6th). The Wildcats improvement from being ranked 105th to 15th in total defense from 2024 to 2025 is the fifth best improvement in the nation. The Cats also rank among the top 10 most improved units in yards per play (6.31, 2024; 4.37, 2025) and yards per game (413.0, 2024; 293.6, 2025). The Arizona defense has also been busy in the turnover department, pulling in 18 turnovers across the first eight games of the season after logging only 16 across 12 games last season. The Wildcats 18 turnovers gained (6th) and +1.00 turnover margin (10th) are both among the best marks in the nation among all 134 FBS programs.

MAHDI MOTION: Arizona running back Ismail Mahdi has been a key piece of the Wildcats offense over the first eight games, tallying 691 all-purpose yards and a trio 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 4,243 all-purpose yards (5th) and 128.58 all-purpose yards per game (2nd) during his FBS career.

WILDCATS IN THE NFL: The Arizona Wildcats are once again well represented in the NFL, with 11 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 11/2/25)

• 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
• Lucas Havrisik, K, Green Bay Packers
• Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers
• Jacob Cowing^, WR, San Francisco 49ers
• Gary Brightwell*, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

*Practice Squad    ^Reserve/Injured