Wildcats Kick Off 2026 Campaign Versus Northern Arizona
Arizona Athletics
8/31/2026
TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats (0-0) and the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (0-0) will face off this Saturday night at Casino Del Sol Stadium, signaling the start the 2026 football season for the Wildcats.
Saturday's game will be televised on ESPN+ with Chris Sylvester and Jordan Reid on the call. It will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.
Tickets for Saturday's season opener are available for purchase HERE.
For more news and notes on Saturday's game, continue below.
Arizona Notes & Numbers
- The Arizona Wildcats kick off the 2026 season, their third under the leadership of Head Coach Brent Brennan, this weekend at Casino Del Sol Stadium against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
- Saturday's game will be televised on ESPN+ with Chris Sylvester (PxP) and Jordan Reid (Analyst) on the call.
- The game will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM featuring play-by-play from Brian Jeffries, analysis from Lamont Lovett, and sideline reporting from Mackenzie Hamilton.
- The Wildcats have won four consecutive season openers, dating back to 2022, and are 87-30-5 all-time in their opening game of the season. Arizona has also won three straight home openers, with their last home debut loss coming in 2022 to Mississippi State. The Cats are 94-23-5 all-time in home openers.
- Under Head Coach Brent Brennan, Arizona has won two season openers by a combined score of 101-45.
- This year marks the 123rd season of Arizona Football. The Wildcats hold an all-time record of 646-511-33 entering this campaign.
- The Wildcats and Lumberjacks have squared off 19 times previously, with games dating back to 1931 and Arizona holding a 17-2 edge in the all-time series.
- Heisman candidate QB Noah Fifita leads the Wildcats offense again in 2026. He has thrown for 73 touchdowns and 9,183 yards in his Arizona career, marks that rank first and third in program history.
QB Noah Fifita has thrown 73 career touchdown passes, the most in program history and the most in the nation among all active FBS quarterbacks.
Fifita has also thrown for 9,183 yards in his career at Arizona, the third-most in program history and the most in the nation among all active FBS quarterbacks.
Fifita is 29 passing yards shy of passing Willie Tuitama (9,211 yards; 2005–08) for second in program history.
Arizona is one of only 12 FBS programs in the country who return their head coach, offensive and defensive coordinators, and their starting quarterback from 2025.
The Wildcats have three sets of brothers on their roster: Noah & Dash Fifita, Jake & Jackson Griffin, and Tré & Kingston Spivey. 10 FBS programs feature three or more sets of brothers on their rosters.
The average age of players on Arizona's roster is 20.49, which checks in as the 14th oldest average in the Power Four conferences and seventh in the Big 12 Conference (per RotoWire).
SOME GAME THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats kick off the 2026 season, their third under the leadership of Head Coach Brent Brennan, this weekend at Casino Del Sol Stadium against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks...Saturday's contest will serve as the program's annual Native American Heritage game...This week's game will be televised on ESPN+ with Chris Sylvester (PxP) and Jordan Reid (Analyst) on the call...The game will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM featuring play-by-play from Brian Jeffries, analysis from Lamont Lovett, and sideline reporting from Mackenzie Hamilton...Arizona enters the season just outside the AP Top 25, having received 32 votes in the preseason poll...Northern Arizona opened the 2026 campaign ranked No. 24 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll...The Wildcats and Lumberjacks have squared off 19 times previously, with games dating back to 1931 and Arizona holding a 17-2 edge in the all-time series...The Wildcats have won four consecutive season openers, dating back to 2022, and are 87-30-5 all-time in their opening game of the season...Arizona has also won three straight home openers, with their last home debut loss coming in 2022 to Mississippi State...The Cats are 94-23-5 all-time in home openers...Under Head Coach Brent Brennan, Arizona has won two season openers by a combined score of 101-45...This year marks the 123rd season of Arizona Football...The Wildcats hold an all-time record of 646-511-33 entering this campaign...Arizona fans are encouraged to WEAR BLUE to Saturday's game against the Lumberjacks.
CATS COACHES: Arizona Head Coach Brent Brennan leads the Wildcats for his third season in 2026 and returns nearly his entire coaching staff from last year's 9-4 squad that earned a trip to the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl. Joining Coach Brennan at the top are Offensive Coordinator Seth Doege and Defensive Coordinator Danny Gonzales. Arizona is one of only 12 FBS programs in the nation to return their head coach, offensive and defensive coordinators, and starting quarterback from last season. Among the Wildcats position coaches is just one "new" face, running backs coach Lyle Moevao, who was promoted into the role from his role as Assistant Coach - Offense last year.
NOAH'S ARC: Fifth year quarterback Noah Fifita, the nation's active career leader in touchdown passes, returns under center to lead the Wildcats offense one final time in 2026. Since taking over the starting quarterback role in 2023, Fifita has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest passers in program history. The California native already owns the program's all-time passing touchdowns record, and has the program's all-time passing yards record within striking distance.
BROTHERLY LOVE: Arizona's roster features three sets of brothers: Noah & Dash Fifita, Tré & Kingston Spivey, and Jake & Jaxon Griffin. The Wildcats are one of 15 FBS programs with multiple sets of brothers on their roster, and one of 10 with three or more sets of brothers. Oregon leads the nation with four sets of brothers.
TOUGH SLEDDING: In the attempt to build on the momentum they built last season, the Wildcats face an uphill battle in scheduling this year. Following their nine win season in 2025, one that included a 6-3 mark in Big 12 play, Arizona looks to replicate their success in 2026 but this time against the toughest schedule in the conference. The chart below shows the total number of conference wins each team's 2026 opponents collected in 2025, and their collective win percentage.
WATCH THIS SPACE: Wildcats players have spent the last month-plus pulling in preseason watch list honors from all across the spectrum. They are led by quarterback Noah Fifita, who has hauled in seven watch list recognitions. In total, eight Arizona players combined to reel in 18 watch list selections.
PICK CITY: Last season, the Wildcats finished the year with 22 interceptions, a mark that ranked second in the nation and was the most by an Arizona team since 1985. Following the season, an NFL record-tying four defensive backs were selected off the Wildcats roster, leaving the secondary in need of a restock. This season, the Arizona secondary alone boasts a total of 32 career interceptions: Jay'Vion Cole (11), Cam Chapa (8), Malcolm Hartzog (8), Johno Price (2), Gavin Hunter (1), Daylen Austin (1), and Lee Molette (1). This group, along with the Arizona front seven, will look to thrive on turnovers once again under defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales, who steered the Wildcats to the best turnover margin in the nation in 2025 (+1.38).
CHART TOPPERS: Arizona has seven players that rank among the Top 10 graded returning players in the Big 12 Conference, per PFF.
Arizona Players in the PFF's Big 12 Top 10
- Tristan Bounds
- Big 12 Rank: 9th
- 2025 Grade: 72.3
- Taye Brown
- Big 12 Rank: 7th
- 2025 grade: 75.9
- Cam Chapa
- Big 12 Rank: 1st
- 2025 grade: 91.4
- Jay'Vion Cole
- Big 12 Rank: 2nd
- 2025 grade: 86.3
- Noah Fifita
- Big 12 Rank: 3rd
- 2025 grade: 85.1
- Kedrick Reescano
- Big 12 Rank: 10th
- 2025 grade: 76.1
- Cole Rusk
- Big 12 Rank: 2nd
- 2025 grade: 79.2
THE INCREDIBLE DOOST: Offensive lineman Alexander Doost, who is in line to be a key piece of the Wildcats success up front offensively, was named to Bruce Feldman's 2026 Freaks List. The excerpt on Doost read: A Freshman All-American in 2024, Doost is a two-year starter at right guard. He’s a giant of a man at 6-7, 348. This offseason, he bench-pressed 440 pounds, power-cleaned 405 and back-squatted 650. He has impressive explosiveness for being so enormous. He vertical-jumped 30 inches, broad-jumped 9-0 and hit 18 mph on the GPS. Even more impressive: seeing a guy who weighs almost 350 pounds climb a rope 25 feet to reach the ceiling.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY: The Wildcats are banking on consistency of leadership delivering results for the team in 2026. Following a nine-win campaign last year, Arizona retained their head coach, offensive and defensive coordinators, and starting quarterback — they are one of only 12 FBS programs in the nation that can claim that. With that level of consistency of leadership, the Wildcats are among the top 8% in the FBS.
CASINO DEL SOL STADIUM: Last November, the University of Arizona and Casino Del Sol, an enterprise of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, announced a landmark 20-year naming rights agreement for Arizona Stadium valued at more than $60 million, the largest such agreement in Big 12 Conference history. Under the partnership, the venue will be known as Casino Del Sol Stadium. The naming partnership includes new exterior and interior branding, field logos, and digital platforms, along with expanded integration into national television broadcasts. The collaboration prioritizes the roles the U of A – as Arizona's flagship, land-grant university – and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe have in benefiting students, families, and communities across Southern Arizona. Through new programs and co-created initiatives, the partnership will deepen academic, cultural, and economic links between the university and the tribe.
WILDCATS IN THE NFL: The Arizona Wildcats are once again well represented in the NFL, with 14 players currently sprinkled throughout league rosters. Among the many highlights achieved by Wildcats in the NFL are the tremendous exploits of Tetairoa McMillan, one of the most accomplished wide receivers in program history and a first round draft selection of the Carolina Panthers in 2025. McMillan burst onto the scene as a rookie last year, pulling in 70 receptions for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns en route to being named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, PFWA Offensive Rookie of the Year, and PFWA Rookie of the Year. In the 2026 NFL Draft, the Wildcats had four defensive backs selected, tying the NFL record for number of DBs drafted from a single program in a draft.
Current Wildcats on NFL Rosters (as of 8/31/26)
- Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, LB, Buffalo Bills
- Jonah Savaiinaea, OL, Miami Dolphins
- Tyler Loop, K, Baltimore Ravens
- Genesis Smith, S, Los Angeles Chargers
- Dalton Johnson, S, Las Vegas Raiders
- Treydan Stukes, S, Las Vegas Raiders
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Washington Commanders
- Jordan Morgan, OL, Green Bay Packers
- Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers
- Ayden Garnes, CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Deshawn McKnight, DL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Nick Folk, K, Atlanta Falcons
- Jacob Cowing, WR, San Francisco 49ers
- Roy Lopez, DL, Detroit Lions
