Arizona walks into Saturday’s Big 12 opener with more than just a shot at a road win. The Wildcats are also bringing back two familiar faces who could matter right away: running back Ismail Mahdi and linebacker Max Harris.
Arizona confirmed Friday that both players will be added to the roster before the matchup with No. 15 BYU, and both have been cleared for competition.
Mahdi led Arizona in rushing in 2025, while Harris finished third on the team in tackles. They’ve been practicing with the team, so their return should give Arizona help and depth on both sides of the ball.
It also gives Brent Brennan’s staff a wrinkle BYU didn’t have on its original scouting report.
That matters in a game where every edge counts.
Kickoff is set for 12:30 PM PT on FOX, and the Wildcats will need a cleaner start than most road underdogs can afford. Arizona scored on three of its first four possessions in Week 1 against NAU, but duplicating that kind of opening against a top 15 opponent in Provo is a different challenge entirely. Still, if Arizona wants a chance at an upset, the early tone has to come from the offense.
That means leaning on the run game. Mahdi, Kedrick Reescano and Antwan Roberts will be central to that plan, with Arizona trying to move the chains and make life easier for Noah Fifita. The more the Wildcats can stay ahead of schedule, the more they can force BYU to defend the whole field.
And that brings the spotlight to the quarterback matchup.
Fifita and Bear Bachmeier might be the marquee duel of the Big 12’s opening weekend. Fifita brings the seasoned side of the matchup, with 41 career starts and more than 800 career completions.
Bachmeier, meanwhile, arrived as a true freshman last year and made an immediate impact as a dual-threat threat. He threw only seven interceptions in his first season, though two of them came against Arizona in Tucson.
Both quarterbacks have shown a knack for taking care of the ball and making the right decision. On Saturday, the sharper one may be the difference.
Arizona’s defense also has a very specific job in front of it: stop the run. The Wildcats completely shut down NAU in Week 1, holding the Lumberjacks to -7 rushing yards, and that same edge will be tested by BYU’s ground game.
Senior LJ Martin is a major problem to solve. He led the Big 12 last year with 236 carries, 1,305 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, and Arizona has to keep him from turning routine snaps into first downs.
If Martin starts grinding out yardage, it gets a lot harder for Arizona to get off the field and keep the game in reach.
There’s also a little extra fuel hanging around this one after Brennan’s comments this week. The Arizona coach said in his weekly press conference that the Provo crowd did not affect the Wildcats in last year’s loss. Whether that was meant as a matter-of-fact answer or not, it may have landed as bulletin board material in Provo.
BYU’s crowd already brings noise and energy. Add Brennan’s remarks to the mix, and Saturday has the feel of another chapter in a Big 12 rivalry that’s starting to take shape.
In Other News...
Arizona Let A Winnable Game Slip Away In Provo
Arizona had a chance to leave Provo with a win and instead walked out with another reminder of how thin the margin can be on the road in the Big 12. The Wildcats led at halftime, but the second half belonged to BYU, which settled in behind running back LJ Martin and controlled the games pace on the way to a 28-17 finish. It was Arizonas third straight loss to the Cougars, and one that felt winnable for much of the night before the game tilted away.
Gio Richardsons injury after the first quarter also changed the shape of Arizonas offense, especially once the Wildcats needed answers moving the chains after halftime. A late fourth-down spot added another layer of frustration when the initial ruling was overturned on review, giving the ball back to BYU before the Cougars capitalized a few plays later. For Arizona, it was the kind of sequence that leaves plenty to sort through, because the loss was not just about one bad stretch but about a game that slipped through its hands in pieces. [Read more 🡒]