Arizona is walking into one of the biggest nights in recent memory, and the stakes are obvious before a single snap is taken. On Saturday evening, the Wildcats host undefeated Utah at Casino Del Sol Stadium in a matchup that carries real weight for both teams.
Arizona enters at 7-2 overall and 4-2 in Big 12 play, still hanging onto an outside path to the Big 12 championship game. The Wildcats also showed up in the College Football Playoff top 25 this week at No. 23, which only adds to the buzz around this one.
Utah comes in at No. 2 and unbeaten, fresh off a wild 28-20 win over BYU in the Holy War last Saturday. The Utes have been perfect so far, but the résumé has a wrinkle: only two of their nine wins have come against ranked teams, and both of those were at home against No.
14 Houston and No. 9 BYU by eight points apiece.
That makes this trip to Tucson a major checkpoint. It is Utah’s first and only road game against a top 25 team this season, so the environment and the opponent both matter here. The Utes have handled road work before, beating Iowa State by two touchdowns in Week 4 and rolling past Cincinnati 49-25 two weeks ago, but they also needed a close escape in Colorado, where they edged the 1-5 Buffs by three.
Arizona is hoping the setting helps tilt things its way. FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff is coming to town, and program legend Rob Gronkowski will be there too, giving the Wildcats the kind of atmosphere they’ll want if they’re going to spring the upset and make noise nationally.
The challenge is a big one. Utah is led by Devon Dampier, who has put together a strong season with 2,053 passing yards, a 20-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and another 482 rushing yards with seven scores on the ground. He gives the Utes a quarterback who can beat defenses in more than one way, and that puts extra pressure on an Arizona defense that is dealing with injuries in the secondary.
The Wildcats will also have to account for Braden Pegan, one of the key threats Utah brings into the matchup. If Arizona is going to turn this into a statement win, slowing Dampier and Pegan will be at the center of it.
Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on Saturday, Nov.
- Odds are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
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