Arizona opens year three of the Brent Brennan era on Saturday night with a matchup that should tell a little something about the Wildcats, even if the betting line says this one is supposed to be lopsided. Northern Arizona comes to Casino Del Sol Stadium having already banked a win, and Arizona has to treat that like a warning sign instead of a warm-up.
This is the 20th all-time meeting between the programs and the 15th since 2002. Arizona has owned the series at 17-2, with losses in 1932 and again in 2021, when the Lumberjacks snapped into the Wildcats’ nightmare stretch and handed UA its first loss of that season. That history is exactly why Brennan can’t afford any drift toward next week’s trip to BYU.
NAU arrives at 1-0 after one of the stranger comeback wins you’ll see this early in the year. The Lumberjacks were down 24-3 late in the first half against Eastern Washington before Lindsay Graves took a kick back 100 yards with 2:44 left before halftime. NAU got the ball back, scored again, and never let the Eagles recover in a 34-27 win.
Brian Wright’s team is now in year three under him and has gone 16-10 overall and 11-6 in the Big Sky. The Lumberjacks were picked fourth in the preseason conference rankings and had two players land on the preseason All-Big Sky team: tight end Jeter Purdy and cornerback Shoes Brinkley. Running back Quaran Gossett also made noise in Week 0, piling up 21 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown.
The biggest Arizona storyline starts with Noah Fifita. The senior quarterback isn’t showing up on preseason Heisman lists, but this is the kind of opener where he can start shifting that conversation. A strong performance against an FCS opponent won’t change everything, but it can set the tone for what could be his best season yet.
Fifita is coming off a productive 2025 season in which he completed 64.3% of his passes for a career-high 3,228 yards, with 29 touchdowns and six interceptions. He finished second in the Big 12 in completions with 275 and touchdowns, and was third in passing yards. Arizona also brings back nine starters from last year’s offense, which went 9-4.
The Wildcats won’t have Kris Hutson and Javin Whatley anymore, but Fifita does have plenty of familiarity with the next wave. Tre Spivey, Chris Hunter, and Gio Richardson are all in line to start after finishing third, fourth, and fifth on the team in receiving yards last season.
There’s also plenty to watch on the other side of the ball. Arizona’s secondary was one of the program’s best units last season, and three members of that group were drafted in 2026: Treydan Stukes in the second round, Genesis Smith in the fourth, and Dalton Johnson in the fifth. Ayden Garnes wasn’t drafted, but he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, another sign of how productive Danny Gonzales’ defensive back room was.
This year’s group has some new pieces, including Charlotte transfer Dwight Bootle II and Nebraska transfer Malcolm Hartzog. Gonzales had high praise for Hartzog, calling him "one of the best cover guys in man-to-man I've ever been around," though Hartzog is also coming off a season in which he played just one game before an injury ended his year.
Arizona should have a clear edge against an FCS quarterback who went 15-27 in Week 0, but the bigger question is how cleanly the Wildcats execute with BYU sitting in Week 2. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM MT at Casino Del Sol Stadium, with Arizona listed as a -31.5 favorite after opening at -32.5 at FanDuel.
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Arizonas Opener Will Reveal Which Wildcats Are Ready To Break Through
Arizona opens its third season under Brent Brennan with a familiar kind of measuring-stick game, one that should tell the Wildcats plenty about where they stand early and which players are ready to take the next step. Noah Fifita remains the clear centerpiece on offense, and the opener against Northern Arizona also puts a spotlight on names like wide receiver Giovanni Richardson, along with a few newcomers and depth pieces whose camp work has made them worth watching closely.
Northern Arizona brings its own familiar threats, including running back Quran Gossett and defensive tackle Jackson Murray, so this is more than a tune-up for Arizona even if the gap in expectations is obvious. For the Wildcats, the real intrigue is which supporting players turn August momentum into September production, and which of them can turn a first-game opportunity into something bigger as the season starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona Opens With One Big Noah Fifita Question
Arizona heads into its 2026 opener against Northern Arizona at Casino Del Sol Stadium with plenty of continuity and plenty left to prove. The Wildcats are bringing back more than half of their starters from a 9-4 season, while also blending in newcomers and first-time starters, including transfers and freshmen, as the roster starts to take shape around another run.
At the center of it all is Noah Fifita, who is closing in on school records and is being talked about as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Even with that buzz, the early-season focus remains on the broader picture, because the staff has made clear that the opener is about getting the team ready to win rather than turning September into a personal showcase for its quarterback. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona Opens With Pressure To Deliver The Start Fans Expect
Arizona opens its season Saturday against Northern Arizona at Casino Del Sol Stadium, and there will be an immediate sense of expectation around Brent Brennans team. Brennan and defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales spent the week talking about what the Wildcats want to establish early, with the opener offering a first look at how Arizona intends to handle the pressure that comes with being the bigger brand, the deeper roster and the home favorite in a game fans expect it to control.
Noah Fifita is once again the central figure in that conversation for Arizona, while Northern Arizona brings Ty Pennington and a chance to make the Wildcats prove their focus from the start. Openers can be tricky even when the matchup looks straightforward, and this one gives Arizona a chance to show whether the standard Brennan has talked about will show up right away or take a little longer to settle in. [Read more 🡒]