Noah Fifita’s first football memories are tied to Utah, and on Saturday he gets one more chance to make the Utes pay for it.
Arizona’s quarterback grew up around Utah football long before he ever took a snap in the rivalry. His father, Les, still has a photo from Oct. 18, 2003, when he carried a two- to three-month-old Noah into Rice-Eccles Stadium for Utah’s 28-10 win over UNLV.
“I had him in one of those little holders where you hold him on your chest,” Les told The Salt Lake Tribune. “He was two to three months old, and it was at Rice-Eccles.
“He grew up watching my brother Steve.”
That family connection ran deep. Noah was born in 2003 and spent his childhood wearing Ute red because his uncles, Steve and Kelly Talavou, played for Utah. As he got older, he latched onto Brian Johnson, the former Utah quarterback who guided the Utes to an undefeated season in 2008.
Now, though, Fifita is the one standing in the way. No.
2 Utah visits No. 22 Arizona on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
MT, and Fifita will be trying to end the Utes’ perfect season.
It will also be only the fourth time Steve has pulled against Utah.
“I’m a Ute fan every week except this week,” Steve told The Tribune. “The family ties are a lot stronger.”
That loyalty clash comes with a twist: this may be the last time Fifita faces Utah, something Ute fans probably won’t mind hearing. He has already beaten them twice as a starter.
In 2023, he threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns in Arizona’s 42-18 win. Last season, he helped knock Utah out of its perfect start by passing for 197 yards and two scores in a 23-10 victory.
“Noah Fifita’s had our number for the last two times that we’ve played him,” Utah head coach Morgan Scalley said on Monday.
Fifita’s connection to Utah football goes beyond family. He attended Utah’s kids’ camps growing up and has photos with Scalley and former head coach Kyle Whittingham. One of Les’s favorite pictures shows a young Noah in Rice-Eccles Stadium looking up at the scoreboard, almost as if he was imagining himself there someday.
He eventually did play in that stadium - just not in Utah colors. His first touchdown pass came at Rice-Eccles in 2022, when he entered in the fourth quarter of a 45-20 loss to the Utes and hit Tetairoa McMillan on a fade to the left corner of the north end zone.
“It was definitely a dream for him to play over there,” Les said. “It’s not a chip on his shoulder, but I think he just relishes being there and playing against them.”
So why didn’t he end up at Utah?
The answer, according to the family, is straightforward: the Utes never offered him out of high school.
Fifita stayed with Arizona and never entered the transfer portal, even when Utah was searching for a starting quarterback two offseasons ago. Les said the situation fit what he believed was part of a bigger plan.
“It’s just a business,” Les said. “If you look at it historically, the quarterbacks that they have picked are the 6-foot-4 prototypical guys. I think Brian Johnson was their shortest guy that they’ve ever had.
“There were some talks with some of our family members about potential interest in coming over there, but it didn’t end up happening. I feel like everything has been ordained and God has a plan for us, and this was the best fit for him.”
Steve said he was surprised Utah passed on Noah.
“I was a little surprised,” Steve said. “He was the best quarterback here in Southern California.”
Even so, there was no bitterness.
“That’s just how it goes. It was all a part of God’s plan,” Steve said. “There were no hard feelings or anything.”
Arizona got the quarterback it wanted, and Utah eventually found its own answer in Devon Dampier, who has emerged as a potential Heisman candidate this season.
Fifita is on track to finish his Arizona career as one of the best quarterbacks in school history. But no matter where his path takes him next, Utah will always have a special place in it.
“He just grew up loving Utah football,” Les said.
And now he gets one last shot at beating it.
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