No. 2 Utah can shore up its College Football Playoff resume Saturday, and even has an outside shot at clinching a spot in the Big 12 championship game, when the Utes visit No. 23 Arizona in Tucson.
The Utes (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) are off to their best start since 2008 and jumped to the second spot in the College Football Playoff rankings this week after a 28-20 victory over in-state rival BYU last week. It was their second one-score win over a ranked team in the past three weeks, making Utes’ first-year coach Morgan Scalley a frontrunner for national Coach of the Year honors.
Arizona (7-2, 4-2) can derail a lot of trophy talk Saturday.
The Wildcats have won six of seven games, most recently rallying for a 29-28 victory over TCU that saw them score twice in the final two minutes with a recovered onside kick fueling the rally. The Wildcats have won seven in a row at home, their longest home win streak since 1993-94.
Quarterback play takes center stage, which is nothing new in the rivalry.
Arizona’s Noah Fifita is the active FBS leader in passing yards (11,977) and touchdowns (94) and will be making his 44th consecutive start, while Utah’s Devon Dampier has accounted for 27 total TDs.
“Noah Fifita’s had our number the last two times we’ve played them,” Scalley said, referring to losses to Arizona in 2023 and 2024. “He’s very competitive and he’s super smart. Everyone knows how difficult it is to face Devon, he’s no different. I love the fact that he’s stayed at Arizona and been loyal to that program.”
This season Fifita has thrown for 2,794 yards and 21 TDs, completing 73 percent of his passes, and added four rushing TDs.
Dampier has thrown for 2,053 yards with 20 TDs and run for 480 yards with seven scores. Arizona already is familiar with Dampier. With New Mexico in 2024, the QB had 390 yards of total offense and five total TDs while Arizona walked away with a 61-39 victory. It was Brent Brennan’s debut as Arizona head coach.
“He’s awesome, he’s an awesome player, made all kinds of plays against us,” Brennan said. “I think they scored 40 points in that game. He was super impressive. Still is.”
Dampier’s mobility and ability to run will test an Arizona defense that has held six teams under 100 rushing yards but has allowed 300-plus to West Virginia and Texas Tech, both of which had a dual-threat quarterback.
“That’s kryptonite in all of football,” Brennan said. “I think that’s a challenge for all of college football, and obviously Dampier is exceptional at it.”
Utah is hopeful running back Wayshawn Parker will be at full strength after he was limited to 14 carries for 36 yards against BYU because of injury. Parker’s 762 rushing yards and his nine TDs are tied for third in the conference.
Arizona could be down several starters in the secondary. Cornerback Jay’Vion Cole and Cam Chapa both missed the TCU game, when slot corner Malcolm Hartzog and safety Quinn Olson also were injured. The Wildcats are tied for 10th nationally in sacks with 28 but can be susceptible to big plays through the air because of their aggressive style of defense.
“This is a disruptive defense,” Scalley said. “They do a lot of stunts, lot of pressure, similar to us, and they’re not afraid to go zero coverage. This is going to be an awesome battle.”