A key conference game will be on tap when No. 22 Arizona faces No. 13 Texas Tech in a Big 12 contest on Saturday afternoon in Lubbock, Texas.
The Wildcats (6-1, 3-1) and Red Raiders (6-1, 3-1) are among four teams tied for second place in the league, a game behind Utah.
Texas Tech won the Big 12 in 2025 and advanced to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, losing to Oregon.
This season, the Red Raiders are coming off their first loss, 37-24 at Cincinnati last Saturday.
“Go 1-0 and you control everything,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said. “This is an extremely competitive conference.”
Arizona has won five games in a row, most recently a 39-3 drubbing at home against Iowa State last Saturday. The Wildcats have locked up bowl eligibility in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2014-15 and have back-to-back years with a five-game winning streak for the first time since 1992-93.
Arizona’s only loss was at then-No. 15 BYU on Sept. 12, and since then the Wildcats have averaged 40.2 points per game and have won by an average of 23.8. But they’ll face a Texas Tech defense that has picked off 13 passes, including five for scores, while five of seven opponents have failed to reach 80 rushing yards.
“That’s one of those things where you hope that the experience of (quarterback) Noah Fifita and the battles that he’s been over time, that those reps help him make great decisions with the football,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “We played against lots of really good defenses, and I do think this — besides BYU — I think this is the best defense we played all year.”
Fifita, the school career leader in passing yardage (11,247) and touchdown passes (91), will make his 42nd consecutive start. This season he’s thrown for 2,064 yards and 18 TDs with just four interceptions, completing 74.2% of his throws, and has three rushing touchdowns.
“I think the national narrative around Noah is slow and late to the game,” Brennan said. “For him to not being talked about as one of the absolute best quarterbacks, best players in the country right now, I don’t understand that.”
Texas Tech, meanwhile, is expected to get back running back Cameron Dickey, who ran for 1,124 yards and 14 touchdowns last season but has missed the last two games after suffering an ankle injury at Colorado on Oct. 3. In his absence, J’Koby Williams has paced a running game that averages 189.7 yards per game.
“It’s going to be good to have him back, another guy that’s been in some big games,” McGuire said.
Dickey’s return could take some pressure off Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond, who has as many TD passes (six) as interceptions this season. The Red Raiders could also turn to Thomas Castellanos, who has appeared in four games. He has thrown for only 45 yards — completing 3 of 5 passes — but has rushed for 65 yards on 15 carries.
–Field Level Media
