defense
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Noah Fifita breaks Arizona's all-time passing mark as Wildcats roll over Northern Illinois 42-17
- (AP) — Arizona coach Brent Brennan was not going to let Noah Fifita miss a chance to break the school's all-time passing mark at home.
- Fifita threw for 325 yards to become Arizona's all-time leading passer and accounted for five touchdowns, leading the Wildcats to a 42-17 win over Northern Illinois Saturday night.
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Game Preview: Arizona vs. Northern Illinois
- Arizona recorded six sacks and held Northern Arizona to minus-7 rushing yards in its opener. That is an encouraging early disruption result under Danny Gonzales, but it came against an FCS opponent and does not establish the same production against Northern Illinois.
- After nine wins in 2025, Arizona retained its head coach, both coordinators and starting quarterback Noah Fifita. The preview identifies that leadership continuity as a strength entering 2026; it does not report a new play-caller, quarterback change or confirmed plan to rest starters against NIU.
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Some notable Danny G quotes
- LB/DB: sure the offense sucked the entire second half but in those last 8 minutes, when the game was decided, the defense also sucked.
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Arizona Pregame Notebook: Noah Fifita closing on on record
- Arizona gave all running-back carries against BYU to Kedrick Reescano and Quincy Craig. Brent Brennan cited their physical running against a bigger front, but said Antwan Roberts will get opportunities and the offense will need more backs. Ismail Mahdi's lack of carries was described as a game-flow decision, not an injury or permanent removal from the rotation. - Arizona receivers Tre Spivey and Chris Hunter have started slowly, according to the report. Brennan emphasized ful
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Secondary usage
- DL/LB: "We used that rotation how we’re going to kind of use it," Gonzalez said.
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- Defense: Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales said "94% of Big 12 football games are won and lost in the last eight minutes." Arizona-BYU "was lost in the last eight minutes," Gonzales said.
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Bright Spots
- OL/LB: The O line will grow immensely from this.
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Quinn Olson
- Pick/market: i'll take their word for it, but it sure felt good when we had taller guys in the secondary.
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On to NIU
- RB/WR: Here’s what I’m looking for next week: WR rotations - Get the young guys real reps in what should be a blowout.
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Arizona-BYU Fan Perspective:
- OL/DL: i doubt it, but as i posted elsewhere, a lot of games seem like they could go either way at this point.
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