It will be a clash of styles facing off on short rest when No. 22 Arizona hosts TCU in a Big 12 conference game on Friday night in Tucson, Ariz.
The host Wildcats (6-2, 3-2) sport one of the top passing offenses in the conference, as well as the country. Led by school career yardage and touchdown leader Noah Fifita, Arizona averages 324.1 passing yards per game to lead the Big 12 and rank sixth nationally.
Fifita, who will be making his 43rd consecutive start, has completed 74.1 percent of his passes for 2,481 yards and 19 TDs. He’s coming off a 417-yard performance in a 34-26 loss at No. 15 Texas Tech, which snapped Arizona’s five-game win streak.
“I think he plays really with a lot of confidence, a lot of comfort,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said of Fifita. “The thing that probably concerns you as much as anything is his ability to keep plays alive in the pocket and then find receivers down the field. He probably does that as good as any quarterback I’ve seen in a long time.”
Arizona has navigated injuries to multiple receivers, but despite that, Isaiah Mizell has emerged as a breakout star. He has 34 catches for 675 yards and six TDs, and his 100-plus yards in three straight games make him the first Wildcat to do so since future first-round NFL draft pick Tetairoa McMillan had five consecutive 100-yard games in 2023-24.
TCU (4-4, 2-3) has the second-best pass defense in the Big 12, allowing 174.6 yards per game. The Horned Frogs have yielded just four passing TDs in eight games, tied with four other schools for fewest in FBS.
The Frogs have the total scoring defense in the conference, giving up 14.1 points per game. No team has scored more than 24 against them this season.
“They’re the best defense in our conference,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “I think they do an awesome job of mixing up their coverages or pressures, they do a very good job of defending what you put on tape.”
TCU has had to rely on its defense because the offense has struggled to score consistently. The 22 points it scored in last week’s comeback home win over Kansas was its most this season against a power conference opponent. The offensive woes led to Dykes firing co-offensive coordinator AJ Ricker late last month.
Quarterback Jaden Craig has thrown for 2,207 yards and 11 TDs but seven of those scored came against Grambling State and Arkansas State. He was just 13 of 29 for 141 yards last time out, and TCU’s rushing attack has also struggled with a Big 12-worst 114.6 yards per game.
Arizona isn’t much better on the ground, averaging 131.5 yards per game, and against Texas Tech had 12 rushing.
This will be TCU’s first trip to Tucson since 2003, when its 13-10 win led to the firing of Arizona coach John Mackovic. The succeeding head coach, Mike Stoops, had Dykes as his offensive coordinator from 2007-09, and in 2014 he was head coach at Cal when the Wildcats beat the Golden Bears 49-45 on a Hail Mary.
