As is customary, the Arizona Wildcats will open the 2023 football season under the lights.
Arizona will face NAU at 7 p.m. in the Sept. 2 season opener at Arizona Stadium. The game will air on Pac-12 Networks.
The Wildcats head to Starkville, Mississippi, the following week to take on Mississippi State. The game will kick off at 4:30 p.m. Arizona time (6:30 local) and will air on the SEC Network. The Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats 39-17 last season in Tucson.
Arizona finishes the non-conference portion of its schedule on Sept. 16 at home vs. UTEP. That game will kick off at 8 p.m. and also air on Pac-12 Networks.
As part of the early-season college football schedules released Wednesday, the Arizona-USC game on Oct. 7 in Los Angeles was assigned to an ESPN platform. The specifics of that game, and the rest of the Wildcats' schedule, will be revealed during the season.
Arizona finished 5-7 last season, its second under Jedd Fisch. That represented a four-win improvement from Fisch's first season.
Rutherford in portal
Arizona cornerback Isaiah Rutherford has entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Rutherford came to the UA via the portal in January 2021 after starting his college career at Notre Dame. As a graduate transfer, he's able to re-enter the portal outside the designated windows.
Rutherford started seven of the first eight games in 2021 before missing the final portion of the season because of injury. He appeared in five games last season, including two starts. In all, Rutherford had 24 tackles, four passes defenses and one fumble recovery.
Arizona is moving in a new direction at cornerback, where sophomore Ephesians Prysock is expected to start this season — with classmate Tacario Davis possibly alongside him.
The Wildcats also added transfers Martell Irby, Charles Yates Jr. and Dylan Wyatt this offseason. They join returnees Treydan Stukes, who's likely moving to nickel back, and Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine, plus a pair of freshmen, Canyon Moses and Emmanuel Karnley.
Arizona finished spring practice after hosting its annual spring game on Saturday at Arizona Stadium. Wildcats head coach Jedd Fisch recapped the spring and talked about the "halftime" of the offseason.
