The Arizona Wildcats look to keep their bowl hopes alive against the TCU Horned Frogs in Fort Worth. Here's a look at projected starting lineups, key matchups and a score prediction from Star reporter Justin Spears.
Arizona (4-6) at TCU (6-4)
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where: Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
Arizona running back Kedrick Reescano (3) gets mobbed by his teammates after ripping off a long run for a score against Northern Arizona in the fourth quarter Sept. 7 at Arizona Stadium.
Arizona Wildcats
Record: 4-6 (2-5 Big 12)
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
XWR | 4 | Tetairoa McMillan | 6-5 | 212 | Jr.
FWR | 2 | Jeremiah Patterson | 5-10 | 175 | Jr.
LT | 71 | Jonah Savaiinaea | 6-5 | 336 | Jr.
LG | 72 | Wendell Moe | 6-2 | 339 | R-So.
C | 75 | Josh Baker | 6-3 | 300 | Sr.
RG | 60 | Alexander Doost | 6-7 | 332 | R-Fr.
RT | 53 | Joey Capra | 6-4 | 301 | Sr.
TE | 88 | Keyan Burnett | 6-6 | 248 | Jr.
ZWR | 16 | Chris Hunter | 6-1 | 192 | R-So.
QB | 11 | Noah Fifita | 5-10 | 188 | R-So.
RB | 7 | Quali Conley | 5-10 | 209 | Sr.
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DE | 42 | Dominic Lolesio | 6-4 | 250 | R-Fr.
DT | 46 | Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei | 6-4 | 280 | Jr.
NT | 47 | Stanley Ta'ufo'ou | 6-2 | 274 | R-Sr.
DE | 3 | Tre Smith | 6-5 | 270 | R-Jr.
MLB | 6 | Taye Brown | 6-2 | 225 | So.
LB/S | 43 | Dalton Johnson | 5-11 | 202 | R-Jr.
Dime | 27 | Owen Goss | 6-2 | 202 | Sr.
CB | 20 | Marquis Groves-Killebrew | 6-0 | 185 | R-So.
CB | 1 | Tacario Davis | 6-4 | 190 | Jr.
NB | 12 | Genesis Smith | 6-2 | 203 | So.
FS | 13 | Jack Luttrell | 6-0 | 180 | R-Fr.
UA 2024 SCHEDULE
August
31 | NEW MEXICO | W, 61-39
September
7 | NORTHERN ARIZONA | W, 22-10
13 | at No. 14 Kansas State | L, 31-7
28 | at No. 10 Utah | W, 23-10
October
5 | TEXAS TECH | L, 28-22
12 | at No. 14 BYU | L, 41-19
19 | COLORADO | L, 34-7
26 | W. VIRGINIA | L, 31-26
November
2 | at UCF | L, 56-12
15 | HOUSTON* | W, 27-3
23 | at TCU
30 | ASU (Senior Day)
Home games in BOLD; *=Friday game
Arizona defensive back Marquis Groves-Killebrew mugs for the crowd after getting a sack and pushing back Houston in the third quarter on Nov. 15, 2024.
UA 2024 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Fifita | 217-357-11 | 2,548 | 15 | 78
McMillan | 1-2-0 | 14 | 0 | 14
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Conley | 127 | 677 | 8 | 5.3 | 67.7
Reescano | 64 | 293 | 1 | 4.6 | 29.3
Croskey-Merritt | 13 | 106 | 1 | 8.2 | 106.0
Fifita | 57 | 29 | 1 | 0.5 | 2.9
K. Luke | 5 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 2
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
McMillan | 69 | 1,136 | 7 | 16.4 | 113.6
Hunter | 24 | 259 | 1 | 10.8 | 25.9
Burnett | 18 | 217 | 1 | 12.1 | 27.1
Conley | 33 | 201 | 1 | 6.1 | 20.1
Lemonious-Craig | 17 | 172 | 1 | 10.1 | 17.2
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Johnson | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2
Brown | 57 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1
Manu | 47 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0
Smith, G. | 46 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1
Goss | 45 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3
Smith, T. | 44 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 1
Davis | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
TCU head coach Sonny Dykes, center, waits with the team to run out of the tunnel before the game against Central Florida on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas.
TCU Horned Frogs
Record: 6-4 (4-3 Big 12)
WHEN TCU IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
WR | 88 | Eric McAlister | 6-3 | 205 | Jr.
TE | 9 | Drake Dabney | 6-5 | 255 | Sr.
LT | 58 | Bless Harris | 6-5 | 320 | Sr.
LG | 51 | Coltin Deery | 6-4 | 325 | Jr.
C | 52 | James Brockermeyer | 6-3 | 295 | Jr.
RG | 62 | Carson Bruno | 6-4 | 305 | Jr.
RT | 56 | Ben Taylor-Whitfield | 6-6 | 315 | So.
WR | 7 | JP Richardson | 6-0 | 195 | Sr.
WR | 18 | Jack Bech | 6-2 | 215 | Sr.
QB | 10 | Josh Hoover | 6-2 | 200 | So.
RB | 3 | Savion Williams | 6-5 | 225 | Sr.
WHEN TCU IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DE | 54 | NaNa Osafo-Mensah | 6-3 | 255 | Sr.
DT | 90 | Caleb Fox | 6-3 | 310 | Sr.
DT | 91 | Tymon Mitchell | 6-3 | 320 | Sr.
DE | 11 | Devean Deal | 6-4 | 250 | Jr.
WLB | 4 | Namdi Obiazor | 6-3 | 220 | Sr.
MLB | 57 | Johnny Hodges | 6-2 | 240 | Sr.
NB | 1 | Abe Camara | 6-0 | 190 | Sr.
CB | 7 | Channing Canada | 6-1 | 185 | Jr.
FS | 21 | Bud Clark | 6-2 | 185 | Jr.
SS | 2 | Jamel Johnson | 6-1 | 200 | So.
CB | 6 | LaMareon James | 5-10 | 190 | Sr.
TCU quarterback Josh Hoover looks to pass against UCF during their game Sept. 14 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas.
TCU 2024 SCHEDULE
August
30 | at Stanford | W, 34-27*
September
7 | LONG ISLAND | W, 45-0
14 | UCF | L, 35-34
21 | at SMU | L, 66-42
28 | at Kansas | W, 38-27
October
4 | HOUSTON | L, 30-19*
19 | at Utah | W, 13-7
26 | TEXAS TECH | W, 35-34
November
2 | at Baylor | L, 37-34
9 | OKLAHOMA STATE | W, 38-13
23 | ARIZONA
30 | at Cincinnati
Home games in BOLD, * = Friday game
TCU 2024 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Hoover | 256-378-8 | 3,233 | 22 | 84
Seals | 7-8-0 | 41 | 1 | 13
Williams | 3-3-0 | 22 | 1 | 15
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Cook | 107 | 414 | 8 | 3.9 | 41.4
Williams | 34 | 232 | 2 | 6.8 | 23.2
Payne | 38 | 165 | 2 | 4.3 | 16.5
Battle | 25 | 99 | 0 | 4 | 19.8
Bailey | 2 | 65 | 1 | 32.5 | 7.2
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
Bech | 56 | 982 | 9 | 17.5 | 98.2
Williams | 54 | 580 | 6 | 10.8 | 58
McAlister| 25 | 552 | 4 | 22.1 | 55.2
Richardson | 44 | 523 | 0 | 11.9 | 52.3
Dabney | 15 | 114 | 0 | 7.6 | 11.4
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Hodges | 71 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0
Obiazor | 65 | 2.5 | 1 | 0 | 1
Johnson | 60 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
Clark | 50 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0
Camara | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1
Elarms-Orr | 37 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0
Broughton | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Head to Head
Arizona defensive back Tacario Davis (1) gestures skyward after a moment to himself in the end zone before the kick-off against West Virginia, October 25, 2024.
1 Tacario Davis vs. 18 Jack Bech
Davis and the rest of Arizona's defensive secondary will have arguably its toughest challenge of the season with a matchup against the top passing attack in the Big 12, which averages just under 330 yards per contest. In Arizona's win over Utah, Davis was targeted 13 times and only gave up five catches and had five pass breakups, per Pro Football Focus. Since then, Davis has been targeted a combined 17 times in six games. Davis is still searching for his first interception this season.
Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan leads the Big 12 in receiving yards, but next in line is Bech, who was also named a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award. Bech is one of three players nationally to rank in the Top 10 in receiving yards and touchdown catches. Bech needs 18 yards to become the sixth player in TCU history to record over 1,000 receiving yards in a season. The LSU transfer hasn't recorded 100-plus yards in a game since his 131-yard, two-touchdown performance against Kansas in September.
Arizona running back Quali Conley, left, stiff-arms his way around Houston defensive back A.J. Haulcy (2) in the third quarter of their Big 12 game on Nov. 15, 2024, at Arizona Stadium.
7 Quali Conley vs. 57 Johnny Hodges
After fumbling in back-to-back games for the first time in his career, Conley bounced back with 11 carries for 107 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Conley also broke out for a 50-yard touchdown run, his longest run since he bursted for 58 yards against Northern Arizona. Conley and Texas native Kedrick Reescano could have productive performances against a TCU defense that ranks third-to-last in the Big 12 in stopping the run. TCU has allowed 200-plus rushing yards in four games this season.
Hodges started his collegiate athletic career as a two-sport athlete at Navy, playing football and lacrosse. Following the 2021 season, Hodges transferred to TCU, where he became the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year after leading the Horned Frogs with 87 tackles. Hodges was sidelined with a hand injury in 2023, but preserved a year of eligibility by medically redshirting. This season, Hodges has started every game at linebacker and leads the Horned Frogs in tackles and fumble recoveries.
The matchup
When Arizona has the ball …
With TCU's wobbly rushing defense, the Wildcats will likely rely on the run game to control time of possession and keep Hoover, Bech and TCU's high-octane offense on the sideline as much as possible. Taking care of the football will be crucial for the Wildcats. UA quarterback Noah Fifita has five touchdowns and four interceptions on the road this season. Some of those turnovers snowballed into points for opposing teams.
When TCU has the ball ...
The Horned Frogs have four wide receivers with over 500 receiving yards this season, with Bech as the headliner. Hoover is one of two quarterbacks in the Big 12 to have over 3,000 passing yards this season, along with projected top draft pick and Colorado star Shedeur Sanders. However, TCU is second-to-last in the conference in rushing yards — and its top rusher is a wide receiver. If the Horned Frogs find balance, it could be a long afternoon in Texas for Arizona.
Prediction: Arizona 30, TCU 28
The last time Arizona trekked to Texas, the Wildcats celebrated a win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl and stamped their legacy as one of four teams in UA football history to win at least 10 games. Arizona was sparked by six takeaways in that bowl win. The last time Arizona won on the road this season, the Wildcats forced two takeaways and four turnover on downs in the upset victory over Utah. Against TCU, the Wildcats will likely need a takeaway or two — or six — to spoil the Horned Frogs' Senior Day. But the takeaways will only matter if Arizona can convert the extra possessions into points. After setting a school record with a 62-yard field goal last week, Dallas-area native and UA kicker Tyler Loop could double-down on his greatness with critical kicks on the road. If Arizona wins, it could set up a Territorial Cup showdown in Tucson with high stakes.
