In the battle of the Wildcats, Arizona faces Weber State for its second nonconference game. Here's a look at starting lineups, key matchups and a prediction from Star reporter Justin Spears.
Weber State (0-1) at Arizona (1-0)
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Arizona Stadium
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
Weber State quarterback Jackson Gilkey (2) gets tripped up by James Madison safety Jacob Thomas (7) during the first half in Harrisonburg, Va., Aug. 30, 2025.
Weber State Wildcats
2025 record: 0-1 (0-0 Big Sky)
WHEN WEBER STATE IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
WR | 81 | Kelton Wafer | 6-0 | 180 | Fr.
TE | 84 | Noah Bennee | 6-4 | 240 | Sr.
LT | 71 | Gavin Ortega | 6-5 | 300 | Sr.
LG | 62 | Jacob Edmonds | 6-2 | 300 | So.
C | 65 | Cole Casto | 6-3 | 280 | Sr.
RG | 74 | Vae Soifua | 6-4 | 295 | Jr.
RT | 63 | Trevor Beck | 6-5 | 305 | So.
WR | 4 | Jayleen Record | 5-8 | 175 | Sr.
WR | 18 | Marvin Session | 6-1 | 205 | Jr.
QB | 2 | Jackson Gilkey | 6-2 | 215 | So.
RB | 25 | Javion Godley | 5-9 | 200 | So.
WHEN WEBER STATE IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DE | 1 | Keahnist Thompson | 6-3 | 255 | Jr.
DT | 97 | Matt Herron | 6-3 | 280 | Jr.
DT | 99 | Easton Payne | 6-3 | 285 | Sr.
DE | 17 | Josh Hardy | 6-4 | 250 | Jr.
LB | 0 | Mayson Hitchens | 6-1 | 220 | Jr.
LB | 33 | Aizik Mahuka | 6-3 | 225 | So.
LB | 13 | Sione Hala | 6-1 | 225 | Jr.
CB | 22 | Ishaan Daniels | 5-10 | 175 | So.
SS | 24 | Angel King | 6-1 | 200 | Sr.
FS | 12 | Kao Hansen | 6-3 | 210 | Jr.
CB | 20 | Montae Pate | 6-2 | 170 | Jr.
WSU 2025 SCHEDULE
August
30 | at James Madison | L, 45-10
September
6 | at Arizona
13 | at McNeese State
20 | BUTLER
27 | at UC Davis
October
11 | SACRAMENTO STATE
18 | at Portland State
25 | EASTERN WASHINGTON
November
1 | MONTANA
8 | at Montana State
15 | at Idaho State
22 | NORTHERN ARIZONA
Home games in Bold
WSU 2025 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Gilkey | 10-24-3 | 84 | 1 | 16
McCollum | 0-2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Hrbachek | 12 | 39 | 0 | 3.2 | 39.0
Gilkey | 8 | 21 | 0 | 2.6 | 21.0
Godley | 5 | 12 | 0 | 2.4 | 12.0
May | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1.7 | 5.0
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
Chretien | 2 | 22 | 0 | 11.0 | 22.0
Bennee | 1 | 16 | 0 | 16.0 | 16.0
Kjar | 1 | 14 | 1 | 14.0 | 14.0
Butler | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11.0 | 11.0
Ford | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10.0 | 10.0
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
King | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Hitchens | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Hansen | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Pate | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Tribble | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Carey | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Herron | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Arizona linebacker Taye Brown (6), center, draws a happy crowd as defensive linemen Mays Pese (99), left, and Julian Savaiinaea (41) celebrate his intercepting of Hawaii in the third quarter of the Wildcats’ season opener, Aug. 30, 2025, at Arizona Stadium.
Arizona Wildcats
2025 Record: 1-0 (0-0 Big 12)
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
WR | 12 | Tre Spivey III | 6-4 | 212 | R-So.
WR | 4 | Kris Hutson | 5-11 | 173 | R-Sr.
LT | 75 | Ty Buchanan | 6-6 | 314 | R-Sr.
LG | 77 | Michael Wooten | 6-5 | 323 | R-Jr.
C | 52 | Ka'ena Decambra | 6-3 | 308 | R-Sr.
RG | 63 | Alexander Doost | 6-7 | 330 | R-So.
RT | 71 | Tristan Bounds | 6-8 | 291 | R-Sr.
TE | 84 | Sam Olson | 6-3 | 229 | R-Sr.
WR | 11 | Chris Hunter | 6-1 | 195 | R-Jr.
QB | 1 | Noah Fifita | 5-10 | 195 | R-Jr.
RB | 3 | Kedrick Reescano | 6-0 | 214 | Jr.
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DE | 42 | Dominic Lolesio | 6-4 | 252 | R-So.
DT | 0 | Deshawn McKnight | 6-3 | 288 | Sr.
DT | 98 | Tiaoalii Savea | 6-4 | 301 | R-Sr.
DE | 3 | Tre Smith | 6-5 | 262 | R-Sr.
LB | 6 | Taye Brown | 6-2 | 231 | Jr.
LB | 4 | Max Harris | 6-0 | 230 | Sr.
NB | 23 | Gavin Hunter | 6-2 | 204 | R-So.
CB | 9 | Ayden Garnes | 6-0 | 183 | R-Sr.
CB | 25 | Michael Dansby | 5-11 | 185 | Sr.
BS | 43 | Dalton Johnson | 5-11 | 198 | R-Sr.
FS | 12 | Genesis Smith | 6-2 | 204 | Jr.
UA 2025 SCHEDULE
August
30 | HAWAII | W, 40-6
September
6 | WEBER STATE
12 | KANSAS STATE*
27 | at No. 16 Iowa State
October
4 | OKLAHOMA STATE
11 | BYU (Family Weekend)
18 | at Houston
November
1 | at Colorado
8 | KANSAS (Homecoming, Military Appreciation)
15 | at Cincinnati
22 | BAYLOR (Senior Day)
28 | at No. 12 Arizona State* (Territorial Cup)
Home games in Bold; *=Friday game
UA 2025 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Fifita | 13-23-0 | 161 | 1 | 42
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Craig | 7 | 125 | 1 | 17.9 | 125.0
Reescano | 10 | 51 | 1 | 5.1 | 51.0
Mahdi | 6 | 23 | 1 | 3.8 | 23.0
Fifita | 8 | -14 | 1 | -1.8 | -14.00
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
Phelps | 2 | 50 | 0 | 25.0 | 50.0
Whatley | 3 | 38 | 0 | 12.7 | 38.0
Spivey | 1 | 27 | 0 | 27.0 | 27.0
Mizell | 2 | 23 | 0 | 11.5 | 23.0
Richardson | 2 | 14 | 0 | 7.0 | 14.0
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Johnson | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Brown | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1
Cole | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0
Harris | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
T. Smith | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Head to Head
Arizona tight end Sam Olson (84) flips the ball to the back judge after scoring a TD on a wide open catch in the back of the end zone in the third quarter versus Hawaii, Aug. 30, 2025, at Arizona Stadium.
84 Sam Olson vs. 24 Angel King
Olson caught Arizona's only touchdown pass in its season-opening win over Hawaii, the ninth touchdown reception of his career. The sixth-year Olson will now shoulder more of the reps at tight end, with Tyler Powell out for the season with a leg injury and Keyan Burnett rehabilitating an injury he suffered in training camp.
King, a fifth-year senior and Los Angeles native, leads Weber State in tackles this season and has WSU's only takeaway of the season. King enters his second season at Weber State after appearing in 11 games last season. King started his career at Nevada and played two seasons for the Wolfpack from 2020-21, then followed head coach Jay Norvell from Nevada to Colorado State.
Arizona defensive back Dalton Johnson speaks to reporters on media day at Davis Sports Center, July 29, 2025.
2 Jackson Gilkey vs. 43 Dalton Johnson
Gilkey had a rocky debut at Weber State last week. In Weber State's 45-10 loss to James Madison, the UTSA transfer completed just 42% of his passes and threw three interceptions. Gilkey ended his career at Ennis High School (Texas) with 5,725 yards and 51 touchdowns, the second-most in school history behind Graham Harrell, a former Texas Tech star and coaching mentor of Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege.
Johnson led UA in tackles (10) against Hawaii, which marked his sixth double-digit-tackle performance as a Wildcat. Known for his "peanut-punching" prowess and ability to cause fumbles, Johnson didn't contribute to one of Arizona's five takeaways against Hawaii. One of Johnson's goals this season is to improve as a ballhawk. His last interception was in the Territorial Cup in 2023.
The matchup
When Arizona has the ball …
Arizona's passing attack wasn't as explosive as the run game last week, which could easily change against a Weber State team that surrendered 458 yards of total offense to James Madison. Even with a limited receiving corps, Arizona should have no issues moving the football. This could be a game where several of Arizona's freshmen — including running back Wesley Yarbrough and wide receivers Gio Richardson and Isaiah Mizell — are featured.
When Weber State has the ball …
Considering Weber State struggled to protect the football in the passing game, WSU could take a page out of Hawaii's playbook: control time of possession and keep the UA offense on the sideline. Hawaii dominated Arizona in time of possession and ran 20 more plays than the UA, except the Warriors turned the ball over five times and were held to two field goals.
Arizona defensive lineman Deshawn McKnight (0) celebrates dropping Hawaii running back Cam Barfield (0) for a loss on a stand in the third quarter, Aug. 30, 2025, in Tucson.
College Football 26 prediction: Arizona 35, Weber State 3
If the official video game for college has anything to say about it, Arizona is keeping its opponent out of the end zone for the second straight week. Arizona had 445 yards of total offense to Weber State's 171. Arizona running back Ismail Mahdi rushed for 164 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Noah Fifita threw for 290 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Weber State didn't get to the red zone until late in the third quarter. Weber State's only trip to the red zone resulted in defensive tackle Deshawn McKnight recording two sacks and a tackle for loss. WSU settled for a 55-yard field goal for its only points of the night. Arizona had 5.5 sacks as a team.
