Arizona hits the road to face the 25th-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats. Here's a look at starting lineups, key matchups and a prediction.
Arizona (6-3) at No. 25 Cincinnati (7-2)
When: 10 a.m. Saturday
Where: Nippert Stadium
TV: FS1
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM, 92.5-FM (Spanish)
Arizona Wildcats
2025 Record: 6-3 (3-3 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 | 6 | Javin Whatley | 5-10 | 171 | R-Sr.
LT | 75 | Ty Buchanan | 6-6 | 314 | R-Sr.
LG | 55 | Chubba Maae | 6-2 | 349 | R-Sr.
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 | 4 | Kris Hutson | 5-11 | 174 | R-Sr.
QB | 1 | Noah Fifita | 5-10 | 195 | R-Jr.
RB | 21 | Ismail Mahdi | 5-9 | 184 | Sr.
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DE | 44 | Malachi Bailey | 6-2 | 273 | Sr.
DT | 0 | Deshawn McKnight | 6-3 | 288 | Sr.
DT | 95 | Leroy Palu | 6-3 | 301 | Jr.
Arizona linebacker Chase Kennedy (7), bottom, and defensive lineman Deshawn McKnight (0) drag down Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson (2) for a sack in the first quarter, Sept. 12, 2025, in Tucson.
LB | 7 | Chase Kennedy | 6-3 | 232 | R-Jr.
LB | 6 | Taye Brown | 6-2 | 231 | Jr.
LB | 4 | Max Harris | 6-0 | 230 | Sr.
NB | 2 | Treydan Stukes | 6-2 | 200 | R-Sr.
CB | 9 | Ayden Garnes | 6-0 | 183 | R-Sr.
CB | 8 | Jay'Vion Cole | 5-10 | 189 | R-Jr.
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 | W, 48-3
12 | KANSAS STATE* | W, 23-17
27 | at No. 14 Iowa State | L, 39-14
Arizona wide receiver Tre Spivey (12) scoots into the end zone ahead of Weber State linebacker Sione Hala (13) in the first quarter, Sept. 6, 2025, in Tucson.
October
4 | OKLAHOMA STATE | W, 41-13
11 | No. 18 BYU | L, 33-27 (2OT)
18 | at Houston | L, 31-28
November
1 | at Colorado | W, 52-17
8 | KANSAS | W, 24-20
15 | at No. 25 Cincinnati
22 | BAYLOR (Senior Day)
28 | at Arizona State* (Territorial Cup)
Home games in Bold; *=Friday game
UA 2025 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Fifita | 182-285-4 | 2,200 | 23 | 85
Locke | 5-15-1 | 68 | 0 | 40
Bray | 1-2-0 | 22 | 0 | 22
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | YPC | YPG]
Mahdi | 87 | 591 | 2 | 6.8 | 65.7
Craig | 40 | 281 | 2 | 7.0 | 31.2
Reescano | 46 | 230 | 4 | 5.0 | 38.3
Fifita | 75 | 109 | 3 | 1.5 | 12.1
RECEIVING
[Name | Rec. | Yards | TDs | YPC | YPG]
Whatley | 35 | 420 | 4 | 12.0 | 46.7
Hutson | 33 | 389 | 3 | 11.8 | 48.6
Spivey | 14 | 302 | 6 | 21.6 | 33.6
Wysong | 19 | 252 | 2 | 13.3 | 28.0
Hunter | 18 | 251 | 2 | 13.9 | 27.9
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Johnson | 68 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0
Brown | 63 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Harris | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1
G. Smith | 53 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1
Stukes | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0
Cincinnati Bearcats
2025 record: 7-2 (5-1 Big 12)
WHEN UC IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
WR | 9 | Jeff Caldwell | 6-5 | 215 | Sr.
TE | 11 | Joe Royer | 6-5 | 250 | R-Sr.
LT | 74 | Joe Cotton | 6-6 | 317 | R-Jr.
LG | 50 | Evan Tengesdahl | 6-3 | 320 | R-So.
C | 53 | Gavin Gerhardt | 6-4 | 310 | R-Sr.
The Cincinnati Bearcats enter the stadium Oct. 4, 2025, before a game against Iowa State in Cincinnati.
RG | 77 | Taron Tye | 6-3 | 325 | R-Jr.
RT | 56 | Deondre Buford | 6-4 | 325 | R-Sr.
WR | 4 | Cyrus Allen | 5-11 | 180 | Sr.
WR | 10 | Caleb Goodie | 6-1 | 178 | Jr.
QB | 2 | Brendan Sorsby | 6-3 | 235 | R-Jr.
RB | 6 | Evan Pryor | 5-9 | 195 | R-Sr.
WHEN UC IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DE | 4 | Mikah Coleman | 6-4 | 272 | R-Sr.
NT | 2 | Dontay Corleone | 6-1 | 335 | R-Sr.
DE | 90 | Jalen Hunt | 6-2 | 315 | R-Sr.
WLB | 31 | Simeon Coleman | 5-11 | 225 | So.
MLB | 49 | Jack Dingle | 6-4 | 240 | R-Sr.
SLB | 11 | Jake Golday | 6-4 | 240 | R-Sr.
NB | 9 | Jiquan Sanks | 5-10 | 195 | So.
Cincinnati defensive tackle Dontay Corleone (2) and linebacker Jake Golday (11) celebrate after their win over UCF on Oct. 12, 2024, in Orlando, Fla.
CB | 0 | Matthew McDoom | 5-9 | 180 | Sr.
SS | 5 | Christian Harrison | 6-0 | 195 | R-Jr.
FS | 6 | Trevon Gola-Callard | 6-0 | 195 | R-Sr.
CB | 7 | Logan Wilson | 5-9 | 183 | R-Sr.
UC 2025 SCHEDULE
August
28 | NEBRASKA^ | L, 20-17
September
6 | BOWLING GREEN | W, 34-20
13 | NORTHWESTERN STATE | W, 70-0
27 | at Kansas | W, 37-34
October
4 | No. 14 IOWA STATE | W, 38-30
11 | UCF | W, 20-11
Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby (2) carries the ball past Oklahoma State linebacker Jacobi Oliphant Jr., right, in the first half of an Oct. 18 game in Stillwater, Okla.
18 | at Oklahoma State | W, 49-17
25 | BAYLOR | W, 41-20
November
1 | at No. 24 Utah | L, 45-14
15 | ARIZONA
22 | No. 12 BYU
29 | at TCU
Home games in Bold; ^ = played on Thursday
UC 2025 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Sorsby | 144-237-2 | 2,064 | 21 | 82
Lichtenberg | 4-6-0 | 56 | 1 | 29
Jones | 2-2-0 | 53 | 1 | 42
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | YPC | YPG]
Walker | 97 | 533 | 4 | 5.5 | 59.2
Pryor | 66 | 478 | 3 | 7.2 | 59.8
Sorsby | 73 | 453 | 8 | 6.2 | 50.3
Covey | 16 | 119 | 1 | 7.4 | 13.2
RECEIVING
[Name | Rec. | Yards | TDs | YPC | YPG]
Allen | 36 | 514 | 10 | 14.3 | 57.1
Goodie | 20 | 380 | 2 | 19.0 | 42.2
Royer | 23 | 350 | 4 | 15.2 | 38.9
Caldwell | 21 | 348 | 3 | 16.6 | 38.7
Jennings | 18 | 247 | 0 | 13.7 | 27.4
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Golday | 80 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 1
Golda-Callard | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Thompson | 48 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1
Harrison | 45 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Sanks | 38 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0
Head to Head
Arizona running back Ismail Mahdi (21) hops his way out of trouble as he picks up yards after contact in the fourth quarter against Kansas State, Sept. 12, 2025, in Tucson.
21 Ismail Mahdi vs. 11 Jake Golday
The late-game heroics from Quincy Craig last week against Kansas earned the junior running back Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, becoming the second UA running back this season to earn that honor, joining Mahdi. In the last two games against Colorado and Kansas, Mahdi has 11 carries for 152 yards and a touchdown, averaging 13.8 yards per carry.
The Arlington, Tennessee, native started his college career at Central Arkansas and played three seasons as a standout defensive end with the Bears, before transferring to Cincinnati to play outside linebacker. Golday leads the Bearcats in tackles and sacks this season and could have a profound impact on Saturday, considering the Wildcats surrendered 17 quarterback pressures last week.
Arizona linebacker Taye Brown (6) flushes Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels (6) out of the pocket during the third quarter of their Big 12 game, Nov. 8, 2025, in Tucson.
6 Taye Brown vs. 11 Joe Royer
It's a busy week in the Brown household. Brown's older brother, UCLA guard Jamar Brown, eclipsed 1,000 career points a week before the Bruins' highly anticipated battle with Arizona in men's basketball. Taye Brown has 41 tackles in the last four games, averaging 10.3 tackles per game. Brown totaled 24 tackles in Arizona's nail-biting losses to BYU and Houston — two teams that utilize big-bodied mobile quarterbacks.
After transferring from Ohio State last season, Royer became a first-team All-Big 12 selection at tight end last season. Royer set the single-season receptions record (50) for a tight end last season, passing Kansas City Chiefs superstar future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce. The Wildcats have struggled against teams with productive tight ends (i.e., Iowa State and Houston) this season.
The matchup
When Arizona has the ball …
The connection between quarterback Noah Fifita and Arizona's receivers reverted back to the early-season games in the Wildcats' win over Kansas. The Wildcats had more drops (5) against KU than the previous four games combined. The last time Arizona played against a 3-3-5 defense, Fifita set the single-game completion record (92%) with quick, short passes that led to 178 yards after the catch against Houston.
When Cincinnati has the ball …
Cincinnati has the third-best scoring offense in the Big 12, averaging 35.6 points per game. The Bearcats have the fourth-best offense in the conference, averaging 436.4 yards. Arizona's third- and fourth-down defense will be tested against Cincinnati, which ranks first in the Big 12 in fourth-down conversions — fourth on third-down conversions. Additionally, the Bearcats have committed just seven turnovers and have only thrown two interceptions.
College Football 26 prediction: UA 17, UC 16
The Wildcats rallied to win in thrilling fashion after falling behind early. A holding penalty by right tackle Tristan Bounds negated a deep pass near the goal line. The following play, Fifita was sacked, fumbled the ball and Cincinnati went up early with a scoop-and-score touchdown. UA receivers Chris Hunter (four catches for 106 yards and a touchdown) and Kris Hutson (eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown) had monster games for the Wildcats. Hutson's 21-yard touchdown at the end of the first half gave the Wildcats a 14-13 lead at halftime. Trailing 16-14 with 1:45 left to play, tight end Sam Olson had three crucial catches to set up kicker Michael Salgado-Medina for a game-winning 35-yard field goal.
