No. 20 Arizona plays its final nonconference home game against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. Here's a look at starting lineups, key matchups and a prediction from Star reporter Justin Spears.
Northern Arizona (1-0) at No. 20 Arizona (1-0)
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Arizona Stadium
Watch: ESPN+ (streaming)
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM, 1490-AM, 94.9-FM (HD Channel 4)
Arizona Wildcats before an NCAA college football game against New Mexico Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)
NAU Lumberjacks
Record: 1-0 (0-0 Big Sky)
WHEN NAU IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
WR | 4 | BJ Fleming | 6-0 | 175 | R-So.
TE | 12 | Bryzai White | 6-3 | 245 | Sr.
LT | 76 | Seth Smith | 6-6 | 285 | R-So.
LG | 73 | Ralph Frias III | 6-6 | 340 | R-Sr.
C | 62| Jonny Bottorff | 6-3 | 295 | R-Sr.
RG | 57 | Connor DePrez | 6-4 | 285 | R-Jr.
RT | 72 | Ethan Kramer | 6-5 | 300 | R-Jr.
WR | 8 | Tay Lanier | 6-1 | 165 | R-Jr.
WR | 11 | Kobe Katsis | 6-1 | 185 | R-Jr.
QB | 6 | Ty Pennington | 6-2 | 210 | So.
RB | 23 | Darvon Hubbard | 6-0 | 210 | R-Jr.
WHEN NAU IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DE | 95 | Richard Kwete | 6-3 | 250 | R-Jr.
NT | 50 | Micah Carreon | 6-1 | 275 | So.
DT | 44 | Fou Ho Ching | 6-1 | 285 | Jr.
OLB | 1 | Christopher Smith | 6-2 | 220 | Sr.
MLB | 35 | Brandon Wong | 6-1 | 210 | So.
OLB | 46 | Tommy Ellis | 6-2 | 215 | Sr.
CB | 4 | DJ Vanhook | 5-10 | 185 | Sr.
NB | 27 | Michael Harkins | 6-0 | 175 | Jr.
SS | 3 | Zach Lewis | 5-10 | 185 | R-So.
FS | 17 | Alex McLaughlin | 6-2 | 190 | So.
CB | 21 | Mikale Greer | 6-2 | 185 | R-Jr.
NAU 2024 SCHEDULE
August
31 | LINCOLN | W, 66-6
September
7 | at No. 20 Arizona
14 | at Utah Tech
21 | at Incarnate Word
28 | SACRAMENTO STATE
October
5 | at Idaho
12 | at Montana
19 | IDAHO STATE
November
2 | WEBER STATE
9 | at Cal Poly
16 | at Northern Colorado
23 | E. WASHINGTON
Home games in BOLD
NAU 2024 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Pennington | 7-9-0 | 114 | 1 | 62
Flores | 5-5-0 | 80 | 2 | 32
London | 1-2-1 | 23 | 0 | 23
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Evans | 6 | 48 | 1 | 8.0 | 48.0
Cromwell | 9 | 43 | 2 | 4.8 | 43.0
Lopez | 5 | 34 | 0 | 6.8 | 34.0
Pennington | 2 | 34 | 1 | 17.0 | 34.0
Stone | 4 | 34 | 1 | 8.5 | 34.0
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
Fleming | 3 | 98 | 1 | 32.7 | 98.0
Brooks | 2 | 45 | 1 | 22.5 | 45.0
Eastman | 1 | 23 | 0 | 23.0 | 23.0
Katsis | 3 | 10 | 0 | 3.3 | 10.0
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
McLaughlin | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Ellis | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Allen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Arena | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Smith | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Ho Ching | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) and quarterback Noah Fifita (11) look across the field before the Wildcats’ season opener against New Mexico on Aug. 31 in Tucson.
Arizona Wildcats
Record: 1-0 (0-0 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 | 58 | Ryan Stewart | 6-4 | 297 | R-Jr.
RT | 73 | Matthew Lado | 6-6 | 292 | Fr.
TE | 88 | Keyan Burnett | 6-6 | 248 | Jr.
ZWR | 5 | Montana Lemonious-Craig | 6-2 | 194 | Sr.
QB | 11 | Noah Fifita | 5-10 | 188 | R-So.
RB | 1 | Jacory Croskey-Merritt | 5-11 | 208 | Sr.
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DE | 46 | Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei | 6-4 | 280 | Jr.
DT | 91 | Isaiah Johnson | 6-1 | 311 | R-So.
NT | 92 | Chubba Ma'ae | 6-2 | 349 | Sr.
DE | 3 | Tre Smith | 6-5 | 270 | R-Jr.
MLB | 5 | Jacob Manu | 5-11 | 228 | Jr.
WLB | 6 | Taye Brown | 6-2 | 225 | So.
STAR | 2 | Treydan Stukes | 6-2 | 198 | Sr.
CB | 20 | Marquis Groves-Killebrew | 6-0 | 185 | R-So.
CB | 1 | Tacario Davis | 6-4 | 190 | Jr.
BS | 43 | Dalton Johnson | 5-11 | 202 | R-Jr.
FS | 12 | Genesis Smith | 6-2 | 203 | So.
UA 2024 SCHEDULE
August
31 | NEW MEXICO | W, 61-39
September
7 | NORTHERN ARIZONA
13 | at No. 17 Kansas State*
28 | at No. 11 Utah
October
5 | TEXAS TECH
12 | at BYU
19 | COLORADO (Homecoming)
26 | W. VIRGINIA (Family Weekend)
November
2 | at UCF
15 | HOUSTON*
23 | at TCU
30 | ASU (Senior Day)
Home games in BOLD; *=Friday game
UA 2024 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Fifita | 19-31-1 | 422 | 4 | 78
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Croskey-Merritt | 13 | 106 | 1 | 8.2 | 106.0
Conley | 10 | 90 | 3 | 9.0 | 90.0
Fifita | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10.0 | 10.0
Reescano | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Luke | 1 | (-1) | 0 | (-1.0) | (-1.0)
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
McMillan | 10 | 304 | 4 | 30.4 | 304.0
Conley | 3 | 29 | 0 | 9.67 | 29.0
Burnett | 1 | 27 | 0 | 27.0 | 27.0
Luke | 1 | 26 | 0 | 26.0 | 26.0
Hunter | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15.0 | 15.0
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Johnson | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Stukes | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Davis | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Manu | 6 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Brown | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Smith, T. | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Smith, G. | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Head to Head
Arizona running back Quali Conley (7) flips the ball to the back judge after rambling for touchdown against New Mexico in the fourth quarter in their game at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., August 31, 2024.
7 Quali Conley vs. 22 Ammon Allen
Conley, who the ESPN broadcasters kept calling "Quail" last week, had a career-high three touchdowns in his Arizona debut after transferring from San Jose State. Conley's touchdowns were in Arizona's six-man offensive line package that also had run-blocking specialist tight end Roberto Miranda as the offset blocker with Tucson native and walk-on Kayden Luke — also known as "Big Red" — as the blocking fullback. Conley could be one of multiple 100-yard rushers on Saturday.
There are several players with Tucson connections, including Allen, who played three seasons for the Wildcats as a walk-on linebacker. The Lumberjacks also have former Cholla defensive lineman Daniel Robledo, Pusch Ridge Christian running back Ryan Fontaine, Marana defensive back Jaelen Collins and former UA defensive back Canyon Moses. Allen, who appeared in 26 games at Arizona, had 4 tackles and a blocked PAT returned 97 yards for a two-point conversion in NAU's season-opening win over Lincoln.
New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier, left, stiff-arms his way out of the reach of Arizona defensive lineman Tre Smith to avoid a sack in the Wildcats’ season opener on Aug. 31 in Tucson.
1 Tre Smith vs. 6 Ty Pennington
The sack master from San Jose State had six quarterback pressures against New Mexico, but zero sacks. Arizona didn't have any sacks as a team for the first time since its loss to USC in 2022. For the second straight contest, the Wildcats will face an athletic quarterback capable of using his legs. Corralling the quarterback and making plays behind the line of scrimmage for Smith and Arizona's defensive line will be key.
Pennington followed first-year NAU head coach Brian Wright to Flagstaff after one season at Pittsburg State, a Division II program in Kansas. In 13 games last season, Pennington was mostly used as a running quarterback. He passed for 447 yards, six touchdowns and one interception, while rushing for 359 yards on 76 carries.
The matchup
When Arizona has the ball …
Arizona's offense exploded for 627 yards last week, the eighth-most in a single game by a UA team, and out-gained New Mexico 321 yards to 166 in the second half — 177 of those yards on the ground. Besides Conley and Croskey-Merritt, junior Rayshon Luke, expected to have a larger role this season, only had two touches against New Mexico. Saturday could be a breakout game for Luke and Ole Miss transfer Kedrick Reescano.
When NAU has the ball …
There's not much you can take away from a 60-point win over a travel-ball team like Lincoln, but the Lumberjacks compiled 241 rushing yards and five touchdowns. BJ Fleming, a third-year receiver from Aledo, Texas, is a playmaking wide receiver who had three catches for 98 yards and a touchdown last week.
Prediction: No. 20 Arizona 56, NAU 14
Arizona has plenty to work on leading up to its highly-anticipated matchup against Kansas State next week (Friday) in Manhattan. Offensively, the Wildcats hope to establish the rushing attack early against NAU and get other receivers besides Tetairoa McMillan involved. Defensively, the Wildcats need to improve on applying pressure on the quarterback, edge rushers playing with a responsible aggression, making clean tackles and avoiding personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Saturday will be a clean-up game for the Wildcats. Cats win — and cover that 35.5-point spread.
