It was a dominating affair from start to finish for the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday night, as they put on an offensive and defensive clinic on the FCS NAU Lumberjacks and ended with a 35-7 win in Casino Del Sol Stadium to open the season.
This year’s season opener felt more like a celebration of what’s to come rather than a tune-up game as Arizona’s new lighting system kept the crowd pumped from the first whistle to the last and the Wildcats fed off that energy.
Arizona will need plenty of that as it heads to Provo, Utah, next week in what will be its attempt to avenge a 33-27 double-overtime loss in Tucson last year to BYU. From unlikely starters to big electric plays, the Wildcats showed plenty of good things for fans to continue anticipating. With that, let’s take a look at what we’ve learned from Arizona’s routing of NAU.
Brent Brennan breaks down Arizona’s 35-7 win over NAU, which he said provided “a lot to be excited about.” pic.twitter.com/pmxhPkdFK1
— AllSportsTucson.com (@AllSportsTucson) September 6, 2026
The secondary answered many questions
The talk of the town at fall camp was whether Arizona could replicate last year’s passing-defense success. Those questions were fair, considering five defensive backs were lost to the NFL. Despite the heavy losses, Arizona replenished the room with experienced, talented players.
That clearly showed in Saturday’s decisive win over the Lumberjacks. Although NFL prospect Ty Pennington found some open receivers downfield and made tremendous throws, it was airtight for the most part. Pennington struggled to find open receivers through all four quarters, especially from deep. By the end of the game, he was 2-for-6 on throws farther than 15 yards.
Redshirt sophomore Quinn Olson, who had recently been put on scholarship, made his first start and picked Pennington off to cap his stellar week.
Fifita’s Heisman season officially has begun
Brent Brennan gushes about the performance of Noah Fifita, who threw for 262 yards and 2 TDs in Arizona’s win vs. NAU. pic.twitter.com/QmCUh0ShZD
— AllSportsTucson.com (@AllSportsTucson) September 6, 2026
While it wasn’t an explosive performance on the field, it was efficient and moved the offense up and down the field at an incredible rate.
By the time the game ended, Fifita went 22-for-29, 262 yards and two touchdowns. His 20-yard touchdown pass to Tre Spivey in the first quarter moved him to second all-time in passing yards and he has just 566 yards left to pass Nick Foles for first.
If Fifita continues to play as well as he did against the Lumberjacks, there should be no question that he is the best quarterback in Arizona school history and should be considered in the Heisman conversation.
Gonzales’ pass rush proved too much for Pennington
Putting pressure on an FCS team like NAU and holding them to no touchdowns wouldn’t exactly turn heads. Still, it is certainly a good start for defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales and his crew of hard-hitting, unrelenting players.
The Arizona defense terrorized Pennington all game and didn’t stop until the final whistle. The NAU offense gave up five sacks, the most Arizona has allowed since Week 1 last year against Hawaii.
Chase Kennedy led the group with 2.5 sacks. Last year, he recorded four, showing he has elevated his pass-rushing game to a new level. Freshman linebacker Dash Fifita, Noah’s younger brother who had been praised all training camp for his tenacity, also managed to take Pennington down in the backfield.
NAU had no answer for Arizona’s rush defense
The reason Pennington was asked to throw so much against Arizona was the complete shutdown of the Lumberjacks’ rushing attack. Arizona finished with a modest seventh-ranked rushing defense in the Big 12 last season, which made it make sense for NAU to attack that area, especially after coming off a game where it ran for 201 yards on 40 carries against Eastern Washington.
Despite the boost in confidence for NAU, Arizona had all the answers for their rushing attack and allowed a total of minus-7 yards with 11 tackles for loss.
The success of Arizona’s suffocating rushing defense can be pointed to a defensive front seven that never seemed to slow down. Senior linebacker Taye Brown ended the night with a team high 11 tackles. Georgetown transfer Cooper Blomstrom was second with eight and forced a fumble.
Extra points
Kedrick Reescano and Quinn Olson look ahead to Arizona’s big test vs. No. 14 BYU next Saturday.
Last year’s loss “was a sour feeling and still gets to a lot of us,” per Reescano. pic.twitter.com/4Gen0JRBgQ
— AllSportsTucson.com (@AllSportsTucson) September 6, 2026
Kedrick Reescano, who had two touchdowns, on Arizona’s potent rushing attack vs. NAU: “The O-line, man. They move and stuff … so just run behind them.” pic.twitter.com/xOP1YkVrcn
— AllSportsTucson.com (@AllSportsTucson) September 6, 2026
Three Tucsonans took the field in Saturday’s matchup. Marana’s Nathaniel Bryant and Mica Mountain’s Jaelen Collins both donned the Navy Blue and Yellow while Pusch Ridge’s Tyler Mustain is now with the Wildcats.
Mustain was a key reason Kedrick Reescano scored his second touchdown of the night, lead blocking into the end zone. That job once belonged to fullback Kayden Luke, a CDO alum who is now playing for West Virginia.
Collins recorded a tackle for NAU.
Arizona now has a week to prepare for its Big 12 opener against No. 14 BYU in Provo, Utah. That game is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
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