Despite an impressive effort, the No. 23 Arizona Wildcats suffered a crushing defeat to the No. 2 Utah Utes in what was an exciting game, losing 40-39 at Casino Del Sol Stadium on Saturday night.
Shades of the “Pac 12 After Dark” era were high during Arizona’s game against Utah, which was the fifth time both teams have met as ranked opponents and the 50th time the two teams played each other on the field.
The game was originally scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (MST), but a telecommunications problem caused the Federal Aviation Administration to halt all flights for five hours, causing the Utes to take a two-hour flight Saturday morning.
The loss is another heartbreaking setback in the Wildcats’ journey to proving that they can compete with the best teams the Big 12 has to offer. Plenty can be taken away from Arizona’s latest game, so let’s take a look at five that standout.
Arizona’s young receivers continue to excel
If there was just one way for the Wildcats to truly gash the Utes and make it a competitive game, it would be through the precise and powerful arm of Noah Fifita and the dynamic skills of his receivers, especially second-year players, Isaiah Mizell and Giovanni Richardson.
Utah knew it would be locked in a competitive matchup from the first drive after Fifita completed a 26-yard pass to Richardson to help set up a Quincy Craig touchdown to take an early lead.
Both Mizell and Richardson continued to make big plays through all four quarters, gashing the Utah defense for large chunk plays across the field. By the final whistle, the two sophomores accounted for more than half of Fifita’s completions (27) and all of his passing touchdowns (three).
Mizell’s seven-catch, 115-yard, two-touchdown performance was third time in four games that he eclipsed 100 yards, showcasing the speed and explosivity that made Arizona pursue him in the first place. He has also scored at least one touchdown in all but two games during the season.
In his third game back from injury, Richardson amassed seven catches for 94 yards and a touchdown, also displaying the kind of valuable weapon that he is on offense.
Defense showed out during crucial times
Although the Wildcats gave up 40 points to Utah, there is nothing to for them to hang their heads on, as the defense showed up during most of the biggest moments of the game.
Cornerback Jay’Vion Cole picked off Devon Dampier one yard out from the end zone, which led to a 99-yard touchdown drive. Tyrese Boss had multiple pass breakups in the end zone, preventing the Utah offense from doing anymore damage.
Linebacker Cooper Blomstrom had multiple tackles for loss in the red zone and another during a 2-point conversion, keeping Arizona in the game.
The stout Arizona front got to Dampier on the first play of the third quarter and took advantage of a costly fumble, leading to a touchdown drive and putting the Wildcats up 21-17. Even the home crowd of Arizona was loud enough to the point that it caused four false starts, almost serving as an extra man on the field.
Arizona MUST improve its rushing attack
There is no question that the Wildcats’ offense headlined by the play calling of Seth Doege and arm of Fifita is a dangerous one that teams must game plan around to have success, but what has been lacking throughout the season is the presence of a strong rushing attack.
On Saturday’s loss to Utah, Arizona rushed for 59 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground near the end zone. The second half was a much different story, as the Wildcats could only muster 22 yards, minus-7 in the fourth quarter and averaged just 1.9 yards per carry.
Arizona’s inability to establish a physical running game may have given Utah more opportunities to crash on Fifita and disrupt the passing attack, especially in the fourth quarter, resulting in late-game sacks that kill any sort of momentum.
Despite big play ability, Arizona must improve on its rushing defense
The promotion of Danny Gonzales from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator has proven to be an intelligent choice, given the amount of damage and and chaos the Wildcats can create on the field due to his unique blitz packages and physicality off the ball, but what Arizona has lacked, especially against elite Big 12 competititon, is the ability to stop the run.
Utah’s Daniel Bray had a career night against Arizona, rushing for 197 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown. His explosive run capability paired with a physical offensive line was able to wear down the Wildcats’ defense, which could explain Utah’s final game winning drive lasting just two plays and 38 seconds.
Dampier, who has been causing problems for opposing defenses all season long, rushed for 100 yards with two touchdowns. The reoccurring theme for Arizona’s defensive woes have also been mobile quarterbacks.
The Wildcats had the same struggle with No. 12 Texas Tech, when Thomas Castellanos rushed for 117 yards and scored a touchdown in the 34-26 loss
No. 10. BYU’s Bear Bachmeier rushed for a pedestrian 37 yards against Arizona, but his lone touchdown on the feet was enough to make it a competitive game for the Cougars.
Wildcats must finish games to be considered a true Big 12 contender
Arizona has a legitimate shot at becoming a powerhouse in the Big 12, given the talent it has been able to bring in and the coaching staff, but it will only take the final leap when it has the ability to close out the most important games.
So far, the Wildcats have been unable to do that this season in their three losses. Arizona went into halftime down 17-14 and took the lead following a fumble recovery by Mays Pese, but its failed drive in the final three minutes of the game resulted in its defeat.
The same thing occurred against BYU, when Arizona scored 17 points on the Cougars and failed to score again in the second half. Arizona was unable to finish a crucial drive against Texas Tech as well, when Fifita missed Tyler Powell on a fourth down play to move the chains in a potentially game changing drive.
Ultimately, Arizona’s struggles with making second half adjustments and finishing games has haunted it during the 2026 season. If the Wildcats want to become a true Big 12 contender, it needs to finish games when it has the advantage.
The Wildcats will look to improve from the lessons learned in their loss to Utah and get back in the winning column when they face Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., on Saturday.
]\
Recommended for you
