Arizona Wildcats Trek to Provo To Take on Big 12-Leading BYU Cougars
The Arizona Wildcats make their first visit to Provo, Utah, since 2007 when they face the No. 14 BYU Cougars at 1 p.m. mountain on Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
The game is set to be played on Fox. And, on Sunday, Fox announced that it would send its Big Noon Kickoff pregame show to Provo.
So it’s a big deal — but not necessarily because of the Wildcats (3-2, 1-1 in Big 12), who lost its foothold in the Big 12 lead after falling to Texas Tech on Saturday.
Arizona had hoped this might be a matchup of undefeated Big 12 teams, instead, the Wildcats hope to play spoilers to the Cougars (5-0, 2-0), who are coming out of a bye week and are one of five Big 12 teams that don’t have a loss in league play. BYU is also one of two overall undefeated teams in the league, along with Iowa State.
Here is a preview of the Wildcats and the Cougars.
Arizona at BYU
LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, Utah
Time: 1 p.m. MT
TV: FOX
Radio: KCUB 1290-AM (Flagship), KHYT 107.5-FM (sister station)
Coaches: Arizona — Brent Brennan (3-2 at Arizona, 37-50 career as head coach); BYU — Kalani Sitake (66-41 at BYU, overall).
Records: Arizona — 3-2 (1-1 in Big 12); BYU — 5-0 (2-0).
Fun fact: These two teams have played each other in a bowl game one time — the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl, which Arizona won, 31-21.
All-Times Series: Series tied, 12-12-1
Last meeting: BYU def Arizona, 24-16 (2021).
Series notes: The two teams have played each other six times since 2006. But at one time they were in the same conference — the Western Athletic — and played on a yearly basis from 1962-77.
Last week: Arizona lost to Texas Tech, 28-22; BYU was idle.
About BYU: The No. 14 Cougars are rolling in their second season in the Big 12. BYU stole an early-season victory in Dallas against SMU, which is now undefeated early in ACC action. In the Big 12, the Cougars beat down one of the league’s favorites, Kansas State, in their home opener before going to Baylor and beating the Bears.
BYU’s biggest issues last year were depth and size in the trenches. They’ve addressed both in the offseason and the development of quarterback Jake Retzlaff has Cougars fans thinking they have a shot at reaching the Big 12 Championship game in December. BYU last won a league title in 2007 when they were in the Mountain West Conference.
About Arizona: The Wildcats, coming off their huge win over Utah, had a classic letdown game — and yet they had a chance to win in the fourth quarter against Texas Tech. Arizona had a 19-18 lead early in the fourth quarter before the Red Raiders rallied to win.
The Arizona defense was terrific. It held the high-scoring Red Raiders to 331 yards and forced two turnovers. It was a quality follow-up to their dominant performance against Utah.
The offense? Well, the Wildcats racked up 422 yards on a porous Texas Tech defense. But they turned the ball over three times. Kicker Tyler Loop had a fantastic game with five field goals. And that was the problem. He had a great game but the Wildcats scored just one touchdown.
It was an opportunity squandered, leaving questions about just how consistent this offense really can be.
Next Up: Arizona hosts Colorado on Oct. 19. BYU hosts Oklahoma State on Oct. 18.
