Radio: KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM/BYU Radio Sirius XM 143.
Series: Tied, 12-12-1
Weather: A mixture of sunshine and clouds throughout the afternoon, with temperatures in the 70s throughout the game. Light and variable wind gusts from the south and southwest up to 10 mph should provide a nice break from the heat. Winds could increase slightly throughout the game.
The trends
For BYU: After losing their last five games in 2023, they have won their first five games in 2024, one of the best turnarounds in college football . They are coming off a bye weekend, after having upset Baylor 34-28 in Waco nearly two weeks ago. They are ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25, and are 23-7 under head coach Kalani Sitake when playing as a ranked team.
Off to a 2-0 start in the Big 12, the Cougars went 2-7 in the league last year and will be looking to not only surpass that total, but get bowl eligible after missing postseason play in 2023.
For Arizona: The Wildcats defeated No. 10 Utah 23-10 two weeks ago in Salt Lake City, handing the Utes their first loss to an unranked team at home since they lost 21-7 to Washington in 2018. However, Arizona did not enjoy that success for long, as it was downed 28-22 by Texas Tech last weekend in Tucson.
They have lost three straight games to BYU , and are 3-4 all-time in games played in Provo. Coach Brent Brennan is in his first year, having replaced Jedd Fisch, who became head coach at Washington.
What to watch for
The Cougars played poorly the last time they were coming off a bye, losing 44-11 to TCU in October last year. They also did not play well the last time they were 5-0, losing 26-17 to Boise State at home in 2021. But this is a deeper, healthier, and more focused team than those were, and coaches are convinced that history won’t repeat itself.
Jake Retzlaff won the starting quarterback job in preseason training camp after a close race with Gerry Bohanon, and is playing as well as ever as he enters his 10th career start. He’s 5-4 as a starter, and has completed more than 60% of his passes , while also becoming a dangerous running threat. If he can continue to take care of the football and make wise decisions, B YU will have a chance to get to 6-0 for the first time since 2020.
The Wildcats have two of the best offensive players in the country, quarterback Noah Fifita and receiver Tetairoa McMillan, but BYU coach Kalani Sitake says Arizona’s defense deserves as much credit as any other unit for the 23-10 win over Utah two weeks ago at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
In the 61-39 season-opening win over former BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall’s New Mexico Lobos, McMillan became the first player in FBS history to have 10 or more catches, 300 or more receiving yards and four or more touchdowns in a single game. If the Cougars can’t contain the junior, it will be a long day in Provo for the home team.
Key player
Charlie Riedel, Associated Press
LJ Martin, sophomore, running back, BYU: Martin was off to a solid start, but limped off the field in Week 2 against SMU, and hasn’t played since. The Cougars’ offense has been OK without its best running back, but there isn’t anybody on the roster who has the vision, burst and instincts carrying the ball like Martin does. He is expected to return Saturday, and will get a lot of carries if he does, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said Wednesday. Martin’s presence should slow down the Arizona pass rush a little bit, which in turn should allow Retzlaff to operate more freely within the BYU offense.
Quotable
“They have capable players at every position. Great skill, tough O line, physical O line. This is a good matchup. I like the matchup against our defense. I think it is going to test us and get the most out of us.
“I am looking forward to this next step we can take as a team, especially the physical part of it. It helps that we get to go against some great talent. We have watched them on film enough and this weekend was another example of it. Like I said, they went up to Salt Lake City and beat (Utah). That’s a tough place to play. You don’t just do that. That doesn’t happen by accident.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake.
“They are a good football team. I think it is an interesting situation where, coming into this conference, our last four games have all been against really good (teams). All that are one loss or better. And so going on the road, in a hostile environment, they’re extremely physical. They are very well coached. They play hard. To me in some ways, like physicality wise, they are similar to what you experience when you play Utah.” — Arizona coach Brent Brennan.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
Comments / 0