Noah Fifita can make Arizona history Saturday against Northern Illinois
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No one took Arizona's Week 2 loss at BYU harder than Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita, who was very emotional in his postgame press conference, repeatedly shouldering the blame for the team getting shut out in the second half of a brutal 28-17 defeat in Provo.
Fifita and his Wildcats have a chance to get back on the right track this Saturday, hosting a Northern Illinois team that is 0-2 on the year after losing last weekend to FCS Illinois State.
It's not only a chance for the Arizona offense to find its footing - especially without star wide receiver Gio Richardson - but could end up being a record-setting night for the team's senior quarterback.
Historic record getting broken?
If Fifita throws for 320 or more passing yards on Saturday, he will move past Nick Foles and take over as Arizona's all-time leader. Fifita is already the program leader in passing touchdowns with 76, and will likely overtake Foles this season in completions as well - currently sitting 102 completions behind the program legend.
It's true Fifita is in his fifth season, while Foles only played three in Tucson, but even still it remains a remarkable feat for the gunslinger - especially in the transfer portal era where playing even 3+ years at the same school is becoming more and more rare.
However, 320 passing yards is far from guaranteed for Fifita against NIU. In fact, the last time he surpassed that total was Arizona's 41-13 blowout win over Oklahoma State last October - he's played 10 games since then and didn't top 300 yards in any of them.
And while NIU has not been at all good this year, they only surrendered 218 yards to Iowa and 153 yards to Illinois State through the air in their first two games. Iowa in particular shredded NIU on the ground, rushing 38 times for an obscene 289 yards, and it wouldn't exactly be a surprise to see the Wildcats similarly shove the run game right down the Huskies' throat on Saturday night.
Finding the passing game
However, Arizona has non-Fifita motivation to put the ball in the air quite a bit on Saturday. The loss of sophomore slot receiver Gio Richardson - who will be "out for a bit" per coach Brennan - creates some urgency for this offense to find a replacement for the team's overwhelming leader in receptions and yards through two games.
Whether it's veteran Tre Spivey, tight end Cole Rusk, or even true freshman Caleb 'Jet' Smith, the Wildcats need to establish a rhythm through the air before getting into the meat of Big 12 play - and experimenting with different options makes plenty of sense against an opponent like NIU.
Fifita's potential record-breaking performance will start Saturday, Sep. 19, at 7:30 PM PT at Casino Del Sol Stadium, and will be broadcast on TNT.
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Andy Patton is a college basketball writer with deep ties to both Gonzaga and Arizona. A Gonzaga alumnus who graduated in 2013, he has hosted the Locked On Zags podcast covering Gonzaga basketball since 2021 and has co-hosted the Locked On College Basketball podcast since 2022. His years covering the Bulldogs have also given him extensive familiarity with Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, who spent more than two decades on Mark Few’s staff at Gonzaga before taking over the Wildcats in 2021. Andy has worked in sports media since 2017, with experience covering nearly every major sport. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for USA TODAY from 2017–21, where he also spent time covering the USC Trojans and Oregon Ducks, and previously served as lead writer for College Sports Wire. He has also covered the NBA, NHL and MLB for various TEGNA outlets, including KREM in Spokane, 12News in Phoenix and KING 5 in Seattle. Andy now lives in Spokane, Washington, with his wife, daughter and dog.
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