Takeaways from Arizona's comfortable Week 1 win over Northern Arizona
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Brent Brennan and the Arizona Wildcats took care of business on Saturday night, kicking off the 2026 college football season with a commanding 35-7 win over FCS opponent Northern Arizona at Casino Del Sol Stadium.
Arizona looked like a team that returned nearly every offensive starter from last season, scoring touchdowns on three of their first four drives and dominating both on the ground and in the air.
The defense was a tad shakier, particularly to begin the game, but still managed to hold NAU scoreless - with the Lumberjacks' only points of the game coming on a pick six of backup quarterback Sawyer Anderson in the fourth quarter.
Below is a look at three key takeaways from Arizona's comfortable 28 point win over Northern Arizona in Week 1:
Noah Fifita's swan song starts strong
No one is winning a Heisman Trophy because of three good quarters against an FCS opponent, but Noah Fifita certainly didn't hurt his case on Saturday night.
The senior quarterback was sharp from the opening drive until giving way to backup Sawyer Anderson in the fourth quarter, ultimately completing 22-of-29 passes for 262 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He nearly had one on the ground as well, scampering 11 yards but ultimately going down just before the goal line.
Nine different players hauled in passes from Fifita, although sophomore Gio Richardson was the primary benefactor with a team-leading eight catches and 96 receiving yards in his first career start.
Fifita is clearly ready for his final season, and he'll face his first big test in Week 2 at BYU.
Debut Jitters from Sawyer Anderson
While Fifita looked sharp right out of the gate, backup quarterback Sawyer Anderson...did not.
The sophomore - making his collegiate debut - was sacked on his first play from scrimmage and threw a pick six on the next play, ending Arizona's shutout and getting his career off to an auspicious start.
He eventually got some momentum on short crossing routes, although his overall performance remained shaky - finishing 5-of-8 for 52 passing yards.
Anderson also didn't get much help from the backup offensive line, which is arguably a bigger concern for coach Brennan and the Wildcats - since Anderson won't be on the field much this year, barring an injury to Fifita.
Tale of two defenses
Arizona's defensive front looked otherworldly on Saturday. They completely stopped NAU's run game - holding the Lumberjacks to -7(!) rushing yards on the night, with Quran Gossett leading the team with 20 yards on 11 carries, good for 1.8 yards per carry.
Without a run game to turn to, Northern Arizona let quarterback Ty Pennington drop back most of the night and he looked solid...when he was able to get a pass off.
That didn't happen often, as Arizona finished with five sacks on the night - the most since last year's game against Hawaii. Chase Kennedy record 2.5 on his own, while Kevin Moorer Jr and Noah's younger brother Dash Fifita each had one, and Jabari Mann had 0.5.
The defensive front more than handled their business, but Arizona's new look secondary - which replaced five starters from last season - looked like a unit still in need of refinement.
Pennington was a perfect 6-6 to open up the game, and it didn't look particularly difficult for NAU's receivers to get open and make plays. It didn't lead to any scores on offense, thanks to timely stops by Arizona and a missed field goal from NAU near the end of the half, but it was hardly an inspiring performance from Arizona's newcomers in the secondary.
Arizona will have a week to sort things out defensively before traveling to Provo, UT to take on the BYU Cougars, who are coming off a dominant 63-7 win over Utah Tech in Week 1.
Arizona and BYU will kickoff at 12:30 PM PT on Saturday, Sep. 12, and the game will be broadcast on FOX.
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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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