Arizona vs. Kansas: Game Prediction and Key Matchups
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Welcome! To another edition of the Arizona Wildcats Insiders Podcast featuring your host Troy Hutchison, who will be delivering a daily podcast discussing everything happening surrounding Arizona athletics giving you an inside look at all the programs on campus.
Hutchison has been covering Arizona for the last seven years with his coverage spanning all-across UA’s campus from football and men’s basketball to Title IX sports. Plus, with so many former Wildcats playing at the next level in their prospective sports there will be moments where he will take a deep dive into the Cats excelling outside of Tucson.
Arizona (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) went up against Colorado following the bye-week and started off hot hitting receiver Tre Spivey for a 57-yard touchdown setting the tone early in the game. From that point on, it was all Wildcats as they went on to hammer the Buffaloes 52-17 sealing the fifth win of the year.
Against Colorado, Fifita had another high-level passing game and was able to surgically pick apart the defense, going an impressive 11-for-19 totaling 213 yards while racking up four touchdowns on the night.
With the four passing touchdowns, Fifita is getting closer to the top of the all-time record sitting at 65, which puts him third on the list.
However, he is now two touchdowns away from tying the record held by quarterbacks Willie Tuitama and Nick Foles.
Not only was Arizona able to get an elite passing performance by Fifita but the offense was able to score fast when it had the ball with five scoring drives under four minutes.
The win for Arizona puts them right back in the spotlight for a bowl berth with just four games left on the schedule and the Wildcats now one win away from a spot in the postseason.
Now, Arizona will be facing off against Kansas (5-4, 3-3), which is coming off a 17-point win over Oklahoma State and looking for a bowl berth just like the Wildcats.
This is the first meeting between the two programs since the 1966 season when the Jayhawks beat UA 35-14. Kansas leads the all-time series 3-2-1 but this will be the first time the two teams play as members of the same conference.
To get you ready for the game, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have come up with our pick for the game and have broken down why we see the match going a certain way.
Game Pick
- Arizona: 42
- Kansas: 17
Reason
I think Kansas is one of the better offenses in the Big 12 when the unit is on point. However, the Jayhawks have been up and down on both sides of the football and have had massive issues on the defense.
Meanwhile, Arizona has Fifita playing his best football of the season and has found an elite weapon in receiver Tre Spivey, who has scored seven touchdowns on 11 total touches this season.
Although Arizona struggles for two games against running quarterbacks, defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales has the defense back on track and has seen success against dual-threat guys this season.
Please be sure to share with us your pick for the Arizona-Kansas game and give us your reason why. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.
Troy Hutchison grew up attending Arizona athletic events, which gave him a unique perspective and knowledge of the athletic department's rich history. He attended UA and began covering the Wildcats in 2018. As the Arizona Wildcats Beat Writer on SI, he is set to deliver wall-to-wall coverage to give fans an in-depth perspective.
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