The Arizona Wildcats are coming off a nine-win season in 2025, which was a bit of a surprise in head coach Brent Brennan‘s second season. Now, he has an experienced group coming back on offense and has one of the best quarterbacks in the country to lead them.
Meanwhile, Arizona extended its defensive coordinator after he put together one of the best units in the country and the Wildcats have a real chance to be one of the two teams they get to the Big 12 Championship game in December.
Here are three things to watch as they prepare for the 2026 season.
Can Noah Fifita Have a Heisman-Worthy Season?
At Big 12 media days if you ran into a communications person for Arizona, they made sure to hand you a one-sheet touting quarterback Noah Fifita for the Heisman Trophy.
On paper he has the career numbers to be in the running. In four years with the Wildcats, he has thrown for 9,173 yards and 73 touchdowns. He chose to stay when former head coach Jedd Fisch left for Washington and Brent Brennan took over. Brennan mus be grateful every day for that decision. The Wildcats would be far worse off without him.
This is his final season and in July he said he’s only focused on the team and trying to improve on last year’s nine wins.
But Fifita’s numbers and Arizona’s ability to win a Big 12 title are intrinsically linked. If he has a Heisman Trophy-worthy season, there’s a good chance the Wildcats are playing on the first Friday night of December in Arlington, Texas, for the Big 12 title. Watching his numbers week to week and how they feel Arizona’s success is it going to be something to watch.
The Defense Could Have Another Great Season
Fifita’s talent casts a long shadow in Tucson. But a big reason Arizona won nine games last year was because it had one of the best defenses in the country. That’s why the Wildcats locked up defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales into a long-term deal. He crafted the seventh-best defensive unit in the country, one that had more takeaways (31) than touchdowns allowed (28) in 2025.
Can he do it again. Up front he has four returning starters, including defensive end Tre Smith, along with linebackers Chase Kennedy and Taye Brown. The issue is defensive back. Three highly experienced stars are gone in Treydan Stukes, Genesis Smith and Dalton Johnson.
Many of the players expected to replace the trio were on the roster last year, so there is continuity. But are they as good as that trio? Watching how this defense comes together — and whether Gonzales can put new pieces in the right places a second straight year — will be telling of the team’s overall success.
The Big 12 Opener
Arizona drew the first conference game of the season. The Wildcats didn’t get any favors either. The Big 12 handed their television partners a terrific match up on Sept. 12 as Arizona heads to BYU to face the Cougars.
BYU reached the Big 12 championship game last year and looks primed to do it again. Last year these two teams met and played a classic. The Cougars won in overtime, 33-27, in Tucson.
This isn’t just a conference opener for the Wildcats. It’s a tone setter. It’s an opportunity for them to show the country that they will be a player in this race. A loss doesn’t end their opportunity to reach the Big 12 championship game. But what to watch for is the kind of statement the Wildcats make in Provo that Saturday.
