Arizona Wildcats football will host the No. 2 Utah Utes Saturday at 5:30 p.m. MST in a primetime matchup at Casino Del Stadium, and the game will be televised nationally on Fox, according to azdesertswarm.com.
The contest arrives as Arizona climbs to No. 22 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, up two spots from the previous week with 324 points, while Utah sits at No. 2 after a 9‑0 start, the source notes. A win would give the Wildcats their first victory over a top‑two opponent since beating No. 2 Oregon on the road in 2014, and it keeps their Big 12 title‑game and College Football Playoff aspirations alive.
Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff morning show will travel to Tucson for the first time, bringing play‑by‑play commentator Gus Johnson, analyst Joel Klatt and sideline reporter Jenny Taft to the UA Mall, the outlet reports. ESPN’s College Gameday will not be in town, making the FOX crew the sole national broadcast presence.
Betting odds list Utah as a 2.5‑point favorite with an over/under of 53.5 points, per FanDuel Sportsbook data cited by the source. Arizona is 3‑6 against the spread this season, covering twice at home, while Utah is 8‑1 ATS, the lone miss coming in a 27‑24 win at Colorado.
Historically, Arizona trails Utah 6‑7 since the Utes joined the Pac‑12 in 2011, and the all‑time series stands at 26‑21 in Utah’s favor. The most recent meeting in Tucson in 2023 ended with a 42‑18 Arizona victory, and the Wildcats also upset Utah 23‑10 in Brennan’s first season.
Arizona enters the game with a 7‑2 overall record (4‑2 Big 12) and has won seven straight games at Casino Del Stadium, the source says. Utah, now 9‑0 (6‑0 Big 12), boasts a high‑powered offense ranked 13th nationally at 37.7 points per game and 12th in rushing with 215 yards per game. Quarterback Devon Dampier, a Phoenix native, has thrown for 2,053 yards with 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions, adding 480 rushing yards and seven rushing scores.
The Saturday contest will also be a Military Appreciation day and a “Stripeout” event for fans, marking Arizona’s 1‑1 record in Military Appreciation games and 1‑0 in stripeout games under head coach Brent Brennan.
Arizona will await the next College Football Playoff rankings, scheduled for release Tuesday at 5 p.m., to see how the result impacts its national standing and potential postseason path.
Sources: azdesertswarm.com, azdesertswarm.com, azdesertswarm.com
