What to watch for when Arizona football hosts Northern Illinois
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Last season, after a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to BYU, Arizona let the disappointment of that game carry over to the following week. The result was a walkoff defeat at Houston.
Once again the Wildcats are coming off a loss to the Cougars, a game they led at halftime but couldn’t finish. That puts them on hangover alert when they host Northern Illinois at 7:30 p.m. PT Saturday.
NIU is 0-2 this season, getting shut out 40-0 at Iowa and then falling at home to an FCS school. The schools have never met before.
“They’re coming off a disappointing game, but shoot, so are we,” UA coach Brent Brennan said Thursday. “So are we. So this is about us. This is about us attacking this opportunity in front of us. This is about us doing what we have to do to get the opportunity.”
It’s Hispanic Heritage Night at Casino Del Sol Stadium, with former Arizona offensive lineman Jose Portilla the honorary captain. Here’s what to watch for when the Wildcats and Huskies battle on TNT:
Skill position usage
Arizona will be without leading receiver Giovanni Richardson, who Brennan said earlier in the week is dealing with a lower extremity injury. The sophomore had 14 catches in 1.5 games before getting hurt, and his absence in the second half at BYU was noticeable.
Noah Fifita and backup Sawyer Anderson have connected with 12 different targets, including eight receivers and two tight ends, but besides Richardson only three have five or more catches. One of those is Rodney Gallagher III, who stepped in for Richardson last weekend.
Five players have been targeted at least five times including Chris Hunter, who has only hauled in two of eight throws his way. Brandon Phelps has caught both of his targets for 51 yards and a TD, while tight ends Shane King and Cole Rusk have combined for 82 yards and a score on their five catches.
The running back room got even deeper last week when Ismail Mahdi—along with linebacker Max Harris—regained eligibility, though he didn’t play at BYU. Mahdi could get some touches this weekend, as could Antwan Roberts and Wesley Yarbrough, but Kedrick Reescano and Quincy Craig still figure to get the bulk of the work based on their performances so far.
An opponent in turmoil
Northern Illinois gave up 61 points before scoring for the first time this season, but that’s only part of the adversity it has faced this season. Head coach Thomas Hammock resigned in February to take an NFL assistant job, leaving defensive coordinator Rob Harley to take over as interim coach.
That late coaching change triggered a portal window for the NIU roster, which saw several starters depart and end up on power conference rosters. And one of the two quarterbacks the Huskies use, Taron Dickens, didn’t join the team until July.
NIU also switched conferences in the offseason, the Chicago-area school for some reason ditching the Mid-American Conference for the Mountain West. That means this trip to Tucson will be one of four trips it will make to the Mountain or Pacific time zones.
But despite all that, and the 0-2 start, Arizona sees plenty to be concerned with from NIU. Defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales said the Huskies’ offensive line is bigger than BYU’s, and their running backs are similar in physicality to how the Wildcats’ backs run the ball.
“I know Coach Harley is going to have his team ready to play,” Brennan said.
Record watch?
Fifita enters Saturday night with 9,692 passing yards for his career, just 319 shy of Nick Foles’ school record set in 2011. Though he hasn’t hit that mark yet this season, Fifita has thrown for at least 320 yards six times, most recently against Oklahoma State in 2025 when he had 376 yards and five TDs at home a week after the UA’s first loss at Iowa State.
Will Arizona make sure he gets a chance to set the record at home, rather than next week at Washington State? It’s not part of the game plan, Brennan and offensive coordinator Seth Doege say.
“I don’t ever think of things in terms of that, and I don’t think Coach Doege does,” Brennan said. “And to be honest with you, I don’t think Noah Fifita does either. Noah Fifita is always about what is best for the program, and what’s best for the program is for him to be our quarterback for every game of this entire football season. And so the decisions that we have to make in game, or as the game flow happens, whatever that is, we’ll make those determinations as we go.”
Doege said he’ll do “whatever our head coach tells us to do” in regards to Fifita, who played into the fourth quarter against NAU.
Arizona’s play caller has history with a similar scenario. As a junior at Texas Tech in 2011 he thought his day was done after throwing a fifth touchdown pass to put the Red Raiders up 52-7, but the next time they got the ball he was sent back out for one more play.
“They put me back in the game to throw like a little quick screen, and then they took me out,” Doege said. “And I said, ‘what was that about?’ And they said, ‘well, if you threw another completion, you set the record for completion percentage with a minimum of 40 attempts.’”
Doege was 40 of 44, his 91.7 completion percentage still an FBS record.
“I’m sure if we’re five yards off from the record, I’m sure I can convince Coach Brennan,” he said. “I think that would be big time for him, but here’s the thing about Noah, he’s not worried about that. Noah’s worried about winning the game, and so that’s what’s special about him.”
If Fifita doesn’t get the record Saturday he will Sept. 26 at Washington State, where he got his first win as a starter in 2023.
Crowd concerns
Arizona announced a paltry 40,129 attendance for NAU, the lowest for a home opener since 2021 and more than thousand below the crowd that came for last year’s debut. The crowds often dip in Tucson immediately after a loss, and a 7:30 p.m. start compared to 6:30 p.m. for the first game could also contribute to the atmosphere.
Brennan praised those who were at Casino Del Sol Stadium last time for their energy and is hopeful that fans will show up and give the UA a homefield advantage.
“I really feel that everybody outside of this building needs to understand that they’re a part of this,” he said. “They’re a huge part of this, and making Casino Del Sol Stadium one of the toughest places to play in the Big 12 is an absolute goal of mine. Just traveling around this conference over the last two years and seeing the different venues and seeing people, seeing those sold-out crowds and the impact that has on the visiting team, that’s what we’re trying to create here.”
BYU drew 64,409 last week in Provo. The official capacity listed for LaVell Edwards Stadium is 62,073.
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